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The Christendom College Major Speakers Program is an important aspect of the academic life at the College, offering the students and community an opportunity for cultural, intellectual, and spiritual enrichment beyond the classroom. The Major Speakers Program offers the students expanded opportunities to gain greater insights and depth of understanding of important issues, and to interact personally with a wide range of men and women who are shapers and critics of our society. At least two major speakers are hosted by the College each semester.
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Word on Fire’s Dr. Holly Ordway delivered a talk on famed author J.R.R. Tolkien’s Catholic Faith at Christendom College on January 29, 2024, as part of the college’s Major Speaker Series. Fifty years after Tolkien’s death, his writings are more popular than ever; The Lord of the Rings and his other Middle-earth writings are internationally beloved, loved by millions who do not share his religious beliefs. Yet Tolkien declared, “I am a Christian (which can be deduced from my stories).” His writings were not allegories, so how, then, were his faith and his fiction related? Ordway aims to answer this question biographically, looking at some of the ways that Tolkien’s dramatic life story, including his being raised by a Catholic priest at the Birmingham Oratory, and his experiences in the Great War, shaped his faith and found their way–in a subtle and complex manner–into his writings. Ordway is the Cardinal Francis George Professor of Faith and Culture at the Word on Fire Institute and the author of the award-winning Tolkien’s Modern Reading.
Pro-life advocate and author of the best-selling book Unplanned Abby Johnson delivered an address at Christendom College on Monday, March 28, encouraging the college’s students to take an even greater role in the pro-life movement during this critical moment in America’s history. Johnson spoke directly about the Jackson v. Dobbs case during her address, touching upon what could happen if Roe v. Wade is overturned this year and also on what Christendom students can do to help change the world post-graduation.
Mother Olga of the Sacred Heart, the founder and mother servant of the Daughters of Mary of Nazareth, delivered a talk titled, “In the Church, With the Church, For the Church,” to the Christendom community as part of the Major Speakers Program on Monday, March 25, 2019.
The Heritage Foundation’s Dr. Ryan Anderson delivered a lecture at Christendom College on Monday, November 19, speaking on his new book When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Movement. Anderson riveted his audience throughout the talk as he navigated the difficult subject matter and offered practical advice on how to respond to the transgender moment through the Catholic lens.
His Imperial and Royal Highness Imre of Habsburg-Lorraine delivered an exclusive talk to the Christendom community on Thursday, April 12, titled: “100 Years Later: Quo Vadis Europa?”Archduke Imre came to campus with his wife, Her Imperial and Royal Highness Kathleen of Habsburg-Lorraine, for the event. Archduke Imre is the eldest son of Archduke Carl Christian of Austria, and the great-grandson of Blessed Emperor Karl of Austria, who was beatified by Pope Saint John Paul II.Archduke Imre is noted for his lectures on his great-grandfather, who was the only political leader to support Benedict XV’s peace efforts during World War I.
Internationally recognized Humanae Vitae expert Dr. Janet Smith delivered a lecture at Christendom College on Monday, February 5, titled: “Humanae Vitae, 50 Years Later: Progress or Regress?” She engaged her audience throughout the talk as she spoke on the roots of Humanae Vitae’s groundbreaking publication and why the encyclical matters now, more than ever.Smith is the author of Humanae Vitae: A Generation Later and of Right to Privacy and the editor of Why Humanae Vitae Was Right: A Reader. Her articles have been published in many academic journals, and she has been a regular columnist for the National Catholic Register and has appeared on Fox News, CNN, and EWTN.Smith has also served three terms as a consultor to the Pontifical Council on the Family and currently is a member of the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission. She has received two honorary doctorates and several other awards for scholarship and service. More than two million copies of her talk, “Contraception: Why Not” have been distributed.
Author and television personality Fr. Robert Spitzer delivered a lecture at Christendom College on Monday, September 18, speaking on the “Four Levels of Happiness.” The engaging talk delved into Fr. Spitzer’s summary of how to reach the greatest level of happiness in this life and the next, as he encouraged students to go out in the culture and spread the good news about true happiness to others.A former president of Gonzaga University, Fr. Spitzer spoke at length about our culture’s views on happiness, and laid out a better path to happiness in Christ. Fr. Spitzer encouraged students to not dwell too much on the evils of today’s culture, but instead to look for the good in others and help them to come closer to God.
