New Lecture Series Focuses on Catholic Intellectual Life

Mount Marty College (MMC) in Yankton, South Dakota is teaming up with the Catholic Diocese of Sioux Falls and the Classics Institute at Dakota State University (DSU) in Madison in a new Initiative which seeks to deepen conversation in the diocese and region as it relates to the Catholic intellectual life. It’s a meeting of the minds as they gather for the first ‘Annual Aquinas Lecture’ which will take place at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Sioux Falls on January 31, 2019, and feature a talk entitled “The Life and Thought of John Paul II” by Joseph Bottum, director of the Classics Institute at DSU.

Joe Rutten, Director of the Benedictine Leadership Institute (BLI) at MMC, says he is excited for what he describes as talks on the mind’s road to God. “We believe that individuals in the diocese are looking for this platform and we’re placing it at the Cathedral because it’s the Mother church of the diocese and as such represents itself as ‘The Teacher.’” Rutten added that the Cathedral is also is the best place to get an audience for such an event.

The lecture, which is sponsored by the Diocese, MMC’s BLI and DSU’s Classics Institute, will be held annually on or near St. Thomas's January feast day. This year’s event will take place on January 31 at 7:00 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Sioux Falls. Attendees are encouraged to use the Duluth Avenue entrance. The event is free and open to the public and light refreshments will be served. A question-and-answer session will follow the forty-five-minute talk.

For more information about the Aquinas Lecture email Joe Rutten at joseph.rutten@mtmc.edu.