The Human Journey Colloquia Series

Upcoming Events

Mass of the Holy Spirit

September 17, 2025 | 2 p.m. | Chapel of the Holy Spirit

The annual celebration of the Mass of the Holy Spirit at the beginning of the academic year is a long standing tradition in Catholic colleges and universities to witness to the university’s Catholic identity and to pray for the gifts of the Holy Spirit—wisdom, knowledge, understanding—for the students, faculty, and community of the university for the academic year.

Constitution Day Hackathon

September 17, 2025 | 5 p.m. | Loris Forum

If you could "hack" the Constitution what would you change and why? Three students present and defend their "hacks" to a panel comprised of two faculty members and 1 student (the winner of last year's Hackathon). Moderated by Professor Marylena Mantas-Kourounis (Political Science & Global Affairs)

Constitution Day Hackathon High School Version

September 24, 2025 | 8:30 a.m. | Edgerton Theatre

Students from SHU's Notre Dame High School will compete against students from Trumbull High School moderate the event. Moderated by Professor Marylena Mantas-Kourounis (Political Science & Global Affairs)

Exploring Innovative Solutions to the Explosion of Online Child Sexual Abuse

September 24, 2025 | 5 p.m. | Martire Theatre

Guest speaker Mary Pulido will be presenting. Co-sponsored with the School of Social Work and the School of Social Work Club.

Trans Athletes: Myths and Realities

September 25, 2025 | 7 p.m. | Loris Forum

This colloquium will feature a screening of an episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, followed by a Q&A moderated by Professor Bill Yousman of the Communication & Media Studies department and Kyle M. Humphreys, Associate Director of LGBTQ+ Affairs.

Agape Latte

September 25, 2025 | 7 p.m. | Linda's Fireplace

Agape Latte is a speaker series that invites faculty or staff members to share about their faith as it relates to college students' experiences today. This month's guest speaker will be Greg Madrid, Executive Director for Residence Life and staff adviser for Habitat for Humanity. There will also be a musical guest, trivia, prizes, coffee and cookies. The Peer Ministry Team hosts this event. All are welcome!

Catholic Higher Education: From the Heart and for the Mission

The Bergoglio Lecture

October 1, 2025 | 2 p.m. | Loris Forum

Drawing upon the theme of Ex Corde Ecclesiae, Cardinal Pierre will address how Catholic higher education can both be a participant in, and provide formation for, the evangelical mission of the Church in the world of today. Guest speaker: Cardinal Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States of America.

Craft in the Real World

October 6, 2025 | 4 p.m. | Loris Forum

Guest speaker, Matthew Salesses, author of several novels and the book Craft in the Real World.

Letting Go with Sound Healing

October 7, 2025 | 2 p.m. | Chapel Quad

Join us for a meditative sound session featuring crystal and Himalayan bowls, chimes, gongs, drums, bells, flutes and more. Preregister online.

Making an Impact on Alzheimer's in Our Community!

October 7, 2025 | 3:30 p.m. | Loris Forum

Join Cheryl Podob, Development Manager for Fairfield County, and Bobbi Tar, Co-Chair of the Walk to End Alzheimer's, as they share the role of the Alzheimer's Association. Learn about it is, what resources are available, and how SHU has been a partner of the Alzheimer's Association for many years and is making an impact in the SHU community. Find out how you can be involved in the mini walk on campus on October 18!

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: Getting Help and Support for Recovery

October 8, 2025 | 2 p.m. | Loris Forum

OCD and related disorders can affect people of all ages and backgrounds. This panel presentation sponsored by the Connecticut Affiliate of the International Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Foundation during OCD Awareness week will provide information about treatment and support for managing and recovering from the disabling symptoms of OCD. Professor Christina Taylor (Professor Emeritus of Psychology, Sacred Heart University)

Not Vanishing: Hopeful Perspectives on Dementia

October 8, 2025 | 3:30 p.m. | Loris Forum

Dementia is one of the most feared and stigmatized conditions. In this colloquium, the Reverend Lynn Casteel Harper, author of On Vanishing: Mortality, Dementia, and What It Means to Disappear, will encourage us—no matter our age or ability—to explore the spiritual aspects of dementia and re-examine our fears of disappearance, death, and mortality. Moving beyond dread, we can make room for hope, creativity and joy.

Rev. Lynn Casteel Harper is an essayist, minister and chaplain. On Vanishing was named a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice and a Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle selection. Lynn has served as the Minister of Older Adults at The Riverside Church in the City of New York and as a nursing home chaplain. Lynn lives and writes in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where she is the pastor of Olivet Congregational Church UCC.

