St. Catherine of Siena Lecture

Beginning in 2026, the Aquinas Center’s Major Catholic Speaker Lecture will be renamed the St. Catherine of Siena Lecture. 

Named for the Dominican saint and Doctor of the Church, St. Catherine of Siena was an advocate through her writings and commitment to dialogue.  At the young age of 16, she joined a group of Dominican lay women that were dedicated to prayer and charity.  Motivated by her love of the Church, she was tireless in her papal and political advocacy work throughout her later life.  She is credited with writing over four hundred letters, in addition to The Dialogue, her most well-known book.  Her writings, influence and impact on the Catholic Church cannot be overstated.

The Aquinas Center began its Major Catholic Speaker Lecture series in 2010.  The annual Major Catholic Speaker Lecture invites a Catholic speaker of significant stature to address a topic of pressing concern to the Catholic Church and larger society.  Past speakers (listed below) have included esteemed scholars, Catholic leaders, two Cardinals and the Apostolic Nuncio. 
Dr. Anna Rowlands - 2025 Lecture
All of the St. Catherine of Siena/Major Catholic Speaker lectures can be viewed on our YouTube Channel.  
Past speakers include:
  • Dr. Anna Rowlands, St. Hilda Chair in Catholic Social Thought and Practice, University of Durham (2025)
  • Cardinal Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States of America (2024)
  • Dr. Cecilia González-Andrieu, Professor of Theological Studies, Loyola Marymount University (2022)
  • Dr. Shannen Dee Williams, Associate Professor of History, University of Dayton (2022)
  • Dr. Richard Gaillardetz, Joseph Professor of Catholic Systematic Theology and Chair of the Theology Department at Boston College (2019)
  • Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and President of the Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews (2018)
  • Fr. Bryan Hehir, Professor of the Practice of Religion and Public Life, Harvard University (2018)
  • Dr. Carolyn Woo, President Catholic Relief Services (2017)
  • Sr. Simone Campbell, S.S.S. Nuns on the Bus and Director of Network (2016)
  • John L. Allen, Jr., Associate editor at the Boston Globe and senior Vatican analyst for CNN (2015)
  • Dr. Miguel Diaz, former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See (2014)
  • Sr. Carol Keehan, D.C. President of the Catholic Health Association of the United States (2013)
  • Father Timothy Radcliffe, O.P., former Master General of the Dominican Order (2012)
  • Professor Mary Ann Glendon, Harvard University Law School and United States Ambassador to the Vatican (2011)
  • President John Jenkins, President, University of Notre Dame (2011)
  • Cardinal Walter Kaspar, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (2010)