Kingfisher Catholic Studies LLC
About Kingfisher Catholic Studies
The Kingfisher Catholic Studies LLC is a community where faith meets intellectual life and spills over into service. We explore the Catholic tradition across disciplines — philosophy, sociology, theology, art, literature — and practice what we learn through hospitality and outreach. Open to curious first-years of any major.
The name “Kingfisher” is inspired by the poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins:
As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame;
As tumbled over rim in roundy wells
Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell's
Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;
Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:
Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;
Selves — goes itself; myself it speaks and spells,
Crying Whát I dó is me: for that I came.
I say móre: the just man justices;
Keeps grace: thát keeps all his goings graces;
Acts in God's eye what in God's eye he is —
Chríst — for Christ plays in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
To the Father through the features of men's faces.
This poem celebrates the way in which each created thing makes God manifest in the world by being what it is, and it calls us to become more fully who we are through living out our vocation. It expresses a sacramental vision of the world in which God is encountered in the concrete and the ordinary. Guided by this Jesuit practice of “finding God in all things,” the Kingfisher LLC gives the Catholic tradition embodied expression through communal learning, service, and action.
LLC Outcomes
Students in the Kingfisher LLC will live in a community in a campus residence hall and take courses together as a cohort, fostering a strong sense of belonging. By the end of the academic year, students participating in Kingfisher Catholic Studies LLC will be able to:
- Gain a deeper understanding of the role of the Catholic faith and its traditions throughout history.
- Be adept at conversing about matters of faith and articulating their own beliefs
- Connect academic work with spiritual lives and services
- Integrate faith and reason
- Apply principles of Catholic Social Teaching to real-world issues.
- Become adept at conversing about matters of faith and articulating their own beliefs.
Linked Course
Members of this LLC will be automatically enrolled into THEO 100-001 for the Fall semester. The LLC draws on the interdisciplinary field of Catholic Studies and faculty associated with the Catholic Studies program, but participants are not required to enroll in this academic program. For questions, email livelearn@luc.edu.
How to Apply
- Incoming first year, residential students are eligible to participate in the living learning communities
- Students apply through the Housing Application beginning in February
- Students are notified of LLC status at the beginning of May.
- See more on how to apply for living learning communities through this link
Meet Your LLC Partners
Staff listed below are the current LLC partners for the 2026-2027 academic year.
Resident Director, To Be Announced
Resident Directors are live-in professional staff who oversee the residential experience within their respective residential communities. The “RD” supervises Resident Assistants, engages in programmatic efforts, and supports students through student learning, conflict, and concerns. The RD supports the LLC program through programming, collaboration, and as a departmental liaison.
Dr. Naomi Fisher
Associate Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Catholic Studies Program; LLC Partner
LLC Partners are Loyola faculty and staff members that primarily coordinate LLC programs and initiatives within the residence hall, on-campus, and in the Chicago area. The LLC Partner is often a liaison between Residence Life and the Department that is affiliated with the LLC.
Fr. Patrick Gilger, S.J., PhD
Assistant Professor of Sociology and Director of the McNamara Center for the Social Study of Religion; LLC Partner
LLC Partners are Loyola faculty and staff members that primarily coordinate LLC programs and initiatives within the residence hall, on-campus, and in the Chicago area. The LLC Partner is often a liaison between Residence Life and the Department that is affiliated with the LLC.
About Kingfisher Catholic Studies
The Kingfisher Catholic Studies LLC is a community where faith meets intellectual life and spills over into service. We explore the Catholic tradition across disciplines — philosophy, sociology, theology, art, literature — and practice what we learn through hospitality and outreach. Open to curious first-years of any major.
The name “Kingfisher” is inspired by the poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins:
As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame;
As tumbled over rim in roundy wells
Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell's
Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;
Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:
Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;
Selves — goes itself; myself it speaks and spells,
Crying Whát I dó is me: for that I came.
I say móre: the just man justices;
Keeps grace: thát keeps all his goings graces;
Acts in God's eye what in God's eye he is —
Chríst — for Christ plays in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
To the Father through the features of men's faces.
This poem celebrates the way in which each created thing makes God manifest in the world by being what it is, and it calls us to become more fully who we are through living out our vocation. It expresses a sacramental vision of the world in which God is encountered in the concrete and the ordinary. Guided by this Jesuit practice of “finding God in all things,” the Kingfisher LLC gives the Catholic tradition embodied expression through communal learning, service, and action.
LLC Outcomes
Students in the Kingfisher LLC will live in a community in a campus residence hall and take courses together as a cohort, fostering a strong sense of belonging. By the end of the academic year, students participating in Kingfisher Catholic Studies LLC will be able to:
- Gain a deeper understanding of the role of the Catholic faith and its traditions throughout history.
- Be adept at conversing about matters of faith and articulating their own beliefs
- Connect academic work with spiritual lives and services
- Integrate faith and reason
- Apply principles of Catholic Social Teaching to real-world issues.
- Become adept at conversing about matters of faith and articulating their own beliefs.
Linked Course
Members of this LLC will be automatically enrolled into THEO 100-001 for the Fall semester. The LLC draws on the interdisciplinary field of Catholic Studies and faculty associated with the Catholic Studies program, but participants are not required to enroll in this academic program. For questions, email livelearn@luc.edu.
How to Apply
- Incoming first year, residential students are eligible to participate in the living learning communities
- Students apply through the Housing Application beginning in February
- Students are notified of LLC status at the beginning of May.
- See more on how to apply for living learning communities through this link
Meet Your LLC Partners
Staff listed below are the current LLC partners for the 2026-2027 academic year.