Work, Family, & Human Dignity
​​in the Digital Age:
​A Symposium on Pope Leo XIV's Encyclical Magnifica Humanitas

Saturday, September 19
St. Gregory the Great

​Msgr. Klasen Memorial Building, 1609 W Gregory
9:30 AM - 1:00 PM
When asked the reason for his choice of papal name upon his election, Pope Leo XIV, originally of Chicago, explained that the name recalls his predecessor Pope Leo XIII (1810-1903), who renewed the Church’s moral teaching to address the social and economic concerns of the industrial age. So too “in our own day the church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice and labor” Leo XIV said.

At this symposium, we will reflect on the encyclical, understanding its place in the context of the Church’s social teaching and the particular ways it addresses concerns for human dignity in work, family, and economic life.

Coffee & pastries will be provided in the morning. Lunch will be served at the conclusion of the event.
Free and open to the public.
​A free-will offering will be taken up at the event.​
​
Please RSVP by filling out the form below.
Contact Mark Franzen with any questions.
This event is organized by the National Center for the Laity, the Bernardin Center at Catholic Theological Union, and St. Gregory's Hall with the generous support of the ACTA Foundation, the Midwest Augustinians, the Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage at Loyola University Chicago, and Bob & Elaine Raccuglia.

    Magnifica Humanitas Symposium RSVP

About the speakers

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Kent Lasnoski is founding president of the San Damiano College for the Trades in Springfield, IL. He previously served as a professor at Wyoming Catholic College, where he also served as assistant dean for student life and was involved in  Wyoming Catholic’s earning of academic accreditation. Kent is author of Vocation to Virtue: Christian Marriage as a Consecrated Life and, with his wife, the couples retreat guide 30 Days with the Married Saints.
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Rocco Sacconaghi is Associate Professor in the department of Catholic Studies at DePaul University. He is a philosopher with a focus on phenomenology and the philosophical implications of Catholic faith. Sacconaghi received my BA and MA at the State University of Milan, and a PhD at the University of Calabria. Before joining the faculty at DePaul, he taught at various institutions in Europe, the USA, and Israel.
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Sr. Damien Marie Savino, FSE is Melchor Visiting Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences at the University of Notre Dame with a concurrent appointment in the McGrath Institute for Church Life. A Franciscan Sister of the Eucharist, she holds a doctorate in Civil and Environmental Engineering from The Catholic University of America. Sr. Savino is author of Learning the Language of Creation: Catholic Social Teaching and Integral Ecology (Liturgical Press, 2025).
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Joseph Vukov is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Associate Director of theHank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage at Loyola University. His research and teaching explore questions at the intersection of ethics, neuroscience, and philosophy of mind, and at the intersection of science and religion. He is the author of three books, most recently, Staying Human in an Era of Artificial Intelligence (New City Press 2024).