In-person
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For Clergy
For Lay Leaders
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General Audience
Schedule:
5:00 p.m. – Reception with hors d’oeuvres and refreshments (hallway outside 0016 Westbrook)
5:45 p.m. – Lecture (livestream begins)
7:00 p.m. – End
Lecture Description:
Christian theology claims that the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth serves as a genuine revelation of the mystery of God. How should this be understood? Thomas Aquinas understands the human charity and obedience of Jesus as a revelation of the inner life of the Trinity, and in doing so, engages with categories of divine perfection, power, and glory.
How then does Aquinas understand the Cross itself as a manifestation of the glory of God and an epiphany of the inner life of God? How is this related to his doctrine of the atonement, and how does that teaching compare with other important theological figures, both classical and contemporary?
This event is free and open to the public, with RSVP requested.
Fr. Thomas Joseph White, OP
Rector Magnificus of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas (Angelicum), Rome
Fr. Thomas Joseph White is the Rector Magnificus of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas (Angelicum) in Rome.
Originally a native of southeastern Georgia in the United States, Fr. White studied at Brown University, where he converted to Catholicism. He did his doctoral studies in theology at Oxford University and is the author of various books and articles including, Wisdom in the Face of Modernity, A Thomistic Study in Natural Theology (Sapientia Press, 2016), The Incarnate Lord, A Thomistic Study in Christology (The Catholic University of America Press, 2015), The Trinity: On the Nature and Mystery of the One God (Catholic University of America Press, 2022), and Contemplation and the Cross (The Catholic University of America Press, 2025).
With Matthew Levering, he is the co-editor of the academic journal Nova et Vetera. In 2011 he was appointed an ordinary member of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas and in 2019 was named a Distinguished Scholar of the McDonald Agape Foundation. He held the 2018-2019 McInnes Chair for theological inquiry at the Angelicum. In 2022, he was granted an honorary doctorate from the Catholic University of America, and in 2023 he was elected President of the Academy of Catholic Theology. In 2023, Fr. White was also awarded the title Master of Sacred Theology, one of the highest academic awards in the Dominican Order.