Free Event
St. Mary’s University welcomes you to a free, annual lecture series that engages the Catholic Intellectual Tradition — a tradition at the heart of the educational enterprises at St. Mary’s.
About The MacTaggart Catholic Intellectual Tradition Lecture Series
Glenn MacTaggart (J.D. ’79, M.A. ’89), longtime attorney and counsel with Prichard Hawkins Young LLP, and his wife, Karla MacTaggart, gave a major gift to St. Mary’s to create the MacTaggart Catholic Intellectual Tradition Lecture Series Endowment.
The lecture series is a cornerstone of the Center for Catholic Studies which is a result of the University’s Defining Moment Comprehensive Campaign.
2026-2027 Lecture Series
Understanding Seeking Faith
Business in the Light of the Gospel
Featuring the Rev. Patrick Flanagan, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Theology and Religious Studies, St. John’s UniversityTuesday, Oct. 27, 2026
12:30 p.m.
Albert B. Alkek Business Building, AtriumIn collaboration with Business Week, Flanagan examines how the Gospel can inform the practice of business, connecting everyday decisions in the workplace to broader questions of vocation, leadership and the common good.
About the Speaker
The Rev. Patrick Flanagan, Ph.D., is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at St. John’s University in Queens, New York. A Vincentian priest and theological ethicist, his scholarship explores the intersection of Catholic Social Teaching, technology and public life, with particular attention to the moral challenges posed by emerging technologies and contemporary social issues.
He is the co-author of Good Business: Catholic Social Teaching at Work in the Marketplace and has published widely on Christian thought, business, leadership and Catholic social teaching. His teaching and research address the ethical dimensions of technology, health care and social institutions, exploring how faith traditions can engage the complex questions facing contemporary society.
The Arts in the Light of the Gospel
Featuring Paul Manoguerra, Ph.D.
Director and Curator, Jundt Art Museum, Gonzaga UniversityThursday, Nov. 12, 2026
12:30 p.m.
University Center, Mengler Conference RoomDrawing on his experience as a curator, educator and scholar of American art, Manoguerra explores how the visual arts can illuminate the Gospel, connecting artistic expression to broader questions of beauty, meaning, faith and the human experience.
About the Speaker
Paul Manoguerra, Ph.D., is Director and Curator of the Jundt Art Museum at Gonzaga University, where he oversees exhibitions, collections, educational programming and community engagement. Previously, he served for 11 years as Chief Curator and Curator of American Art at the Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia.
He specializes in American visual culture from the colonial period to the present. His research examines the relationships among history, material culture and artistic production, with particular interests in museum studies, curatorial practice and the ways cultural institutions shape our understanding of the past.
Law in the Light of the Gospel
Featuring Elisabeth Rain Kincaid, Ph.D., J.D.
Director of the Institute for Faith and Learning, Baylor UniversityTuesday, Feb. 9, 2027
12:30 p.m.
Sarita Kenedy East Law Library, Law Alumni RoomKincaid explores how legal thought and practice can be reimagined in light of the Gospel, drawing on her work in law and theology to connect questions of justice, legal reasoning and civic life to broader themes of Christian moral responsibility and public engagement.
About the Speaker
Elisabeth Rain Kincaid, Ph.D., J.D., is Director of the Institute for Faith and Learning at Baylor University, where she works at the intersection of theology, vocation and public life. A theologian, author and educator, her scholarship focuses on virtue, character and Christian approaches to contemporary social and cultural questions.
She is the author of Law from Below: How the Thought of Francisco Suárez, SJ, Can Renew Contemporary Legal Engagement. Before entering academia, Kincaid practiced as a white-collar criminal defense attorney and worked in private equity, experiences that continue to inform her teaching and writing. She has published widely in both academic and public-facing publications and is a frequent speaker on topics related to faith, work and vocation.
Parking Information
Event parking is available in Lot V. Click the links to view our interactive campus map with Wayfinding capability. Accessibility parking is available in both lots.
Past Lectures
Education for the Whole Person Lecture Series
History of Catholicism in San Antonio
Deborah E. Kanter, Ph.D.
Drawing on her book Pioneers of Latino Ministry, Kanter explores the history of Catholic life and ministry in San Antonio, connecting local history to broader questions of faith, identity and formation.
