The Thomistic Institute

The Thomistic Institute

The Thomistic Institute exists to promote Catholic truth in our contemporary world by strengthening the intellectual formation of Christians at universities, in the Church, and in the wider public square. The thought of St. Thomas Aquinas, the Universal Doctor of the Church, is our touchstone. The Thomistic Institute Podcast features the lectures and talks from our conferences, campus chapters events, intellectual retreats, livestream events,  and much more.  Founded in 2009, the Thomistic Institute is part of the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC.

  1. -2 j

    The Catholic Faith and Golf - Prof. Michael Pakaluk

    Prof. Michael Pakaluk compares Catholicism and golf in order to show how a game often dismissed as “useless” can become a surprisingly rich school of virtue, shaping humility, patience, prudence, honesty, and love of tradition. This lecture was given on April 17th, 2026, at Ohio State University. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events About the Speaker: Michael Pakaluk is Professor of Political Economy at The Catholic University of America.  An accomplished Aristotle scholar and expert in St. Thomas Aquinas, in 2011 he was appointed a member of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas by Pope Benedict XIV.  His most recent books include: The Company We Keep:  True Friendship and Why It Matters (Scepter, 2025); The Shock of Holiness (Ignatius, 2025); Be Good Bankers: The Economic Interpretation of Matthew’s Gospel (Regnery Gateway, 2025); Natural Law: Five Views (Zondervan, 2025), for which he contributed the essays on classical natural law, and Walk in the Good Path: Essays in Natural Law and Civic Friendship, forthcoming (2026) with CUA Press.  He studied philosophy at Harvard under W.V. Quine, Hilary Putnam, Burton Dreben, and John Rawls, who supervised his dissertation. Pakaluk is a regular contributor to The Catholic Thing, and his essays have appeared in Crisis, Our Sunday Visitor, Crux, and other venues. He lives in Hyattsville, Maryland, with his wife, Catherine, a professor of economics, and their youngest children. Keywords: Catholicism, Charity, Golf, Honesty, Humility, Prudence, Study, Tradition, Virtue, Wonder

    The Catholic Faith and Golf - Prof. Michael Pakaluk
  2. -3 j

    Contemplating the Presence of God - Fr. Irenaeus Dunlevy, O.P.

    Fr. Irenaeus Dunlevy shows how Thomas Aquinas helps Catholics contemplate the presence of God in nature, grace, and the Incarnation, so that ordinary prayer and daily life become occasions for deeper awareness of divine closeness. This lecture was given on April 17th, 2026, at Vanderbilt University. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events About the Speaker: Fr. Irenaeus Dunlevy, O.P. is a Coordinator for Campus Outreach at the Thomistic Institute in Washington, DC. He has served as a parochial vicar at St. Pius V Church in Providence, RI, as well as an adjunct professor and assistant chaplain at Providence College. He originates from Columbus, OH, studied architecture in Virginia and Switzerland, and practiced in the DC area before entering the Order of Preachers in 2013. He was ordained a priest in 2020 at the Dominican House of Studies during the quarantine. In his work with the Thomistic Institute, he has given talks on the virtue of penance, loving God with the mind, and the intersection of theology and architecture. He often travels the country visiting Thomistic Institute Campus Chapters, leading seminars that help students grasp Thomistic concepts. Additionally, he coordinates the TI's intellectual retreat programming, which affords students time to pray and integrate into their lives Thomistic theology and philosophy. Keywords: Aquinas, Contemplation, Grace, Hypostatic Union, Incarnation, Nature, Panentheism, Pantheism, Presence Of God, Thomas Aquinas

