Notre Dame theologian to receive 2024 Ratzinger Prize from Vatican
Cyril O’Regan, the Catherine F. Huisking Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame, has been selected to receive the 2024 Ratzinger Prize in Theology, widely regarded as the most prestigious award in the field.
Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, will present the award to O’Regan and to sculptor Etsurō Sotoo during a ceremony at the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City on Nov. 22. Both winners will also have an audience with Pope Francis earlier that day.
“I am delighted and also feel incredibly honored given the caliber of scholars and thinkers who have received it before me,” O’Regan said of the recognition.
O’Regan is the second theologian from Notre Dame to receive the Ratzinger Prize. Rev. Brian E. Daley, S.J., the Catherine F. Huisking Professor of Theology emeritus received the award in 2012 from Pope Benedict XVI.
Nicknamed the “Nobel of Theology,” the Ratzinger Prize was established in 2010 and is the principal initiative of The Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI) Vatican Foundation. It is awarded to “scholars who have distinguished themselves with particular merit in the activity of publication and/or scientific research.” In recent years, the scope has also expanded to include awardees who practice the arts with Christian inspiration.
In announcing the award, the Vatican recognized O’Regan for both his attentive teaching and research, noting that he “has devoted several important articles to the figure and teaching of Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI.” O’Regan spoke of Benedict XVI’s legacy in April at a conference co-hosted by Notre Dame’s de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture and the Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI) Vatican Foundation.
O’Regan is an internationally recognized scholar in systematic theology, the history of Christianity and, particularly, the intersection of theology and continental philosophy in the modern period. He has written numerous articles and books, including “The Heterodox Hegel,” “Gnostic Return in Modernity,” “Theology and the Spaces of Apocalyptic,” “The Anatomy of Misremembering: Balthasar’s Response to Philosophical Modernity” and a forthcoming work titled “Newman and Ratzinger.”
Born in Ireland, O’Regan earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in philosophy from University College Dublin. He then completed a doctoral degree in theology at Yale University and served as a professor of religious studies at the university. O’Regan joined Notre Dame’s Department of Theology in 1999, where he has taught both undergraduate and graduate-level courses, been a part of nearly 150 dissertation committees and continued his research.
“The theology department has been able to integrate scholarship into the complex mission of educating our students in the Christian tradition, while being open to other faiths, and realizing the challenges and opportunities presented by the modern world,” he said. “ As a theologian, I could not imagine being anywhere else.”
Latest ND NewsWire
- One year later, Inauguration Build a ‘dream come true’ for Habitat familiesOne year later, work on Inauguration Build 2024 is complete, offering shelter and so much more to five local families.
- Alumni Association and YoungND honor 2025 Domer DozenThe Notre Dame Alumni Association announced its 2025 Domer Dozen cohort, honoring 12 graduates ages 32 and younger for excellence in their contributions in learning, service, faith and work — the core pillars of the association’s mission.
- Faculty receive prestigious early career awards from National Science FoundationDuring the 2024-25 academic year, four researchers in the University of Notre Dame’s Colleges of Engineering and Science received early-career awards from the National Science Foundation.
- Notre Dame School of Architecture poised for global leadership through historic investmentThe $150 million gift represents an unprecedented commitment in the 160-year history of American architectural education. In recognition of this landmark gift, the school will be renamed the Matthew and Joyce Walsh School of Architecture at Notre Dame.
- Banks that identify fraudsters increase loyalty, retain more defrauded customers than others who never were compromisedIn a new research study, Vamsi Kanuri, the Viola D. Hank Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, found that banks that identify fraudsters earn customer loyalty and lose customers if they can’t say who was responsible for a fraudulent transaction.
- Notre Dame to host summit on AI, faith and human flourishing, introducing new DELTA frameworkThe Institute for Ethics and the Common Good and the Notre Dame Ethics Initiative will host the Notre Dame Summit on AI, Faith and Human Flourishing on the University’s campus from Monday, Sept. 22 through Thursday, Sept. 25. This event will draw together a dynamic, ecumenical group of educators, faith leaders, technologists, journalists, policymakers and young people who believe in the enduring relevance of Christian ethical thought in a world of powerful AI.
