Saturdays with the Saints has established itself as a popular Notre Dame football pregame ritual that combines the University’s rich traditions of Catholic faith and spirited game days. In this lecture, Michael Baxter, associate professor of the practice, McGrath Institute for Church Life, will present on "Julia Greeley of Denver: A Black Woman, A White Angel, and a Red Wagon for the Works of Mercy on Wheels." The lectures take place in the Andrews Auditorium, located on the lower level of Geddes Hall, adjacent to the Hesburgh Library. The talks are free and open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to arrive early as the events tend to fill to capacity.Originally published at mcgrath.nd.edu.

On May 12, 2025, a group of 59 white South Africans arrived in the United States as refugees on a flight chartered by the U.S. government. The new arrivals, many of whom are Afrikaner descendants of Dutch settlers, were granted refugee status based on claims they faced racial discrimination and violence in South Africa. At the center of this situation is South Africa’s land restitution program, which is designed to return land, under certain conditions, to Black communities that were dispossessed during the country’s Apartheid era. John Eligon, the Johannesburg bureau chief for The New York Times, has covered this story from all angles — including the passage of South Africa’s Expropriation Act, reactions to the policy in different communities, the Trump administration’s creation of a special refugee program for South Africa’s racial minorities, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s pushback against narratives amplified by President Trump, Elon Musk, and others. Eligon will share insights from his reporting during “Post-Apartheid? Restitution and Racial Fear in South Africa,” a public conversation moderated by Dory Mitros Durham, assistant dean for academic affairs and associate teaching professor in Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs. About the speakerJohn Eligon has served as The New York Times’ Johannesburg bureau chief since 2021. In that role, he is responsible for covering countries in southern Africa. He writes about how big trends and phenomena — from climate change to political upheaval — influence and shape the lives of ordinary people across southern Africa. “My work seeks to upend easy assumptions and stereotypes about the region,” he says. “I strive to show readers a side of Africa they rarely see or hear about, like how the Apartheid-era townships have become a hub of nightlife for South Africa’s rising Black middle class, or how the Rugby World Cup unified a very divided South Africa.” Eligon’s career at The New York Times started in 2005 as a sports reporter. He has covered courts for the Metro section and was a correspondent for the National section based in Kansas City, Missouri. He spent most of his time on the National desk covering issues of race across the United States. He was The Times’ first reporter on the ground in Minneapolis following the murder of George Floyd, and wrote extensively about the national movement for racial justice that it sparked. Several years earlier, he helped to shepherd The Times’ coverage of the police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Eligon was born in the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago, and grew up mainly in Florida and Michigan. He is a graduate of Northwestern University, where he earned degrees in journalism and German. Originally published at klau.nd.edu.

Register here  Jennifer Szalai recently published a piece in the New York Times about several recent books that view empathy negatively. We will have a conversation with her about these books and the role of empathy in this cultural moment. Virtues & Vocations is a social movement committed to individual and communal flourishing through the cultivation of character across the professions. This aspirational, cross professional learning community understands thriving professions are the backbone of thriving societies and knows professional excellence requires both competence and character.  Originally listed at socialconcerns.nd.edu/.

