• Seton Hall University
• Center for Catholic Studies

Mission

From its founding in 1997, the Center’s primary mission has been to live, share, and deepen Catholic identity at Seton Hall.  

Vision

The Center for Catholic Studies seeks to be a catalyst at Seton Hall and beyond for developing new initiatives, scholarship, and relationships rooted in the Catholic tradition.  The Center invites faculty into dynamic engagement with this tradition and, through them, deepens Seton Hall’s Catholic identity, forms students’ hearts and minds, and puts the intellectual resources of the University in service to the Church. We aspire to be an international leader in Catholic thought, especially that of Bernard Lonergan and G. K. Chesterton. 

Our Story – A Brief History of the Center 

The Center for Catholic Studies was founded by Msgr. Richard Liddy in 1997, which makes the Center one of the oldest of its kind in the country. In 1998 the Center created an undergraduate minor in Catholic Studies with a major following in 2003. The center continues to offer scholarships that allow students to study abroad or to add Catholic Studies as a second major or minor, enabling them to see their chosen field of study through the lens of the Catholic tradition. In 2001, the Center conducted the annual faculty summer seminar, "The Core of the Core," which originated the present University Core Curriculum.

The Center maintains a global focus on distinctive interdisciplinary scholarship with an international reach. Since 1999, it has been the home of the G.K. Chesterton Institute for Faith & Culture, which moved to Seton Hall in 1999 under the guidance of Rev. Ian Boyd, CSB. In 2005, continuing the pursuit of interdisciplinary efforts, the Micah Institute for Faith and Work was established. Originally founded as the Institute on Work by Deacon William Toth, former professor of Moral Theology at Immaculate Conception Seminary, the Micah Institute concentrates on communicating Catholic Social Teaching and its implications for professional life. Followed shortly thereafter, in November of 2006, the Center launched the Bernard J. Lonergan Institute, dedicated to the study of the Canadian Jesuit’s ideas and their application in contemporary culture. The Institutes offer opportunities for study and research as well as ongoing programs related to faith and culture. In addition to ongoing research, scholarship, and regular events, both the Chesterton and Lonergan Institutes publish acclaimed journals, The Chesterton Review and The Lonergan Review. 

Through the generosity of benefactors and friends of the Center, the Toth Lonergan Endowed Chair in Interdisciplinary Studies was established in 2017. The endowed chair allows the Center to hire outstanding Catholic intellectuals to encourage interdisciplinary dialogue, teach courses, offer public lectures, and facilitate faculty formation programs all rooted in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition and mission integration.

The year 2024 marked another important moment in the Center for Catholic Studies’ history of leadership in Catholic higher education as the Center became a founding member of the Catholic Studies Consortium. The Consortium is a professional organization constituted by a network of Catholic Studies centers and programs dedicated to revitalizing and enhancing the Catholic identity and mission of Catholic institutions of higher learning. It is a community of scholars students, faculty, and administrators seeking to integrate the rich traditions of the Catholic Church into life and culture.