This is a briefing to inform members of forthcoming meetings, lectures, conferences and other events. Please send any information about future events, especially events outside London, to director@catholicunion.org.
There are numerous interesting events organised by the Las Casas Institute and others at Blackfriars Oxford, please see the Events Calendar on their website.
The Centre for Catholic Studies at the University of Durham has an excellent ongoing programme of Catholic Theology Research Seminars, the Ushaw Lecture Series and conferences. For details, click here.
The London Jesuit Centre also hosts a number of interesting courses. So does the Thomistic Institute in the USA though beware of the difference in time zones for live talks!
Forthcoming Events
Third-party events are occasionally cancelled without notice so if in any doubt please check with the organisers before attending.
Tuesday 1 March from 5 – 6.30 pm
Catholic Peacebuilding and Mining – Book Launch. Online event hosted by the Las Casas Institute for the launch of the book by Caesar A. Montevecchio and Gerard F. Powers. It explores the role of Catholic peacebuilding in addressing the global mining industry. Registration is free, but required. More information here.
Thursday 3 March from 2 – 3.30 pm
Women Who Changed the Church Lecture on “Unruly Catholic Nuns”. Dr. Jeana DelRosso of Notre Dame of Maryland University will address the voices of current and former Catholic nuns who write about their lived experiences with Catholicism. Hosted by the Margaret Beaufort Institute, online. Tickets £10. More information here.
Friday 4 March – Friday 29 April, weekly event from 7:30 pm
The Mystery of Christ according to St. Thomas Aquinas. A 9 week online course to deepen understanding of who Jesus Christ is, with the help of St. Thomas Aquinas. It will be led by Sr. Mary Magdalene, Dominican Sister and founder of the Thomistic Studies program. Course price £40. More information and booking available here.
Friday 4 March from 3 pm
Catholic History Walks. A number of forthcoming walks in London, with the first walk of March discovering links with Charles Dickens and St George around the Southwark area. Walkers to meet at St George’s Cathedral, Southwark at 3pm. Further walks will take place on 16 March, 17 March, 24 March, and 30 March. For more information click here.
Tuesday 8 March from 11 – 11.45 am
The Forgotten Women: Persecuted Women and Girls from Religious Minorities. Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is teaming up with Open Doors to present a panel event on the topic of the persecution of women and girls from religious minorities. The event will be held on Zoom, and will be free. Register here.
Tuesday 8 March at 5.30pm
Is the Gospel Really Good News? Evangelisation and Catechesis in the 21st Century. Bishop Dunn Memorial Lecture with Archbishop John Wilson of Southwark. In person event at Ushaw, transport available from Durham. For more details see here.
Tuesday 8 March from 6.30 – 7.45 pm
Westminster Lecture: Trust in Oneself. Dr Claire Foster-Gilbert, founding Director of the Westminster Abbey Institute and public moral philosopher will speak on the thought that there is a profound lack of trust in ourselves, as well as each other, this being a symptom of depending upon laws to tell us what is right and wrong. This is the first in a series of three lectures on the theme of trust, as part of the Westminster Abbey Institute 2022 Spring Programme. Following lectures will take place on 15 March and 29 March (see below). Venue: Lady Chapel, Westminster Abbey, London. Tickets are free, but must be booked in advance. More information here.
Thursday 10 March from 2-3.30pm
Black Catholic Nuns in the Long African American Freedom Struggle. The Mary Ward Lecture 2022 with Dr Shannen Dee Williams (Dayton). A free, online event, please register here.
Thursday 10 March from 5 – 6 pm
The Catholic contribution to the modern history of human rights. Professor Samuel Moyn, one of the world’s leading historians of human rights, will be giving a lecture on the Catholic contribution to modern human rights for the Las Casas Institute for Social Justice. There is an option of joining in person at Blackfriars Hall, Oxford, or to view via a live stream. Tickets are free. More information here.
Friday 11 March 6.30pm – Saturday 12 March at 5.30 pm
Exploring the Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission. A conference exploring the Synodal Church, jointly organised by St Mary’s College, Oscott and St Mary’s University, London. Lectures will integrate insights from ecclesiology, pastoral theology, spirituality, sociology, history and canon law. Venue: St Mary’s College Oscott, Chester Road, Sutton Coldfield, B73 5AA. Tickets £75. Find out more information and register here.
Sunday 13 March from 4 – 5 pm
Chant, the music of Faith and its influence on the history of music. A lecture by Sir James MacMillan, the Catholic composer and former Craigmyle Lecturer. He will reflect on why we sing prayers and how Gregorian chant has shaped the development of art music throughout the centuries. Venue: St Mary’s Church, Hampstead, London NW3 6QU. Email marystanier@rcdow.org to book your free place.