    Contemplating the Presence of God -  Fr. Irenaeus Dunlevy, O.P.
  3. 7 août

    How Can I be a Holy Scientist? - Dr. Karin Öberg & Dr. Paul LaPenna

    Dr. Karin Öberg and Dr. Paul LaPenna take up a deceptively simple question—how can a scientist be holy?—and show how the pursuit of truth in creation can become a path to humility, charity, and wonder before God. This lecture was given on June 27th, 2026, at Dominican House of Studies. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events About the Speaker: Professor Öberg obtained her B.Sc. in Chemistry from Caltech and her Ph.D. in Astronomy from the University of Leiden. She has taught at Harvard since 2013, where she is the Thomas Dudley Cabot Professor of the Natural Sciences. Her scholarship aims to uncover how chemical processes impact the outcome of planet formation, with special attention to the possible habitability of nascent planets. She has published over 250 refereed articles, including in Nature and Science. Professor Öberg has been awarded the Barry Prize by the American Academy of Sciences and Letters (2024), the Harnack Lectureship by the Max Planck Society (2022), a Simons Investigator Award (2019), the American Astronomical Society's Newton Lacy Pierce Prize (2016), a Packard Fellowship (2014), and a Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship (2014). She is the Vice President of the Angelicum Board, a Board Member of the Society of Catholic Scientists, a member of the American Academy of Catholic Scholars and Artists, and a frequent public speaker on questions of science and faith. Dr. Paul LaPenna is a neurologist based in Greenville, South Carolina, specializing in the care of patients with neurological emergencies. He is also an award-winning professor at the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, where he teaches neuroscience and has been recognized as the Professor of the Neuroscience Block from 2019 to 2025. Dr. LaPenna’s professional and academic work is deeply informed by the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas, particularly regarding the integration of faith and reason, science and religion, and the Thomistic understanding of the human person. Through his lectures and writings, he explores how modern neuroscience complements classical philosophy and theology, offering insights into human cognition, virtue formation, and the relationship between mind, brain, and soul. Dr. LaPenna lives in Greenville with his wife Nicole and their three daughters, Catherine, Susanna, and Lucia, who daily remind him of life’s greatest joys and deepest blessings. Keywords: AI, Charity, Creation, Holy Scientist, Humility, Intellectual Virtue, Scientific Method, Studiousness, Theology Of Science, Wonder

    How Can I be a Holy Scientist? - Dr. Karin Öberg & Dr. Paul LaPenna
  4. 6 août

    How Did Study Sanctify St. Thomas Aquinas? / How Does Study Sanctify Me? - Fr. Thomas Aquinas Pickett, O.P. & Sr. Anna Wray, O.P.

    Fr. Thomas Aquinas Pickett and Sr. Anna Wray ask the question "How did study sanctify St. Thomas Aquinas?" St. Thomas serves as an exemplar of how study becomes holy when it is ordered by charity, tempered by right desire, and lived as a way of being with God. This lecture was given on June 27th, 2026, at Dominican House of Studies. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events About the Speaker: Fr Thomas Aquinas Pickett is a son of Ellensburg, Washington and a member of the Western Dominican Province. Apart from running, board games, and coffee, he enjoys studying his namesake, St Thomas Aquinas. Having received his BA in Philosophy at Gonzaga University (where he was NOT a member of the basketball team), his MDiv and MA in theology from the DSPT, his STB from l’Institut Catholique de Toulouse, and his STL and STD from the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception, he is now a professor of theology at the DSPT, assigned to St Albert the Great Priory. Sister Anna Wray is a native of Connecticut and a member of the Dominican Sisters of Saint Cecilia of Nashville, TN.  Sister received her PhD in philosophy from The Catholic University of America, having written her dissertation on Aristotle’s account of the activity of contemplation.  Sister is an assistant professor on the faculty of CUA's School of Philosophy in Washington, DC, where she regularly teaches courses in rhetoric, philosophy of religion, and philosophical psychology.  She is also an adjunct professor for Aquinas College, where she teaches metaphysics and epistemology to her sisters in formation.  Her research and conversational interests include imagination and attention in human agency and speech, the effects of technology on human agency, and form as function and unifying activity. Keywords: Charity, Contemplative Life, Dominican Life, Holy Study, Studiousness, Summa Theologiae, Temperance, Theology, Thomas Aquinas

    How Did Study Sanctify St. Thomas Aquinas? / How Does Study Sanctify Me? - Fr. Thomas Aquinas Pickett, O.P. & Sr. Anna Wray, O.P.

À propos

The Thomistic Institute exists to promote Catholic truth in our contemporary world by strengthening the intellectual formation of Christians at universities, in the Church, and in the wider public square. The thought of St. Thomas Aquinas, the Universal Doctor of the Church, is our touchstone. The Thomistic Institute Podcast features the lectures and talks from our conferences, campus chapters events, intellectual retreats, livestream events,  and much more.  Founded in 2009, the Thomistic Institute is part of the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC.

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