Center for Catholic Thought and Culture

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Advancing Liberal Education and Catholic Intellectual Tradition

Established in 2019, the Saint Vincent Center for Catholic Thought and Culture (CCTC) serves as an integrative hub that roots teaching, research, and service in the unique Catholic, Benedictine, and Liberal Arts mission of Saint Vincent College. Enlivened by the missionary boldness of Saint Vincent’s founder, Boniface Wimmer, it supports innovative initiatives that arise from that mission. With Truth as its goal, the CCTC cultivates friendship and cooperation, interiority and reflection on our campus and for our world. All its work is from the heart of and in service to the Church.

“… at a time when many in the world seem to be losing their spiritual and ethical points of reference, finding themselves imprisoned in individualism, superficiality and hypocrisy, the university stands out as a privileged place of friendship, cooperation and, at the same time, of interiority and reflection. From its very origins in the Middle Ages, its founders set Truth as its goal. Today still, professors and students are called to embrace as both their aim and their way of life the common search for truth, for, as Saint John Henry Newman wrote, ‘All true principles run over with God, all phenomena converge to him’ (The Idea of a University, Discourse II).”

–Pope Leo XIV, Address to University Students and Professors
of the Catholic University of Central Africa (April 17, 2026)

Academic Centers

Endowed Chair of Catholic Thought and Culture

Lucas Briola, PhD

A Pittsburgh native, Dr. Lucas Briola graduated from Saint Vincent College, double majoring in theology and history. He earned an M.T.S. from the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry and a Ph.D. from The Catholic University of America. He has authored two books: The Eucharistic Vision of Laudato Si’: Praise, Conversion, and Integral Ecology (The Catholic University of America Press, 2023) and Ora et Labora in Our Common Home: A Benedictine Invitation to Care for Creation (Liturgical Press, 2026). He has published numerous articles in both academic and popular publications. His essay, “Praise Rather Than Solving Problems: Understanding the Doxological Turn of Laudato Si’ Through Lonergan” (Theological Studies) won the 2021 Award for Best Article of the Year from the College Theology Society. His wife, Dr. Catherine Petrany, also teaches theology at Saint Vincent.

Highlights

Lectures and Panels

Bringing together voices from across the Church and academy—from papal biographers to leading scientists to Benedictine abbots—the CCTC hosts nationally and internationally renowned speakers on topics such as faith and mental health, Catholic social teaching, and artificial intelligence. All lectures and panels are open to the public.

Reading Groups

Bringing together students, staff, faculty, and monks, the CCTC regularly hosts reading groups devoted to the Catholic intellectual tradition. Some center on a single text, such as Pope John Paul II’s Evangelium Vitae (1995) or Joseph Vukov’s Staying Human in an Era of Artificial Intelligence (2024). Others explore the thought of influential figures of the tradition like Flannery O’Connor or Joseph Ratzinger.

Faculty Formation

The CCTC hosts an annual three-day summer workshop designed to deepen engagement with our distinctive Catholic, Benedictine, and liberal arts mission. During the workshop, faculty read and discuss foundational texts and consider how to integrate their insights into teaching, scholarship, and campus life. Past themes have included “John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis on Catholic Education,” “The Context and Early Days of Leo XIV,” and “The Legacy of St. John Henry Newman: A Map for Catholic, Benedictine, and Liberal Arts Education Today.”

Conversatio

The CCTC annually publishes Conversatio, an in-house, interdisciplinary academic journal devoted to reflection on our Catholic, Benedictine, and liberal arts mission. Since 2021, the journal has featured scholarly articles, symposia, faculty book reviews, and exemplary student essays from Saint Vincent and beyond. Its subjects range from Saint Vincent monks in the Civil War to Dante’s Divine Comedy.

Conversatio Vol. 5, 2025

Conversatio Vol. 4, 2024

Conversatio Vol. 3, 2023

Conversatio Vol. 2, 2022

Conversatio Vol. 1, 2021

Programs

SVC Summer Institute in Rome

Since 2022, the CCTC has sponsored the SVC Summer Institute in Rome, an immersive month-long academic and cultural experience in the heart of the Eternal City. Students live at the historic Benedictine monastery Sant’Anselmo, perched atop Rome’s famed Aventine Hill. Courses transform the city itself into a classroom. In “Images and Evangelization: Christian Art in the City of Rome,” for instance, students encounter firsthand the masterpieces and sacred spaces of the Christian tradition, from the catacombs and St. Peter’s Basilica to the art treasures of Florence. Beyond the classroom, students pilgrimage to Benedictine landmarks like Monte Cassino and Subiaco, attend papal audiences, and experience the cultural riches of Italy in unforgettable ways.

Sanctity of Life Minor

In 2022, the CCTC established the interdisciplinary Minor in Sanctity of Life. Administered in collaboration with the Theology Department, the program invites students to explore enduring questions of human dignity through the lenses of theology, philosophy, natural science, politics, and sociology. Inspired by what Saint Pope John Paul II called the “Gospel of Life” and what Pope Leo XIV has described as our “magnificent humanity,” the program encourages students to engage the moral and cultural challenges of our age with both intellectual rigor and compassion.

Saint Gregory the Great Ministry Program

In 2026, in partnership with the Diocese of Greensburg and Saint Vincent Campus Ministry, the CCTC established the Saint Gregory the Great Ministry Program in honor of the first Benedictine Pope and author of The Life of Benedict. Rooted in Boniface Wimmer’s original vision of providing spiritual nourishment to the surrounding region (especially the poor), the program supports students discerning a call to pastoral ministry through scholarships, internships at local parishes, and specialized coursework.

Faith and Reason Summer High School Program

Since 2019, the CCTC has sponsored the Faith and Reason Summer High School Program. Every summer, this program gathers high school students on campus for an energizing one-week program that combines intellectual discussion, spiritual retreat, and plenty of fun. The days are filled with engaging seminars led by Saint Vincent faculty, daily Mass with the monks, and lots of time to build lifelong friendship.

CCTC News

Faculty and Staff

Lucas Briola

Associate Professor | Department Chair | Endowed Chair, Catholic Thought and Culture | Director, Saint Vincent Center for Catholic Thought and Culture

Theology, Center for Catholic Thought and Culture

lucas.briola@stvincent.edu

724-805-2723 | Placid Hall 303

📌 School of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences

Samantha Firestone

Coordinator for the Catholic Center for Thought and Culture | Head Coach - Men's and Women's Golf

Athletics, Center for Catholic Thought and Culture

samantha.firestone@stvincent.edu

724-805-2399 | Dale P. Latimer Library

📌 Athletics | Center for Catholic Thought and Culture