Part of the Romero Days 2025 Conference, this public session will launch the book Óscar Romero and Catholic Social Teaching (University of Notre Dame Press, 2024), which explores the life, mission, and writings of martyred Salvadorian archbishop St. Óscar Romero in the light of contemporary work for justice and human development. Edited by Kellogg faculty fellow Todd Walatka, the book brings together 14 leading scholars on both Romero and Catholic social teaching, combining essays that contextualize Romero’s engagement historically and focus on the challenges facing Christian communities today. Books will be available for purchase and signing by the editor and many chapter authors that will be present.   More information here

Romero Days 2025: The Future of Romero Studies We stand at an exciting time in the study and reception of the witness of Óscar Romero. In the 1980s, 1990s, and the first decade of the 2000s, biographies, personal reflections, theological essays, devotionals, and collections of primary texts made Romero’s witness more accessible around the world. In the 2010s, we saw in increasing number of books that take Romero ever-more seriously as both bishop and a deep theological thinker: as someone, who in both life and word, offered a corpus worthy of critical engagement and creative reception, as someone who continues—if we would listen—to speak into the challenges we face today. All of this has set a foundation for the generative and open-ended time in which we find ourselves. Romero Days 2025 will gather leading scholars from around the world to discuss the most urgent needs and the field of Romero Studies going forward. What parts of his legacy remained underexplored by scholars? How can his vision of peace, justice, and Christian life speak into the problems we face today? What does it look like to move forward as a genuine community of scholars and practitioners? Presented by the Kellogg Institute with cosponsorship by the Cushwa Center and Department of Theology.   More information here

Erin Gallagher Barnhart ‘05 J.D. serves as the assistant federal public defender for the Southern District of Ohio’s Capital Habeas Unit. In her work she represents death row inmates in federal habeas, civil rights litigation, and state clemency matters.  Lamont Hunter spent nearly 18 years on Ohio’s death row. He was convicted and sentenced to death in 2007 on charges of child endangerment, aggravated murder, and rape in the death of his 3-year-old son, Trustin, who suffered fatal injuries after accidentally falling down the stairs. During habeas proceedings, defense counsel discovered exonerating evidence, and Hunter was granted a motion for a new trial and vacated his capital convictions. To obtain his freedom, he pleaded guilty to lesser charges of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment and was sentenced to time served. Since his release in 2023, Hunter has been rebuilding and reconnecting with his family and community while graciously sharing his story of wrongful incarceration and insight into the US criminal legal system. Hunter will discuss his journey from wrongful conviction to freedom, while Barnhart will highlight the critical role of legal advocacy in challenging injustice and securing fair outcomes. This event is part of Death Penalty Abolition Week, co-sponsored by the Notre Dame Law School Exoneration Justice Clinic and the Klau Center for Civil and Human Rights. Originally published at law.nd.edu.

Join in for an artist talk with acclaimed Chicago-based photographer Diana Solís. Since the 1970s, Solis has been documenting Mexican American families in Pilsen, as well as queer kinship and the fight for LGBTQ rights in Chicago.Reception to follow. A selection of Diana Solís's photographs will be on display.Sponsored by the Institute for Latino Studies, Department of American Studies, Department of Anthropology, and the Department of Art, Art History, and Design. Originally published at artdept.nd.edu.

In presenting this vision, our approach will be twofold: to reflect upon the past and to revitalize the present, to celebrate the feminine genealogy of the faith and to amplify the prophetic mission of women in our current moment. By illuminating the riches of the faith and reading the signs of the times, we hope to equip faithful Catholics and formators with a robust foundation for understanding and articulating the Church’s vision for women in our time. Register Here Originally published at mcgrath.nd.edu.

In celebration of the 10th anniversary of the OVI-UND seminar series, the Center for Italian Studies is pleased to host a seminar by Prof. Zygmunt Barański from the University of Notre Dame and Cambridge: ‘La Forma universal di questo nodo’ (Par. 33, 91): Le strutture dell’oltremondo dantesco (‘The universal form of this knot’ (Par. 33, 91): The Structures of Dante's Afterlife)   Gli studi danteschi da tempo sostengono che le strutture sia della Commedia che della sua rappresentazione dell'oltretomba cristiano siano caratterizzate dall'armonia e dall'ordine della loro organizzazione: un poema suddiviso in tre cantiche e cento canti, con ogni cantica dedicata a una parte dell'aldilà. Poema e oltretomba sono quindi modellati sulla creazione di Dio, sul "volume […] per l'universo" (Par. 33, 86–87). Tuttavia, negli ultimi anni, sono emersi dubbi su (i) quanto sia veramente corretto considerare la Commedia e il suo trattamento dell'oltreomba come equilibrati e armoniosi, e (ii) quali possano essere le implicazioni per la nostra comprensione del poema se, come anch'io credo, esso sia segnato da tensioni e presenti un oltretomba in cui i conflitti non sono affatto risolti. Zygmunt G. Barański è professore emerito di Italiano all’università di Cambridge e di Notre Dame. Ha pubblicato ampiamente su Dante, sulla letteratura italiana medievale, sulla ricezione di Dante nei secoli XIV e XX, e sulla letteratura, il cinema e la cultura italiana del XX secolo. Please register here Originally published at italianstudies.nd.edu.