Overcoming Adversity During the Transition to College

October 9, 2025 | 5 p.m. | Loris Forum

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, CRPS, also known as the suicide disease is ranked as the most painful condition known to modern medicine on the McGill pain scale and there is no treatment or cure. This colloquium will discuss how one person dealt with this illness. Adjunct Professor Kelly Considine (Biology and Chemistry)

Spiritual but not Religious - Spiritual and Religious

October 15, 2025 | 2 p.m. | Loris Forum

Students often describe themselves as “spiritual but not religious” but often they are unaware of what that statement really means. This colloquium offers a look into the richness and meaning of some Catholic spiritual traditions and an understanding of how being spiritual deepens our humanity, our relationship with others, and most important, our relationship with God. Speakers; Fr. Emiel Abalahin (Chaplain), Professors June Ann Greeley (English) and Charles Gillespie (Catholic Studies)

Word and Song

October 16, 2025 | 7 p.m. | Chapel of the Holy Spirit

A collaboration between the Diocesan Guild for the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Sacred Heart University’s Center for Catholic Studies, Word and Song are special candlelight celebrations of sacred music and readings meant to deepen spiritual reflection and open our hearts and minds to God’s presence in our lives.

The 272: The Families Who Were Enslaved and Sold to Build the American Catholic Church

October 22, 2025 | 2 p.m. | Loris Forum

Guest Speaker: Rachel L. Swarns, Associate Professor, Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, New York University. Co-sponsored with Ministry & Community Engagement

Reading and Conversation with Irish Writer Elaine Feeney

October 28, 2025 | 3:30 p.m. | Loris Forum

Elaine Feeney will read from and discuss her celebrated third novel, Let Me Go Mad in My Own Way (2025). Her previous work includes the Booker Prize-nominated novel How to Build a Boat (2023), as well as poetry, short stories, drama and non-fiction. She is co-founder of the Tuam Oral History Project at University of Galway, which records and archives the first-person narratives of those directly affected by the Tuam Mother and Baby Institution. She teaches at the University of Galway.

Amen-Amen-Amen: A Story of Our Times

October 29, 2025 | 2 p.m. | Martire Theatre

This award-winning documentary tells the powerful true story of how a Jewish community commissioned a Torah scroll to honor a Muslim ruler in the UAE—a groundbreaking act of interfaith friendship and hope. Join us for a moving film that celebrates tolerance, unity, and the possibility of peace across cultures. Guest Speakers: Thomas Gallagher and Francis Origanti (Mission & Culture)

A Higher Education: Exploring Cannabis and Mental Health

November 4, 2025 | 2 p.m. | Loris Forum

Co-sponsored with Wellness Services

Annual Kristallnacht Commemoration, Night of the Broken Glass

November 5, 2025 | 2 p.m. | Chapel of the Holy Spirit

Hidden in Plain Sight: Female Soldiers in the Early American Wars

November 6, 2025 | 3:30 p.m. | Loris Forum

This panel will consider the stories and experiences of women who challenged conventions in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and served in the military during the early American wars. Professional writer, teacher and speaker Alex Myers will discuss his pathbreaking work, Revolutionary (2014), on Deborah Sampson who fought in the American Revolution styled as a male soldier. Professor Kelly Marino (History) will follow up with reflections on women's roles during the period and recent discoveries of evidence of female soldiers in other early American conflicts. Co-sponsored by the English department, The Human Journey Colloquium Series and Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies.

Mavericks: Courage, Character and Contribution

November 12, 2025 | 2 p.m. | Loris Forum

Dr. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld is the senior associate dean for leadership studies and the Lester Crown Professor for Management at the Yale School of Management. He will discuss how empathy, authenticity and courage develop effective leaders in all majors and disciplines.

Learn to Intern: Advice from Past Interns

November 18, 2025 | 3:30 p.m. | Loris Forum

Do you want to make the most of your college experience? Join the Center for Career & Professional Development as they host a panel of Sacred Heart University students who will discuss their past or present internship experiences. Gain perspective, advice, lessons learned and ideas on how to get hired and prepare for a successful future internship.

Interfaith Thanksgiving Services

November 19, 2025 | 2 p.m. | Chapel of the Holy Spirit

100 Years of Immigration History: 1924-2024 Policy Shifts

November 19, 2025 | 2 p.m. | Loris Forum

Guest Speaker: Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, Bishop Emeritus of Brooklyn

What Does It Mean to be a Human in the Age of AI?

December 3, 2025 | 2 p.m. | Loris Forum

Big questions: is AI an “evolutionary” stage? Does AI confront its limits in the face of embodiment? Does human “action” – read Drama – make a difference in the world of AI? Panelists: Professors Charlie Gillespie (Catholic Studies), Christine Susienka (Philosophy) and June-Ann Greeley (English) – moderator.