Acclaimed art historian and author Elizabeth Lev delivered an exclusive lecture to the Christendom College community on March 20, 2017 titled “Taking on the Temples: The Development of Christian Sacred Space in St. John Lateran.” The talk was part of Christendom College’s Major Speakers Program.Lev, who has taught art and architecture courses for the Christendom College Junior Semester in Rome Program for years, is an American-born art historian who currently lives and works in Rome. After earning degrees from the University of Chicago and the University of Bologna, Lev became a denizen of Rome in 1997, giving tours of the city while also teaching art history for Duquesne University. With her dynamic and engaging speaking skills, Lev is now a highly sought tour guide, teacher, and public speaker. She has presented TED talks, and has appeared on ABC’s Nightline and the Today Show.In addition to numerous articles, Lev is the author of three books, The Tigress of Forli: Renaissance Italy’s Most Courageous and Notorious Countess, Caterina Riario Sforza de’ Medici; Roman Pilgrimage: The Station Churches with George Weigel; and A Body for Glory: Theology of the Body in the Papal Collections with Fr. Jose Granados.
Nationally recognized religious freedom expert Dr. Ryan T. Anderson delivered an exclusive talk to the Christendom community on Monday, January 30, titled: “‘Marriage Equality’: Religious Freedom or a ‘License to Discriminate’?”Anderson is the William E. Simon Senior Research Fellow in American Principles and Public Policy at The Heritage Foundation, and the founder and editor of Public Discourse, the online journal of the Witherspoon Institute. He is the author of the just-released book Truth Overruled: The Future of Marriage and Religious Freedom and the co-author with Princeton’s Robert P. George and Sherif Girgis of the book What Is Marriage? Man and Woman: A Defense. Anderson’s research has been cited by two U.S. Supreme Court justices, Justice Samuel Alito and Justice Clarence Thomas, in two U.S. Supreme Court cases.Anderson received his B.A. from Princeton University and received his doctoral degree in political philosophy from the University of Notre Dame. He has made appearances on ABC, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, and Fox News, including appearance on This Week with George Stephanopoulos and Piers Morgan Live. Anderson’s work has also appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, First Things, and Principles.
Prolific author and philosopher Dr. Christopher Kaczor delivered a lecture titled “The Seven Myths about the Catholic Church” to the Christendom College community on November 14.
First Things magazine editor Dr. Rusty Reno delivered a lecture titled “Christianity in Public Life” to the Christendom College community on Monday, October 3, 2016, as part of the college’s Major Speaker Program.
Chesterton expert Dale Ahlquist delivered a lecture titled “The Democracy of the Dead” to the Christendom College community on Monday, February 22.Ahlquist, the president of the American Chesterton Society, focused his lecture on why G.K. Chesterton remains the great defender of both freedom and tradition in the modern world, where both are constantly under assault. Chesterton is one of the most celebrated authors and theologians of the early-twentieth century, whose writings still remain popular today.An internationally renowned speaker, Ahlquist has given more than six hundred lectures at national and international conferences, at such locations as Yale, Columbia, Cornell, Notre Dame, Oxford, the Vatican Forum in Rome, and the House of Lords in London. Ahlquist has been interviewed by the New York Times, First Things, BBC News and BBC Radio, Breitbart, and The Independent (U.K.). He is a regular columnist for The Catholic Servant, and his articles have appeared in Chronicles, Crisis, St. Austin’s Review, The Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature, The Great Books Reader, Christian Higher Education, Faith and Reason, and more.
Internationally recognized speaker Pam Stenzel delivered a public lecture titled “Chastity: The Foundation for Building Strong Families and a Culture of Life” at Christendom College on October 5. Tearing through society’s critical views of pregnancy and abstinence before marriage, Stenzel encouraged the student body to become the leaders who can reverse this culture of death and bring about a new culture of life.Stenzel, who is regarded as one of the country’s most established lecturers on chastity, spoke with candor and insight about today’s culture and its rejection of Catholic teachings on abstinence before marriage. To begin her talk, Stenzel explained the problems inherent in today’s political perception of chastity, revealing the negative view that pervades the current presidential administration.Stenzel is the founder of Enlighten Communications, Inc., and is the author of the internationally used public school curricula “Abstinence by Choice” and “Building Healthy Relationships.” Winner of multiple awards for her videos on chastity, Stenzel speaks to over 500,000 people every year, and is a frequent guest on Fox News and ABC.
Acclaimed author and theologian George Weigel delivered a lecture titled “Evangelical Catholicism and Catholic Higher Education” to the Christendom community on Monday, September 14, the anniversary of the founding of Christendom College.Weigel, who asserts that Christendom College is one of the best liberal arts colleges in America, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, the founding president of the James Madison Foundation, and one of America’s leading public intellectuals.Weigel is also the author of over twenty books, including: Letters to a Young Catholic; The Cube and the Cathedral: Europe, America, and Politics Without God; Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II; The End and the Beginning; and his most recent work, Evangelical Catholicism: Deep Reform in the 21st-Century Catholic Church. His scholarly works and reputation have earned him eighteen honorary doctorate degrees, as well as the papal cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice and the Gloria Artis Gold Medal from the Polish Ministry of Culture.