Please join the Keough-Naughton Institute for a talk by Gareth Prendergast, colonel and head of Strategic Force Design in the Irish Defence Forces, on his new book Clear - Hold - Build: How the Free State Won the Irish Civil War (Eastwood Publications, 2025). Copies of the book will be available for purchase after the reading. About Clear - Hold - BuildResearching a civil war is always fraught with danger. While writing a historical textbook 50 years after the end of hostilities, F.S.L. Lyons referred to the Irish Civil War as “burned so deep into the heart and mind of Ireland that it is not yet possible for the historian to approach it with the detailed knowledge or the objectivity which it deserves." Pushing to one side the ideological differences still prevalent in Ireland, Clear - Hold - Build: How the Free State Won the Irish Civil War by Gareth Prendergast, now explains the construct behind the Free State Strategy during the Irish Civil War. As a serving officer in the Irish Defence Forces and a former graduate of the US Army Command and General Staff College, Prendergast utilises his academic and military experience to offer a unique perspective of this contentious period in Irish history. In this newly published book, Prendergast analyses the Clearance and Hold operations conducted by the Leadership of the National Army in order to face down a violent insurgency primarily based in the ‘Munster Republic.’ He credits the Build or Rebuild operations conducted by the Free State as the main contributory reason why the National Army ultimately won the civil war. Even the words ‘won the civil war’ are contentious to this day. Using the lens of modern counterinsurgency doctrine to connect tactical actions to strategic success, Prendergast presents readers with a nuanced examination of the conflict and invites them to draw their own conclusions. You can listen to Gareth Prendergast discuss Clear - Hold - Build on the Irish History Show Podcast here. About Gareth Prendergast Gareth Prendergast is a serving colonel in the Irish Defence Forces with over 30 years of service. He has seven operational tours of duty overseas including the Middle East, Balkans and Mali. At home he has served in infantry battalions on the Irish border during the ‘Troubles’, in Kilkenny and Dublin. He has also served in the Military College and Defence Force Headquarter on numerous occasions, including appointments in the Command and Staff School, OIC Military Finance Branch, and Director of Logistics. He is currently serving as Head of Strategic Force Design. Prendergast has a Masters of Military Art and Science from his year spent on the US Army Command and General Staff Course in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and he recently achieved his doctorate (Ph.D.) after six years study and research in the history department of UCC. Colonel Prendergast recently published his first book, Clear – Hold – Build, How the Free State won the Irish Civil War (1922-1923) with Eastwood Publications in 2025. This book encompasses his previous experiences and military education as he spent over six years researching how the newly established Irish National Army utilised a counterinsurgency doctrine that allowed them to convert tactical victories into overall strategic success. Originally published at irishstudies.nd.edu.

Walter Frederick Osborne (Irish, 1859–1903), Miss Mollie, Daughter of J.G. Nutting, 1893, oil on canvas, 36 x 25 ½ inches (canvas). Private Collection, Ireland. © Raclin Murphy Museum of Art. Photo: Gillian Buckley, DublinPlease join us as we welcome Brendan Rooney who will expand on his study of Osborne’s portraits published in the present exhibition catalogue. In his presentation, Rooney will introduce Osborne as a person, examining the sometimes harsh realities of life with which he had to contend and the realist tradition on which the artist drew. Brendan Rooney serves as head curator at the National Gallery of Ireland. He is the author/editor of numerous books, including Creating History: Stories of Ireland in Art (2016). In addition to the in-focus exhibition Walter Frederick Osborne: The Guinness Portrait presented in 2024, he has curated several exhibitions of the work of prominent Irish painters, among them Roderic O’Conor, John Lavery, Jack B. Yeats, and most recently Evie Hone and Mainie Jellett. He is currently working on a monographic study of the painter Nathaniel Hone (1718–1784). Before the lecture in the atrium, you are encouraged to explore Walter Osborne’s work on view in the Temporary Exhibition Galleries on Level 2. The exhibition will remain open until the lecture begins. Originally published at raclinmurphymuseum.nd.edu.

Get a one-hour sampling of the power of a Notre Dame liberal arts education with the College of Arts & Letters' Crash Course series on home football Fridays! Each event features an A&L professor leading a class session pulled directly from some of the most popular and riveting courses on campus."Becoming a Force for Social Good: Sociology in Action" with Terence McDonnell and Erin McDonnellSociology  How can we build stronger communities and make a difference in the world around us? This dynamic course equips students with the tools and confidence to turn values into action. Blending cutting-edge social science, Catholic social tradition, and hands-on engagement in immersive methods like interviews and policy design, students explore real solutions to real problems and learn how to cultivate trust, belonging, and care in the service of the good. In this session, attendees will experience how Notre Dame educates students to lead lives of impact and purpose.  Alumni, friends, prospective students and their parents, and anyone else on campus are welcome.   Visit Crash Course for a complete listing of courses this season.Originally published at al.nd.edu.

Saturdays with the Saints has established itself as a popular Notre Dame football pregame ritual that combines the University’s rich traditions of Catholic faith and spirited game days. In this lecture, Rev. Greg Haake, C.S.C., associate professor, Romance Languages and Literatures, will present on "Abundance of Blessings: the Sacred Heart, Blessed Basil Moreau, and Notre Dame." The lectures take place in the Andrews Auditorium, located on the lower level of Geddes Hall, adjacent to the Hesburgh Library. The talks are free and open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to arrive early as the events tend to fill to capacity.Originally published at mcgrath.nd.edu.

