Curran Center for American Catholic Studies
In 2001, university president Rev. Joseph O'Hare, S.J., approached Rev. Mark Massa, S.J., about forming a center for the study of American Catholicism. In the following months, Fr. Massa set to work developing Fr. O'Hare's vision, in hopes of establishing a nationally-recognized hub for the study of American Catholic history, identity, and practice.
In 2004, John and Connie Curran expressed to Fr. Massa their interest in endowing the center, and the Francis and Ann Curran Center for American Catholic Studies, named in honor of John's parents, was born. Dedicated to advancing the Jesuit Catholic educational mission of the university, the Curran Center is a hub for many different types of events and programs, including public lectures, faculty seminars, major scholarly conferences, and an undergraduate concentration that, in the words of our students, shapes the way Fordham students "see and engage the world."
Thomas Merton and "M": What Merton's Affair with a Nurse Taught Him About Love and Humanity
By Gregory K. Hillis, Ph.D., Bellarmine University
Tuesday, January 31, 2023 | 5:30 PM EST | Butler Commons, Duane Library, 3rd Floor REGISTER HERE
Allowing Their Testimony: The Struggle for Six U.S. Black Catholic Saints
By Ralph E. Moore, Jr., Delores Moore, & Fr. Maurice Nutt, CSSR
Thursday, February 9, 2023 | 7:00 PM EST | Butler Commons, Duane Library REGISTER HERE
A Look Back: Past Event Highlight
Fordham Reads Dante, Inferno 23
By Leonardo Chiarantini, University of Michigan
Monday, November 28, 2022 | 5:30 PM EST ZOOM LINK
Who Counts as Catholic? Central American Proxy Wars and the Battle for Catholic Identity
By Theresa Keeley, University of Louisville
Monday, November 14, 2022 | 5:30 PM EST
18th Annual Rita Cassella Jones Lecture On Women and U.S. Catholicism
By Maureen H. O'Connell, La Salle University
Tuesday, October 25, 2022 | 6:00 PM EST
"VOCAL: Why Voice is so Important to Clergy Abuse Survivors"
By Brian Clites, Case Western Reserve University
Thursday, September 29, 2022 | 1:00 PM EST
2022 Fordham Reads Dante Lecture: "Dante, a Sculptor's Journey
By Timothy Paul Schmalz
Monday, September 12, 2022 | 5:30 PM EST
The Francis and Ann Curran Center for American Catholic Studies Celebration, Honoring Mark S. Massa, S.J.
Thursday, June 2, 2022 l Fordham University l Rose Hill Campus
The Power of the Crucified: Insights from Liberation & Womanist Theology
By Andrew Prevot, Boston College
Wednesday, April 20, 2022 | 2:30 PM EST
Our Lady: Catholic Billie Holiday
Tracy Fessenden, Arizona State University
Tuesay, March 29, 2022 | 5 PM EST
Butler Commons, Duane Library
Performance of the Fordham Faculty Jazz Quintet will follow lecture