2026 Schedule
2026 Schedule
The schedule will follow Central Daylight Time (CDT), which corresponds to UTC-5, Coordinated Universal Time.
This is a hybrid conference , held in person at DePaul University's Lincoln Park Campus in Chicago and also livestreamed. Closer to the dates of the conference, the livestream URL will be e-mailed to everyone who registers.
Location of Conference Sessions
DePaul Student Center, Rm. 314AB (building map of 3rd floor)
2250 N. Sheffield Ave. (street map)
Chicago, IL 60614
:: Schedule ::
Thursday, April 30
11:00am-12:30pm Undergraduate Student Research Poster Presentations
12:30-2:00pm Break for lunch 2:00-4:00pm OPENING PANEL—Pope Leo and a Global Gift Exchange
- Afe Adogame (Princeton Theological Seminary)
- Emilce Cuda (Pontifical Commission for Latin America)
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Christopher White (Georgetown University's Initiative on Catholic Social Thought & Public Life)—"From Missionary Priest to Missionary Pope"
Moderator: Stan Chu Ilo (CWCIT Research Professor & Catholic Studies Professor—DePaul University)
4:00-4:30pm Break 4:30-6:00pm KEYNOTE ADDRESS—“Peru’s Pope: Becoming Leo in a Time of Fear & Faith”
Greg Grandin
Peter V. and C. Vann Woodward Professor of History—Yale University
Author of America, América: A New History of the New World
Moderator: TBD
6:00-6:30pm Reception with live music Friday, May 1
9:00-10:00am Continental breakfast; all are welcome 10:00am-12:00pm PANEL—The Biography of Leo XIV
- Carmen M. Nanko-Fernández (Catholic Theological Union)—"Baseball and a Pope from Chicago: Cultivating Theologies of Encounter in a Language of Lo Popular”
- César Piscoya (CELAM, the Latin American & Caribbean Bishops' Council)
- Shannen Dee Williams (University of Dayton)—"What Pope Leo XIV's Suppressed Creole Heritage Can Teach Us About the American Catholic Experience and Its Foundational African Roots”
Moderator: TBD
12:00-1:30pm Break for lunch 1:30-3:30pm PANEL—Pope Leo and Catholic Social Teaching
- Michael J. Baxter (University of Notre Dame)—"Americanism Between the Two Pope Leos: Misguided Movement, Erroneous Doctrine, Phantom Heresy, and Tragic Tradition”
- Steven P. Millies (Catholic Theological Union)—"New Life for the Consistent Ethic: ‘A Global Ethic of Solidarity’ from Chicago to Chiclayo to Rome and Back”
-
Toussaint Kafarhire Murhula, SJ (Arrupe Center for Research & Formation)—"Human Dignity, Historical Responsibility, and Ecological Justice: Africa's Expectations for Pope Leo XIV”
Moderator: TBD
3:30-4:00pm Break 4:00-6:00pm PANEL—Pope Leo's Agenda
- Daniel P. Castillo (Loyola University Marymount)—"Gardening in a Valley of Dry Bones: Politico-Ecological Love in Pope Leo’s Papacy”
- Philip Larrey, SJ (Boston College)—"Pope Leo and the Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence”
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Paola Ugaz (Nativa TV; coauthor of Mitad Monjes, Mitad Soldados)
Moderator: TBD