The Escobedo Saint John’s Bible Lecture Series
The Escobedo Saint John’s Bible Lecture Series brings to campus biblical scholars whose pursuit of knowledge demonstrates the complementarity of faith and reason illuminated by the artwork of The Saint John’s Bible. Exemplifying the richness of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, it enhances both the intellectual development and spiritual growth of our students.
About the Program
The Escobedo Saint John’s Bible Lecture Series Endowment is for the recruitment of scriptural scholars, research and curriculum design at St. Mary’s University and related programmatic support throughout the Archdiocese of San Antonio. This program ensures St. Mary’s plays a lead role in advancing Catholic Studies.
Thanks to a generous gift from Trustee Emeritus Ruben Escobedo (B.B.A. ’60) and his wife Verónica Salazar Escobedo, the Escobedo Saint John’s Bible Lecture Series was created and allows St. Mary’s University to share the remarkable illuminated pages with members of the St. Mary’s community and with faith communities from across Texas and the nation.
Sacramental Imagination
In addition to the public lectures, each semester artistic events will take place that will bring together professional artists, scholars, teachers and students to work alongside our campus and local communities to foster the importance of the sacramental imagination as is present in the illuminations and calligraphy of The Saint John’s Bible.
They are also interdisciplinary in nature, reflecting on aspects of sacred scripture, interpretation, lived religious experience and spiritual insight in conversation with other fields of study.
Programs
The Escobedo lectures are often part of a larger program in collaboration with academic departments and student life programs, such as University Ministry and Community Engagement, pairing scholarly presentations of the Bible with other creative, intellectual and spiritual endeavors.
The Saint John’s Bible Heritage Edition
At St. Mary’s, the volumes of The Heritage Edition have been in classrooms, at new student orientations, in campus liturgies and at the Marianists’ residential communities. In addition, volumes are exhibited year-round in special hand-crafted display cases in St. Louis Hall, the University’s signature building and the Louis J. Blume Library on campus. Faculty, students, parents, alumni, donors and other friends of the University experiencing The Saint John’s Bible Heritage Edition in conjunction with the Escobedo programs have been astounded by the Bible at both on- and off-campus events at which has been exhibited. Learn more about the Saint John’s Bible at St. Mary’s University.
Learn more
Upcoming Events
The Gospel in Action
Kerry Alys Robinson
Monday, Feb. 22, 2027
7 p.m.
University Center,
Mengler Conference Room
2027 Lectures
The Work of Catholic Charities: The Gospel in Action
Featuring Kerry Alys Robinson
President and CEO, Catholic Charities USAMonday, Feb. 22, 2027
7 p.m.
University Center, Mengler Conference RoomKerry Alys Robinson is President and CEO of Catholic Charities USA, the national membership organization representing 170 Catholic Charities agencies that serve more than 16 million people annually across the United States and its territories. A nationally recognized leader in Catholic philanthropy and Church leadership, Robinson previously served as the founding executive director of Leadership Roundtable, where she worked to strengthen leadership, accountability and collaboration across the Catholic Church.
She also served as the executive director of the Opus Prize Foundation, which honors faith-filled leaders dedicated to alleviating human suffering worldwide. A sought-after speaker and author, Robinson is the award-winning author of Imagining Abundance: Fundraising, Philanthropy and a Spiritual Call to Service. She holds degrees from Georgetown University and Yale Divinity School and has received numerous honors for her leadership and service to the Church.
About the speaker
Past Speakers
The Escobedo Saint John’s Bible Lecture Series — Past Speakers
Fall 2026
“Magnificat: Fiesta and Participation in the Community” featuring Claudia Herrera-Montero.
Fall 2025
“Formation in Faith — Reading the Bible Today” featuring Christopher McMahon.
Fall 2024
“Belonging to the Body of Christ — Pauline Images and the Work of Caring,” featuring Allison Gray.
Fall 2024
“Depression as a Wilderness Experience — The Bible as a Resource for Life with Depression,” featuring Jessica Coblentz.
Fall 2022
“Between the Throne and the Cross — Divine Encounter and Prophetic Mediation in the St. John’s Bible” featuring Anathea Portier-Young.
Spring 2022
“Apocalypse, Now What? Latina/o/xs and the Book of Revelation, featuring Jacqueline M. Hidalgo.
Fall 2021
“U.S. Immigration and Biblical Interpretation — The Politics of Belonging,” featuring Francisco Lozada, Jr.
Spring 2021
“I Am Babylon: A Postcolonial Womanist Interpretation of the Woman Babylon in the Book of Revelation,” featuring Rev. Shanell T. Smith.
Fall 2020
“Biblical Hagar in Black and White,” featuring Nyasha Junior.
View Past Speakers
Contact Us
For any questions, contact Jason King, Ph.D., Beirne Chair and Director of the Center for Catholic Studies.
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