The Hank Center for The Catholic Intellectual Heritage
The Hank Center is delighted to welcome Pope Leo XIV as the first pope from the United States. Augustinian priest, Robert Francis Prevost, born in Chicago, is a creative bridge-builder, tested leader, well-travelled global citizen—and a great dinner companion as well! We pray for the new shepherd of the Church and that, through his leadership, the Church may flourish in holiness and be of profound service to the world.
The Hank Center for The Catholic Intellectual Heritage
Spring 2026 Event Calendar
Check here to see upcoming events for the Spring 2026 semester!
News and Events
Upcoming Event
Habemus Papam: Three Journalists Weigh In on Pope Leo’s First Year
April 15, 2026
To mark the one-year anniversary of Pope Leo’s election, The Hank Center will host a conversation focused on the first year of the Pope Leo’s reign: What has he accomplished? Where do we go from here? What remains to be done? Journalists Colleen Dulle (America), Michael Sean Winters (National Catholic Reporter), and Gretchen Crowe (Our Sunday Visitor) will offer their take on Pope Leo’s first year. Dominic Preziosi (Commonweal) will moderate.
Upcoming Event
Living Tradition Award Luncheon Honoring Dr. Lorraine Ozar
April 21, 2026
Each spring the Hank Center presents the Living Tradition Award to a retired Loyola University Chicago faculty member who has exemplified the integration of Catholic thought into their work. This award commemorates extraordinary lives of scholarship, research, service, and teaching in specific fields of expertise. This year, we are pleased to honor Dr. Lorraine Ozar with this award.
The Hank Center in the News
Media from the International Encounter for Peace and Reconciliation
The "International Encounter for Peace and Reconciliation" held at Loyola University Chicago as part of the Building Bridges Initiative, invited students, faculty, and practitioners to gather for a day of peacebuilding in the synodal spirit. See some of the developing international media coverage of the event.
2026 Annual St. John Henry Newman Lecture
Video Now Available: David Gibson “How to Be Catholic: A User's Guide to Converting”
David Gibson went to Rome a Protestant, got hired by the Vatican, traveled the world with the pope, and became Catholic. Nice story. But what could such a tale possibly teach most of us about becoming Catholic, and staying Catholic? In the 2026 Newman Lecture, Gibson – a veteran journalist and currently director of the Center on Religion and Culture at Fordham University – talks about what took him from his upbringing as a “Billy Graham Evangelical” to his conversion to Roman Catholicism, and how his unusual experience relates to our church’s challenges today.
Recent Videos
Mark Massa, S.J., “Catholic Fundamentalisms”
The Hank Center was pleased to welcome Fr. Mark Massa, SJ of Boston College’s Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life, for its 2025-2026 Jesuit Lecture. He will speak about his new book, Catholic Fundamentalism in America. Heidi Schlumpf, Senior Correspondent for Commonweal Magazine, provided a response.
“Something More: Denise Levertov and the Poetry of Transformation” with Fr. Kevin Burke, SJ
The Hank Center was delighted to welcome Fr. Kevin Burke, SJ to Loyola’s Lakeshore Campus for our annual Catholic Imaginations lecture about his new book, Opening the Doors of the World, which explores the theological dimensions of the great 20th Century poet, Denise Levertov (1923-1997).
Book Discussion: My Son, the Priest: A Mother’s Crisis of Faith by Kristin Grady Gilger
The true story of a young man’s journey to become a Jesuit priest—written by his mother, a fallen-away Catholic who must come to terms with her son’s decision or risk losing him. It is an intimate, sometimes irreverent, and often searing examination of faith, family, and reconciliation. We were delighted to welcome both Kristin Grady Gilger and dear friend of the Hank Center, Paddy Gilger, SJ, for this very special conversation.
Our Community
2025 Michael J. Garanzini, S.J. Fellows Highlight
We are proud to introduce the 2025 cohort of the Michael J. Garanzini, S.J. Fellowships in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition and to highlight their diverse range of research topics. View the 2025 Garanzini Fellows and their work.
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Faculty Seminar
The Hank Center has been tasked by the university to offer an innovative seminar for faculty and administrators on the mission of the university and its commitment to social justice.
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Recommended Reading
Each month CCIH will recommend new and notable books that integrate, interrogate, and celebrate the Catholic intellectual and artistic tradition.
Read More_(cropped).jpg "Pope Benedict XVI")
Remembering Pope Francis
Pope Francis, the first Jesuit pope, died on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025 at the age of 88. The Hank Center has compiled some of the remembrances of Pope Francis, his papacy, and his special connection to Loyola University Chicago.
Learn MoreRelated Links
Nexus Journal
Explore the Catholic Imagination in the most recent volume Nexus, the Hank Center's journal, as well as all previous editions. Read Nexus here.