Thomas More College welcomed Robert Royal, Visiting Fellow and Emeritus St. John Henry Newman Visiting Chair in Catholic Studies, back to our Merrimack, NH campus this semester. Dr. Royal—who is founder and president of the Faith & Reason Institute in Washington, D.C. and Editor-in-Chief of The Catholic Thing—was TMC’s first Visiting Chair, followed most recently by esteemed Catholic author Joseph Pearce.

In February, Dr. Royal made a guest appearance in Dr. Amy Fahey’s tutorial, Recusancy and Revival. This class was inspired by the summer 2023 pilgrimage to Oxford, London, and surrounding sites that Drs. William and Amy Fahey led in partnership with the Institute for Human Ecology at the Catholic University of America. He also stopped into Dr. Denis Kitzinger’s Humanities VIII to lead the discussion on two papal encyclicals, Rerum Novarum and Quadragesimo Anno.

Dr. Royal returned to the classroom during his March visit to dive into T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land and Four Quartets with the Seniors in Humanities VIII. He also joined the upperclassmen of Recusancy and Revival to explore Hilaire Belloc’s The Four Men. He will be back in April to continue his work with the students and lead a two-part book study of Newman’s novel Callista for alumni and supporters of the College.

During his visits, Dr. Royal participated in several events for the College’s Center for the Restoration of Christian Culture. The first was a President’s Day panel discussion that also featured Mr. Pearce and President Fahey, and which was moderated by veteran journalist and writer Phil Lawler. Dr. Royal considered the question of whether America makes sense without God. The following evening, February 20, he returned to Mercy Hall to present a lecture on St. John Henry Newman, “Newman on True Development of Doctrine—and Its Corruptions.” On March 19, Dr. Royal delivered a second lecture for the Center, “Newman’s Idea of Conscience, and Ours.” In order to accommodate more guests, the lecture was repeated the following evening at St. Benedict Abbey in Still River, MA. Subscribe to the Center’s email list to stay informed of upcoming events!

For further reading:

Dr. Robert Royal Appointed St. John Henry Newman Visiting Chair in Catholic Studies

Joseph Pearce Appointed 2022–2023 St. John Henry Newman Visiting Chair in Catholic Studies