Tom Catena is an American physician who has been practising in Gidel in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan since 2008. The region has been an area of active conflict since the mid-1980s, and Catena is the only surgeon for the surrounding population of 750,000 people. Catena credits his Catholic faith for his work, and says he is inspired by St. Francis of Assisi. He is known by locals as “Dr. Tom” and is widely respected by the population. In 2017, he was awarded the second annual Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity. He is chair of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative. The annual Rev. Bernie Clark, C.S.C., Lecture was created by the Institute for Social Concerns in 2009 in order to highlight justice issues and themes related to the common good. The fall event honors Father Bernie who died young but influenced students with the life lesson of a “Theory of Enough.” Past speakers have included scholars and practitioners working to create a more just future for all.

Walter Frederick Osborne (Irish, 1859–1903), Tea in the Garden, 1903, oil on canvas, 54 3/8 x 68 ¼ inches (canvas). Lane Gift, 1912, Hugh Lane Gallery, HL.24. Collection & Image © Hugh Lane GalleryWhen Dublin’s innovative Municipal Gallery of Modern Art opened in 1908, three paintings by Walter Osborne hung on its walls. All were donated by the gallery’s founder, Hugh Lane, who was a great admirer of the artist. After Osborne’s death in 1903, Lane was keen to secure Osborne’s legacy though the acquisition of works by public collections. Come along on a journey through Dublin’s art scene at the turn of the century as Curator Logan Sisley considers the role of art in building Ireland’s national identity and the place of Osborne’s art in that effort.Presenter: Logan Sisley hails from New Zealand and studied art history at the University of Aukland. In 2007 he joined the staff of the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin where he was recently appointed head of collections. He has published extensively on modern art in Ireland, including histories of the Hugh Lane Gallery and studies of John Lavery and Sarah Purser. In 2021 he was the co-curator for the exhibition Studio & State: The Laverys and the Anglo-Irish Treaty. Before the lecture in the atrium, we encourage you to explore Walter Osborne’s work on view in the Temporary Exhibition Galleries on Level 2. The exhibition will remain open until the lecture begins. Originally published at raclinmurphymuseum.nd.edu.

This will be the third meeting of the critical reading of Dante's Paradiso, organized by Prof. Zygmunt G. Barański (University of Notre Dame) and Prof. Maria Antonietta Terzoli (Universität Basel), in collaboration with the Istituto di Italianistica dell’Università di Basilea and The William & Katherine Devers Program in Dante Studies at the University of Notre Dame. At this meeting participants will discuss Cantos XIII-XIX.   Find out more here. Originally published at italianstudies.nd.edu.

This will be the third meeting of the critical reading of Dante's Paradiso, organized by Prof. Zygmunt G. Barański (University of Notre Dame) and Prof. Maria Antonietta Terzoli (Universität Basel), in collaboration with the Istituto di Italianistica dell’Università di Basilea and The William & Katherine Devers Program in Dante Studies at the University of Notre Dame. At this meeting participants will discuss Cantos XIII-XIX.   Find out more here. Originally published at italianstudies.nd.edu.

Join us for thematic tours inspired by our temporary exhibition Homecoming: Walter Osborne’s Portraits of Dublin, 1880–1900. These focused experiences in the galleries seek to help us more deeply consider works of art in light of the central theme, “Painting Generations,” woven through the exhibition. During the tour, participants will engage with works from the exhibition as well as a selected piece from the Museum’s permanent collection. Our goal is to foster a broader conversation about the connections between art, culture, and the world around us while inviting a nuanced understanding of the themes that shape Osborne’s work.    Walter Frederick Osborne (Irish, 1859–1903), Violet with a Rabbit, ca. 1900, Oil on canvas, 18 3/4 × 14 7/8 in. (48 × 38 cm) unframed, Úna Ó Callanáin CollectionOriginally published at raclinmurphymuseum.nd.edu.

This will be the third meeting of the critical reading of Dante's Paradiso, organized by Prof. Zygmunt G. Barański (University of Notre Dame) and Prof. Maria Antonietta Terzoli (Universität Basel), in collaboration with the Istituto di Italianistica dell’Università di Basilea and The William & Katherine Devers Program in Dante Studies at the University of Notre Dame. At this meeting participants will discuss Cantos XIII-XIX.   Find out more here. Originally published at italianstudies.nd.edu.