Catherine of Siena: Doctor of Friendship/Doctor of the Church

In his lecture, Fr. McDermott will present an overview of the life and times of Catherine of Siena, Dominican mystic, saint, and Doctor of the Church. A contemplative and lover of solitude, she was, at the same time, a lover of people who gathered around her in the hundreds, wherever she went. Though commentators have struggled to identify an overarching theme in Catherine’s writings, Fr. McDermott will show that the fulfillment of Truth (the motto of the Dominican Order) is her theme. Thomas McDermott, a Dominican friar, and priest, did his undergraduate studies at St. John’s University (Collegeville) and philosophy and theology studies at Aquinas Institute (St. Louis). He received his doctorate in spiritual theology at the Angelicum (Rome) for a dissertation on St. Catherine of Siena. For 18 years, he lived and worked in Nigeria where, among other positions, he served as the prior provincial (1997-2001). After his return to the USA, he taught at Aquinas Institute and Kenrick-Glennon Seminary (St. Louis) and served as Regent of Studies for the Dominican Province of St. Albert the Great (2011 to 2015). On July 1, 2020, he was appointed pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center / Purdue. He is the author, translator, or editor of 4 books: Catherine of Siena: Spiritual development in her life and teaching (2008), Dominican Giacinto D’Urso’s, Catherine of Siena: Doctor of the Church (2013), a collection of essays, Catherine of Siena: Essays on her life and thought (2015), and Filled With All the Fullness of God: An Introduction to Catholic Spirituality. He has been Book Review Editor of Spirituality Today and has written numerous articles in journals such as New Blackfriars and Doctrine and Life. This lecture is sponsored by the Aquinas Educational Foundation and co-sponsored by the Religious Studies Program in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies at Purdue.

Please use the following link to join the lecture: https://purdue-edu.zoom.us/j/95611317698