Letter from the President
Dear Friends,
I have some great news! This fall, the PFIC
accepted its largest group of new students
in recent memory! We welcomed 33 in all:
14 of our own student brothers who
recently completed their novitiate year in
Cincinnati, and 19 new non-Dominican
students (eight male religious and 11 lay
students). This brings our total student
body to 114 this year! What greater sign
could we have that our program of studies
is both increasingly attractive and relevant
in preparing future priests and laity alike
to engage in the New Evangelization?
Our new lay students are coming to us
from prominent colleges and universities
throughout the country: Yale; the University
of San Diego and Thomas Aquinas College
in California; the University of St. Thomas
in Minnesota; St. John’s College in Maryland.
We even have our first Chinese student
from Fudan University in China! Several
of our new male religious are members
of the St. John Society, founded in
Argentina but with a growing presence in
the United States.
In an article of this issue focusing on our
new students, you will note a recurring
theme as to what attracted them to the
PFIC—our integrated presentation of
Catholic theology based on the theological
perspective of Saint Thomas Aquinas,
along with our fidelity to the Magisterium.
Our students are seeking formation in a
tradition that has withstood the test of
time and has proven over and over again
to be able to respond to the challenges of
each age.
Faith & Reason - Volume IV, Issue III
This issue also provides a few examples
of how some of our young alumni are
putting their formation here to work in
facing these challenges. One of the new
chaplains at the University of Virginia,
Fr. Joseph-Anthony Kress, O.P., was
confronted a few weeks ago with having
to respond to the fears and questions of
students in light of the turbulence and
violence that broke out in Charlottesville
surrounding the white supremacist
rally. Elliot Milco, a lay graduate and
Deputy Editor of First Things, is using his
intellectual formation with us to respond to
the arguments often put forward by those
promoting moral relativism. Whether the
challenge be one related to a crisis event or
a more general cultural phenomenon, the
PFIC gives our students the foundational
principles rooted in faith and reason to be
able to address the issues of our time.
Our increasing number of students is a
sign that our program of studies is more
and more perceived as a great value, and
an excellent preparation for those eager
to evangelize the culture! Your ongoing
support is a sign that you too see our
mission as being relevant and necessary in
these times. Thank you for investing in us
and in the New Evangelization!
Fr. John Langlois, O.P.
President
Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception
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