Tolkien expert Joseph Pearce delivered a public lecture titled “Unlocking the Catholicism of The Lord of the Rings” at Christendom College on March 30, in which he revealed the deep, theological truths that permeate Tolkien’s masterpiece.Pearce, an internationally renowned author or editor of over twenty books, including Tolkien: Man or Myth, pulled two quotes from Tolkien together, explaining that the Lord of the Rings must fundamentally be religious and Catholic, and the fact that Tolkien is a Catholic is, by far, “the most important element in his authorship of that work.”Joseph Pearce, the director of the Center for Faith and Culture at Aquinas College, is the co-editor of the St. Austin Review, and one of the world’s most acclaimed authors. Born in London, England, Pearce was formerly involved with radical politics in his youth, before a discovery of the works of G. K. Chesterton led him to convert to Roman Catholicism in 1989.
Author and president of Belmont Abbey College Dr. Bill Thierfelder delivered a talk entitled “The Christian Vision of Sports” to Christendom students and faculty on October 27. Thierfelder examined how sports can be integrated into the Christian life, and made the case that world-class athletic performance and virtue are not exclusive.Thierfelder, who received his Masters and Doctoral degrees in Sports Psychology from Boston University, is the author of “Less Than A Minute To Go: The Secret to World-Class Performance in Sport, Business and Everyday Life.” In this book, he draws upon his experiences as an NCAA Division I Coach, Olympian (did not compete due to injury), and a medalist at the 1981 U.S. Track & Field Indoor National Championship.
Dr. Pat Fagan, the Director of the Marriage And Religion Research Institute, explained how, from a sociological viewpoint, the married intact heterosexual family that worships God weekly has the most positive effect on children and society.He encouraged the students to live chaste, virtuous, and loving lives. Like the early Christians who lived amongst dark pagan times, the witness of strong loving families will save our culture, he told them.At the Family Research Council (FRC), Dr. Pat Fagan directs the work of the Marriage And Religion Research Institute (MARRI), a branch of the Council that focuses on studying the effects of the relationship between marriage and religion on society. Fagan has worked for the Free Congress Foundation, assisted Indiana Senator Dan Coats, served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Family and Community Policy at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under George H. W. Bush, and was a senior fellow at The Heritage Foundation for thirteen years before joining the FRC.
On September 16, world-renowned Bible scholar and theology professor Dr. Scott Hahn launched Christendom College’s Major Speaker Program, delivering a lecture on “The Bible, the Eucharist, and the New Evangelization.”Hahn explained that just as human love and relationships lead to a sacrament—Matrimony—so too does our love and relationship with God lead to a sacrament—the Eucharist. He noted that it was Blessed Pope John Paul who first called for the new evangelization to be based on the Eucharist and, citing a paper by Francis Cardinal George of Chicago, said, “all evangelizers proclaim Christ, but Catholic evangelizers proclaim a Eucharistic Christ.”An exceptionally popular speaker and teacher, Dr. Scott Hahn has delivered numerous talks nationally and internationally on a wide variety of topics related to Scripture and the Catholic faith. Over 500 of these talks have been produced in audio and video formats by St. Joseph Communications. These talks have been effective in helping thousands of Protestants and fallen-away Catholics to embrace the Catholic faith.
Francis Cardinal Arinze, Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, delivered a talk entitled “The Year of Faith and the Apostolate of the Laity” to the students and faculty at Christendom College on February 4, 2013.Cardinal Arinze was ordained a priest in 1958 and was consecrated bishop in 1965. In 1979 his brother bishops elected him president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, a position he held until 1984, when Pope John Paul II asked him to serve as president for the Secretariat for Non-Christians (now the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue). One year later, he was appointed Cardinal by Pope John Paul and, in 1999, he received a gold medallion from the International Council of Christians and Jews for his “outstanding achievements in inter-faith relations”.From 2002-2008, he served as Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. Cardinal Arinze remains active as a highly-sought speaker and catechizer, being featured in programs and events that cover Pope John Paul II’s encyclicals and apostolic letters, Vatican II, and many other topics. He is also the author of several books and has been a frequent guest on Christendom’s campus.
Virginia’s Attorney General, Kenneth Cuccinelli II, spoke to the Christendom College community on the topic of “Living the Catholic Faith in Politics and Government” on April 2.Before a crowd of about 400 college students, faculty, staff, and guests, Cuccinelli, who plans on running for the Governorship of Virginia next year, encouraged all present to be active in the political process and to be Catholic leaders in all areas, but particularly in the areas of science, media, and politics.
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