Deborah E. Kanter, Ph.D., is Professor of History Emeritus at Albion College, where she previously served as the John S. Ludington Endowed Professor and Chair of the Department of History. A historian of U.S. Latino and Latin American history, her research focuses on the intersections of migration, religion and community formation.
She is the author of the award-winning Chicago Católico: Making Catholic Parishes Mexican (2020). Her most recent volume, Pioneers of Latino Ministry: Claretians and the Evolving World of Catholic America (2025), examines the missionary roots of Hispanic ministry in San Antonio and the United States.
About Deborah Kanter
Inspiration from Our Marianist Her-Story for a Sustainable, Hope-Filled Future for People and Planet
Sister Leanne Jablonski, F.M.I.
In collaboration with Women’s History Month and campus ministry partners, Jablonski reflects on care for creation, ecological education and Marianist approaches to environmental formation and responsibility.
Sister Leanne Jablonski, F.M.I., is the Director of the Marianist Environmental Education Center in Dayton, Ohio. She is a Marianist Sister, a native of Winnipeg, Canada, a scientist, pastoral minister and educator.
The 100-acre Marianist Environmental Education Center specializes in restoring communities of land and people and focuses on ecological restoration through research and service-learning, bridging the faith and science communities and environmental justice.
About Sister Jablonski
Catholic Imagination, Children’s Literature and Formation
LuElla D’Amico, Ph.D.
D’Amico examines how children’s literature and storytelling serve as sites of theological imagination and moral formation, drawing on her new book Wondrous Reading: Encountering the Catholic Faith through Children’s Literature.
LuElla D’Amico, Ph.D., is Associate Professor at the University of the Incarnate Word. Her scholarly and teaching focus is on early United States literature, children’s literature, Christian women’s writing and girlhood studies.
She has three edited collections on girls’ literature. Her new book, Wondrous Reading: Encountering the Catholic Faith through Children’s Literature, looks at classic and popular children’s books via a Catholic lens. She has written for Church Life Journal, America Magazine, Busted Halo and Current, among other venues.
About D’Amico
2026 Education for the Whole Person
The Catholic Intellectual Tradition for Our World Today Lecture Series
The Catholic Intellectual Tradition for Our World Today Through the Environment
Amanda Baugh, Ph.D.
Baugh draws on her published book Falling in Love with Nature: The Values of Latinx Catholic Environmentalism (NYU Press, 2024), drawing out some of its religious themes and how they contribute to a better understanding of environmentalism.
The Catholic Intellectual Tradition for Our World Today Through Law
Richard Garnett, J.D.
Garnett focuses on drawing upon the Catholic intellectual tradition of religious liberty and human dignity, including religious freedom within the First Amendment, particularly emphasizing the autonomy of religious institutions.
The Catholic Intellectual Tradition for Our World Today Through Community
Jonathan Tran, Ph.D.
Tran’s lecture focuses on the need humans have for community and relationships and the forces that seem to be dividing and isolating people.
2025 The Catholic Intellectual Tradition for Our World Today
The Future of Catholic Intellectual Tradition Lecture Series
The Future of Catholic Intellectual Tradition from a Laudato Si’ Perspective
Nancy Rourke, Ph.D.
Rourke’s book, “Ecological Moral Character: A Catholic Model”, was published in January of 2024 as part of the “Moral Traditions” series of books from Georgetown University Press.
The Future of Catholic Intellectual Tradition from a Hispanic Perspective
Victor Carmona, Ph.D.
Carmona grapples with the implications of the Catholic tradition through graduate studies in moral theology and Christian ethics at the University of Notre Dame.
The Future of Catholic Intellectual Tradition from a Marianist Perspective
Timothy Gabrielli, Ph.D.
Gabrielli’s first book, “Confirmation: How a Sacrament of God’s Grace Became All About Us,” offers a history of the theology and practice of Confirmation in the 20th-century United States. His second, “One in Christ: Virgil Michel, Louis-Marie Chauvet, and Mystical Body Theology” revisits mystical body of Christ theology.
2024 The Future of Catholic Intellectual Tradition
Contact Us
For any questions, contact the Center for Catholic Studies.
Center for Catholic Studies
Location: Reinbolt Hall
Email: centerforcatholicstudies@stmarytx.edu