PFIC FACULTY BRING THEOLOGY TO THE PARISH
By Br. Norbert Keliher, O.P.
This school year the professors of the
PFIC can be found not only in the halls of
academia, but in the parish as well. They
are bringing the classroom to the parish
in a new initiative called Mercy U Lay
Theology Institute, hosted by Our Lady of
Mercy Parish in Potomac, Maryland.
love Him.” Knowing the faith well can be
daunting once someone ventures beyond
the basics, but this new initiative provides
sure guides to help show the way. In their
turn, participants will be better equipped
to hand on the faith to their friends and
family.
Through this project, lay people who
cannot pursue a full-time degree are
able to gain familiarity with essential
elements of Catholic theology. By taking
six courses, participants can earn a St.
Catherine Scholar certificate. Courses can
be taken individually, but the achievement
of a certificate shows a well-rounded
introduction to Catholic theology.
Mercy U continues in January with a course
on the Church Fathers by Fr. Andrew
Hofer, O.P., followed by a spring course on
Catholic Morality with Fr. Thomas Petri,
O.P. For information or to register, visit
mercyu.org.
“We are taking what we do in the classroom
to a wider audience,” said PFIC President
Fr. John Langlois, O.P., who is teaching the
inaugural class on Church history. The first
course has reached maximum capacity
with fifty people signed up, indicating the
hunger for what is being offered.
Cardinal Donald Wuerl has lauded the
initiative, saying, “If we are to share the
faith, we must know the faith … . This
collaboration brings higher level theology
to the parish, so that lay men and women
can grow in the knowledge and the love of
Jesus in order to call others to know and
Faith & Reason - Volume III, Issue III
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Fr. John Langlois, O.P., and parishoners at
Our Lady of Mercy, Potomac, Maryland
Photos by John Whitman
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