This week we conclude our Science and Faith series with a conversation with Sister Ilia Delio, a Franciscan sister and theologian who trained as a neuroscientist before entering religious life. She tells us how looking at a single neuron under an electron microscope first opened her to “the mysteries of creation.” From there we turn to evolution as the great story of our age, and to how an unfinished, still-unfolding universe might change the way we picture God. We hear about the remarkable and lonely life of the Jesuit paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, and how the women in his life kept his work from being lost. Finally, we ask what all of this means for artificial intelligence: a technology some of us love and some of us fear. More about Ilia: Ilia Delio, OSF, PhD, is a Franciscan Sister of Washington DC, and Professor at Villanova University. She is the Founder and Executive Director of the World Institute for Science, Religion and Culture, an online educational forum focused on integrative thinking and personal formation. She is the author of over twenty-five books. Ilia graduated with a B.S. in Biology from DeSales University, a master’s degree in biology from Seton Hall University, a doctorate in Pharmacology from Rutgers University-New Jersey Medical School, and a doctorate in Historical Theology from Fordham University. She is also the recipient of four Honorary degrees, as well as the Association for Catholic Colleges and Universities Monika Hellwig Award for her contributions to the Catholic Intellectual Tradition. Her area of research is Systematic-Constructive theology with a focus on religion and evolution, following the vision of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. She continues to develop a new framework of God, self, and world through the integration of science and religion, mapping the next level of human evolution in an age of artificial intelligence. Some of Sister Ilia Delio’s books The Unbearable Wholeness of Being: God, Evolution, and the Power of Love (Orbis, 2013). The hosts quote its preface.The Not-Yet God: Carl Jung, Teilhard de Chardin, and the Relational Whole (Orbis, 2023)The Christian Mutation: Reclaiming the Dynamic God of Jesus (Orbis, forthcoming - October 28, 2026)Re-Enchanting the Earth: Why AI Needs Religion (Orbis, 2020) Theology and religion Pierre Teilhard de Chardin: the cosmic Christ, the Omega Point, the noosphere, and his question, “Who will give evolution its own God?”Robert Bellah, Religion in Human Evolution (2011)Karl Jaspers on the Axial Age (The Origin and Goal of History)John D. Caputo, The Weakness of God (2006)Pope Leo XIV, Magnifica Humanitas (dated May 15, 2026), his encyclical on AI Thank you for listening to Cross Connections. Be sure to follow or like us on your favorite podcasting app to find us easily each week, or join our email list at https://stdavidschurch.org/crossconnections/ We love getting your questions and comments! Leave us a voicemail at 484.588.5656 or send us an email at crossconnections@stdavidschurch.org. If you like what you hear, please share this episode with your friends and rate us in Spotify and Apple podcasts so other people can find us as well. And if you really love what you hear, you can donate to St. David's Church at https://stdavidschurch.org/giving/ and write "Cross Connections" in the memo line. Logo graphic design by Natalee Hill. Podcast editing by BLiNCK Studios https://www.blinckstudios.com/ in collaboration with our hosts. Stock Media Music provided by Marscott and MoodMode / Pond5. Cross Connections is a ministry of St. David’s Episcopal Church in Wayne, PA. You are welcome to learn more about all of St. David’s worship and ministries at https://stdavidschurch.org/
