Benedict Institute

MADISON  St. Paul Inside the Walls: the Dio­cesan Center for Evangelization at Bayley-Ellard here has tapped eight local speakers blessed with diverse pastoral and theological insights about the early thinkers of the Church for this summer’s Pope Benedict XVI Institute, titled “Sages and Saints, Father and Mothers: Pope Benedict on the Doctors of the Church.” This year’s Institute will be held from Monday to Wednesday, June 11-13 at St. Paul’s with a day sessions from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and, new to the program, evening sessions from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

During the Institute, a diverse program of speakers — priests, religious, laity, academics, pastoral ministers and St. Paul’s staff — will examine the pope emeritus’ thoughts about the early thinkers of the Church — Fathers of the Church, such as Clement, and Doctors, such as Teresa of Avila — who have appeared in Benedcit’s writings. The Fathers of the Church — bishops and, later, priests and deacons — have been recognized for “their leadership in the early Church…in defending, expounding, and developing Catholic doctrines.” The title of Doctor of the Church has been bestowed on certain saints, whose writings and preaching have “contributed significantly to the formulation of Christian teaching in at least one area,” according to www.Catholic.com.

Now in its fifth year, the Institute will feature the following speakers: Father Paul Manning, diocesan vicar for evangelization and St. Paul’s executive director; Msgr. Raymond Kupke, adjunct professor of Church history at Immaculate Conception Seminary in South Orange, diocesan archivist and pastor of St. Anthony Parish, Hawthorne; Father Pawel Tomczyk, diocesan director of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults and Youth Ministry and chaplain at William Paterson University, Wayne; Father James Platania, a diocesan priest and assistant professor of biblical studies at Immaculate Conception; Father Douglas Milewski, associate professor of theology at Immaculate Conception; Sister of Christian Charity Ann Marie Paul, director of the Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women; Brian Honsberger, diocesan assistant director of evangelization at St. Paul’s; and Gregory Floyd, a teaching follow of core curriculum at Seton Hall University, South Orange, and a member of St. Paul’s Young Adults.

“What Benedict has written about the early thinkers of the Church — and what the early thinkers have written — are very relevant to Catholics who are practicing the faith today in the 21st Century,” said Honsberger, who helped organize the annual Institute.

The Institute’s first day, June 11, will focus on the early Church Fathers. The morning session will start with 10 a.m. Mass in St. Paul’s chapel followed by coffee. At 10:30 a.m., Father Manning will speak about Clement, Ignatius, Justin Martyr and Irenaeus. After lunch at noon, Floyd will talk about Gregory of Nazianen, Gregory of Nyssa and Gregory the Great, starting at 1 p.m. That night’s session will begin with 7 p.m. Mass, followed by a talk by Father Milewski, who will discuss Augustine, starting at 7:30 p.m.

The second day, June 12, will focus on the women Doctors and thinkers of the Church. After 10 a.m. Mass and coffee, Sister Ann Marie will speak about Hildegaard, Catherine, Teresa of Avila and Therese of Lisieux, starting at 10:30 a.m. After lunch at noon, she will continue her examination of these women, starting at 1 p.m. The evening session will start with 7 p.m. Mass and continue with a talk by Father Platania about the women thinkers, starting at 7:30 p.m.

The third day, June 13, will focus on the later Doctors. After 10 a.m. Mass and coffee, Father Tomczyk will talk about Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas, starting at 10:30 a.m. After lunch at noon, Honsberger will talk about Athanasius, Ambrose and John Chrysostom, starting at 1 p.m. The evening session will start with 7 p.m. Mass and continue with a talk by Msgr. Kupke on the Fathers and Doctors, starting at 7:30 p.m.

Funding the institute came from an anonymous husband and wife, who approached Father Paul Manning, St. Paul’s executive director and diocesan vicar for evangelization, in 2014. They sought to help establish a program to promote the teachings of Pope Benedict. They “felt that his teachings are brilliant and under-appreciated and that the local Church needed to find a way to promote them and make them more accessible,” Father Manning said.

In the past, St. Paul’s would invite one or two guest speakers, usually from outside the Diocese, to present at the three-day Institute. But this year, organizers decided to invite eight speakers to make it easier to share the duties of covering close to 30 thinkers that Benedict has mentioned in his writings. This year, St. Paul’s also added evening sessions to give people who work days an opportunity to deepen their faith as well from the insights of many of the presenters, Honsberger said.

In a letter to Benedict last year, Bishop Serratelli wrote about “one of our successful programs:” the annual Pope Benedict XVI Institute, which is “dedicated to promoting your thought, writings and teaching on various topics.”

“Attended by a growing number of laymen and women and clergy, the Institute has explored your teaching on the Word of God, on the Way of Beauty, on the Genius of Human Sexuality and…on the Blessed Virgin Mary…I wanted you to know how much I appreciate your faithful and thoughtful labor in the vineyard and how much we realize, through our Pope Benedict XVI Institute, the worth of your life’s work,” the Bishop wrote to Benedict, who responded in gratitude with a letter that hangs in St. Paul’s many hallway.

The cost is $125 per person and $60 for clergy and Religious. Lunch is included. While St. Paul Inside the Walls does offer a vegetarian option for lunch, it is unable to accommodate any other dietary needs. A 50-percent discount is available to the first 20 people who express need. To register, call St. Paul’s at (973) 377-1004 or visit www.insidethewalls.org. To inquire about the scholarship, email [email protected].