Monday 14 March from 7 pm
Christian Heritage, Identity and Place. An online panel event bringing together conversationalists and theologians, including Andrew Ramsey (Bishop of Ramsbury) and Renie Chow Choy (Lecturer in Church History) to consider the potentials and pitfalls of church architectural heritage and its place within national life. Tickets £5. For more information and to buy tickets click here.
Tuesday 15 March from 6.30 – 8 pm
Reclaiming the Piazza III – Communicating Catholic Culture. Book Launch showing how the Catholic theological tradition in its perennial wisdom engages with, and helps redress, the challenges of our times. Edited by Leonard Franchi, Ronnie Convery, and Jack Valero. Venue: Waldegrave Suite, St Mary’s University, London. Followed by a Drinks Reception. Tickets are free. Book your place in advance here.
Tuesday 15 March from 6.30 – 7.45 pm
Westminster Lecture: Trust in Institutions. Revd Canon Anthony Ball, Canon of Westminster will give the second lecture in the series on trust for the Westminster Abbey Institute. Venue: Lady Chapel, Westminster Abbey, London. Tickets are free but must be booked in advance. More information here.
Wednesday 16 March from 7.00 – 8.00 pm
St Patrick in context – the man behind the saint. Tablet webinar with Dr Patricia Ramsey (Sr Francisca), Mother Abbess of the Poor Clare community at Arkley, and expert on early monasticism who will discuss St Patrick and the man behind the saint. Tickets: £12.50. Book tickets and more information here.
Thursday 17 March from 5 – 6.30 pm
The Politics of Pilgrimage in Mid-Nineteenth Century Spanish Art. Seminar given by Prof. Claudia Hopkins (Durham University) that forms part of the Catholic Theology Research Seminar Series (CTRS). Tickets are free, but registration is essential. More information here.
Saturday 19 March from 11.00 am
National Ecumenical Service – Romero Week 2022. The Archbishop Romero Trust will host Edgardo Colón-Emeric, Dean of the Divinity School at Duke University, as a guest speaker, to mark the 42nd anniversary of the martyrdom of St Oscar Romero. This marks the beginning of a series of events hosted by the Romero Trust, including a Mass on his feast day on 24 March. Venue: St Martin-in-the-Fields, London, WC2N 4JJ. All events in the series are free, you can find all of the information here.
Saturday 19 March from 9.30 am – 3.30 pm
Catholics in Health and Social Care: Ethics and Practice. St Mary’s University, The Anscombe Bioethics Centre and the Bios Centre are hosting three training days to discuss the appropriate Christian response to a wide range of challenges affecting practice in health and social care. A list of distinguished speakers will lead discussions on assisted suicide, hope-filled accompaniment for those that are dying, conscientious objection and arising policy challenges. There will be an in person training day in Edinburgh on 19 March, in London on 2 April, and online via Zoom on 14 May. Tickets for in person events: £20. More information can be found here.
Tuesday 22 March from 6.45 – 8.15 pm
Clergy Discipline in the Catholic Church. Lyndwood Lecture 2022, hosted by the Canon Law Society of Great Britain and Ireland. This lecture will be given by the Revd James Conn SJ, Superior of the Casa Santa Maria in Rome. Cost to attend is £15 for members of the Canon Law Society of Great Britain and now also £15 for non-members. Venue: The Parish Church at All Hallows’ by the Tower, Byword Street, London, EC3R 5BJ. Book tickets and more information here.
Thursday 24 March from 12.45 – 2 pm
Symposium: Trust across local, national and international boundaries. A lunchtime symposium on trust across boundaries, held by the Westminster Abbey Institute. It is part of the Institute’s 2022 Spring Programme, Trust in Public Life. Speakers include Councillor Nick Forbes, Dame Margaret Hodge MP, and HE Nomatemba Tambo. Tickets are free, but must be booked in advance by contacting Aneta Horniak at institute@westminster-abbey.
Monday 28 March from 6.45 – 8.15 pm
Homelessness and the Pandemic: What have we learnt?. Panel discussion hosted by the Diocese of Westminster Justice and Peace, and Caritas. Venue: Farm Street Church, 114 Mount Street, London, W1K 3AH. Free event, no need to book. The event will also be livestreamed on the parish website.
Tuesday 29 March from 6.30 – 7.45 pm
Westminster Lecture: Trust in People. The Reverend Dr James Hawkey, Canon Theologian of Westminster Abbey will discuss what it means to speak about trust in public life and what resources we need to draw upon to become more trusting and more trustworthy. Venue: The Abbey, Westminster Abbey, London. Tickets are free but must be booked in advance. More information here.
Tuesday 5 April from 6.30 – 7.45 pm
The Roots of Trust: theological and political reflections on trust in troubled times. The Charles Gore Lecture by Dr Anna Rowlands (Durham), exploring the crisis of trust in our current cultural landscape and why that matters theologically. Tickets are free, but must be booked in advance. Venue: The Nave, Westminster Abbey, London. More information here.