LATROBE, PA – Guided by Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical “Magnifica Humanitas,” the Saint Vincent Center for Catholic Thought and Culture will present “‘Magnifica Humanitas’: The Sanctity of Life in an Era of Artificial Intelligence,” scheduled for Nov. 13-14.
The gathering is open to and designed for the public. While scholarly in depth, the talks will be accessible to a broad audience, from high school students and up. Attendance and meals are free but preregistration online is required by filling out the web form or emailing CCTC@stvincent.edu. Attendees have the option of choosing specific lectures and meals.
“People from all walks of life, from tech executives to political leaders, have weighed in on the encyclical. Our culture’s fears and fascinations surrounding AI have made Pope Leo’s words timely and momentous,” said Dr. Lucas Briola, C’13, CCTC director, Endowed Chair in Catholic Thought and Culture, and associate professor and chair of the Department of Theology, housed in Saint Vincent College’s School of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. “At the same time, ‘Magnifica Humanitas’ is about more than just AI. Pope Leo proposes a Catholic vision of the human person that allows us to assess whether our technologies, our societies and our lifestyles support the sanctity of all human life. The conference will bring some of the brightest thinkers in our Church today to our campus as we think about Pope Leo’s calls to proclaim the magnificence of our humanity.”
The conference kicks off on Friday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center, located within the Robert S. Carey Student Center on campus. Best-selling author and prominent cultural commentator Leah Libresco Sargeant will lay out the human vision of the encyclical. Her books, “The Dignity of Dependence” (University of Notre Dame, 2025) and “Building the Benedict Option” (Ignatius Press, 2018) will be available for purchase and signing that evening.
Following a half-hour breakfast Saturday morning in DiPadova Hall, Dr. Veronica Roberts Ogle, a political philosopher from Villanova University (Pope Leo’s alma mater) and renowned expert on Saint Augustine, will present “Two Cities, Two Construction Sites: Learning to Build with Saint Augustine and Pope Leo in ‘Magnifica Humanitas.’” Ogle in her 9 a.m. lecture will discuss the relevance of Augustine’s ideas for the encyclical and the Holy Father’s diagnosis of our contemporary world.
Dr. Mariele Courtois, a theologian and director of the Center for Technology and Human Dignity from Benedictine College, will follow at 10:15 a.m. with a lecture on how Saint Carlo Acutis can help us live out the calls of “Magnifica Humanitas” through the Eucharist.
The conference continues with a one-hour panel starting at 11:30 a.m. featuring Saint Vincent College faculty. The panel, “Teaching the Sanctity of Life: ‘Magnifica Humanitas’ at Saint Vincent” reflects on how the encyclical’s contents shape the work at the College. Lunch follows at 12:30 p.m. to close out the day.
At Saint Vincent, the idea of safeguarding the sanctity of the human person in the time of artificial intelligence has been profoundly important. Since 2022, the CCTC has sponsored a unique interdisciplinary minor in the Sanctity of Life that guides students through questions of human dignity across academic disciplines such as theology, philosophy, natural science and psychology.
The upcoming conference in part continues to position Saint Vincent as a leader in receiving Pope Leo’s pontificate. The College in late April hosted author Elise Ann Allen for the American release of “Pope Leo XIV: The Biography,” the first substantive biography of the new pope.
In late May, Father Paul Taylor, O.S.B., C’87, S’91, PhD, president of Saint Vincent College, was quoted extensively in regional media outlets on his reaction to the Holy Father’s encyclical and thoughts on the sanctity of life. In September, Father Paul participated in the final plenary panel at AI Horizons Summit in Pittsburgh, during which he drew inspiration from Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical.
“Saint Vincent College, particularly through the Center for Catholic Thought and Culture, is a trailblazer and on the forefront of the important issues that affect our community, our Church and our world,” Father Paul said. “Bringing the best scholars together for this conference in the light of ‘Magnifica Humanitas’ will provide necessary guidance to all the members of our community as we seek to ‘safeguard the human person in the age of artificial intelligence,’ in the words of Pope Leo XIV.”
On campus, the CCTC hosted its annual seminar to open the new academic year with the theme “The Legacy of St. John Henry Newman: A Map for Catholic, Benedictine and Liberal Arts Education Today,” taking its cue from Pope Leo XIV’s writings on Catholic education and his declaration of Newman as co-patron saint of Catholic education.
Pope Leo’s encyclical gives the CCTC’s work a new sense of urgency. During the fall 2026 semester, the CCTC is sponsoring a campus reading group on “Magnifica Humanitas” as students, faculty, staff and Benedictine community members gather to reflect together on how to concretely safeguard the sanctity of life in our current day.
