Fall Lonergan Symposium: Mysticism and Method

Seton Hall University’s Center for Catholic Studies and Bernard J. Lonergan Institute will host the Fall Lonergan Symposium, “Mysticism and Method,” on Thursday, October 8, 2026, from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Chancellor’s Suite of the Bishop Dougherty University Center. The symposium is part of Seton Hall’s Contemplative Community Week.

The 2026 symposium will explore consciousness, method and mediation in the study of Christian mysticism, with particular attention to Bernard Lonergan’s influence on Bernard McGinn’s scholarship. Designed as a morning of scholarly conversation, the program brings theological method and the study of Christian mysticism into dialogue through the work of leading scholars in spirituality and historical theology.

Mary Frohlich, RSCJ, Ph.D., professor emerita of Spirituality at Catholic Theological Union and visiting scholar at the Clough School of Theology and Ministry, will serve as a presenter. Amy E. W. Maxey, Ph.D., assistant professor of Spirituality and Rolheiser chair in Spirituality at the Oblate School of Theology, will also present. Kevin L. Hughes, Ph.D., chair of Theology and Religious Studies and professor of Historical Theology at Villanova University, will also present. Jonathan Heaps, Ph.D., associate director of the Center for Catholic Studies at Seton Hall University, will serve as respondent.

The symposium continues the Bernard J. Lonergan Institute’s work of fostering serious engagement with Lonergan’s thought and its significance for contemporary theological inquiry. By focusing on mysticism and method, the gathering will consider how questions of consciousness, mediation and theological method shape the study and interpretation of Christian spiritual experience.

The event is hosted by the Center for Catholic Studies and the Bernard J. Lonergan Institute at Seton Hall University.

Advance registration is required. Register for the Fall Lonergan Symposium. Please direct questions to the Center for Catholic Studies at [email protected]. 

Categories: Faith and Service