Where Did the #MeToo Go?: Urgent Conversation on Today's Rape Culture

December 4, 2025 | 3:45 p.m. | Loris Forum

On July 4, Sean “Diddy” Combs was acquitted of racketeering and sex trafficking charges in his trial, which many news outlets reported as a setback for the #MeToo movement. Four days later, another news headline reads, “The cultural reckoning keeps facing setbacks in the legal world: “We went from ‘always believe an accuser’ to ‘maybe we too often believe an accuser.’” Our panel will explore recent developments in the #MeToo movement in the United States as well as globally. We will specifically discuss themes of toxic masculinity and its influence on a survivor’s credibility, both online and on the ground. Who holds the most power to “speak up,” and what does that mean for the movement’s effect on survivors’ healing process? Guest Speaker: Dr Pallavi Guha, the author of Hear #MeToo in India: News, social media, and Anti-Rape and Sexual Harassment Activism. Panelists: Dr. June Ann Greeley and Dr. Nidhi Shrivastava (Department of English).

Word and Song

December 4, 2025 | 5 p.m. | Chapel of the Holy Spirit

Lessons and Carols

December 7, 2025 | 5 p.m. | Chapel of the Holy Spirit

Join Sacred Heart's Liturgical Choir for a festival of Lessons and Carols in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit. Combining scripture readings and beloved musical selections, it is a joyful and reflective tradition to celebrate the Advent and Christmas Seasons. All are welcome.

Chipping Away at the Stained Glass Ceiling: Women's Strategies for Ecclesial Reform

February 11, 2026 | 2 p.m. | Loris Forum

Guest Speaker: Mary Kate Holman, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Fairfield University

Struck Down, Not Destroyed

The Jacqueline & Edward Musante Center for Catholic Studies Endowed Lecture

March 18, 2026 | 2 p.m. | Loris Forum

Guest Speaker: Colleen Dulle, Associate Editor, America Media

Rabbi Norman Lamm Was Right: Why Catholics Should Look Upon Nostra Aetate as Only a Step in the Right Direction

The Ellen B. Lubell & Leslie Byelas Center for Catholic Studies Endowed Annual Lecture on Jewish Christian Dialogue

March 25, 2026 | 2 p.m. | Loris Forum

Guest Speaker: Jon M. Sweeney, Religion Editor/Associate Publisher, Monkfish Publishing

Integral Ecology, Integral Technology: Applying Laudato Si in the Age of AI

April 8, 2026 | 2 p.m. | Loris Forum

Guest Speaker: Dr. John P. Slattery, Executive Director, Carl G. Grefenstette Center for Ethics in Science, Technology and Law, Duquesne University

Why I Remain a Gay Catholic: A Spiritual-Sexual Journey

April 22, 2026 | 2 p.m. | Loris Forum

Guest Speaker: Father Paul F. Morrissey, Augustinian friar and ordained priest. Co-founder of the Philadelphia chapter of Dignity (LGBTQ ministry in the Catholic Church. Co-Founder of Communication Ministry (CMI) an international monthly newsletter, journal, and retreat ministry for LGBTQ priests.

Past Events

The Wild Robot

September 3, 2025

Join us for a screening of the movie The Wild Robot. When a robot named Roz washed up on a remote island, she must learn to survive in the wild and find her place in the natural world. A beautiful story about connection, adaptation, and what it means to care for our common home, The Wild Robot invites us to reflect on our relationship with nature and one another. Professors Chelsea King (Catholic Studies) & June-Ann Greeley (English)

Frassati Canonization Celebration

September 8, 2025

On Sunday, September 7 at the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV will canonize the currently Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati and make him a saint of the Catholic Church. The celebrations continue on Monday, September 8, here at SHU as the university community will celebrate the now patron saint of Frassati Residence Hall. A prayer service and blessing will commence the festivities, which will be followed by refreshments and music. All are invited to join the residents of Frassati and Wiesel Halls as we celebrate their St. Pier Giorgio.

It Was I Who Did It: Women and the American Revolution

September 9, 2025

Dr. Carol Berkin (Baruch College & Graduate Center, CUNY, Presidential Professor of History, Emerita) will discuss her work on women's contributions to the American Revolution. Berkin is a pioneering women's and political historian. She has authored many books, including Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for American Independence. Co-sponsored by Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies, History and Political Science

Constitution Day: James Madison Father of the Constitution

September 16, 2025

As a component of SHU’s Constitution Day celebration, Professor Gary Rose will discuss the extraordinary public service of Founding Father, James Madison. Known as the “Father of the Constitution,” Madison’s life and impressive contributions to the American republic will be examined in this informative delivery. Professor Rose’s presentation is based on his recently published book James Madison, Public Servant: A Biography. Moderated by: Professor Gary Rose (Government). Co-sponsored with the Department of Government