FAIRFIELD, Conn. — Fairfield University’s College of Arts and Sciences, in partnership with America Media, will host a lecture by the Rev. John F. Baldovin, S.J., professor of Historical and Liturgical Theology at Boston College’s Clough School of Theology and Ministry, on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. The lecture, titled “Where is God in the Liturgy? The Way Forward for Liturgical Reform,” will take place in the Dolan School of Business Event Hall at Fairfield University. This event is free and open to the public. Those unable to attend in person are invited to join virtually via livestream at this link.
Fr. Baldovin will address timely questions about Catholic liturgical practice. Since Vatican II, the reform of the liturgy—particularly the Mass celebrated daily and weekly at parishes around the globe—has been a lively topic of conversation. That reform, Fr. Baldovin argues, is now at “a critical juncture,” one challenged and enlivened by Pope Francis’ retrieval of the spirit of Vatican II at the recently concluded Synod on Synodality. Using his deep knowledge of Scripture, Fr. Baldovin will propose that an understanding of “how God brings us together in worship,” can help us to think about our practice of the liturgy in a way that is informed by Pope Francis’ synodal and liturgical vision.
A priest of the USA East Province of the Society of Jesus, Fr. Baldovin is a recognized authority in the field of liturgical theology, with extensive experience both as a scholar and a pastor. He has taught at numerous institutions, including Fordham University, the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, since 1999 at Weston Jesuit School of Theology, and now Boston College’s Clough School of Theology and Ministry. He has also served as a visiting professor at the University of Notre Dame, and St. John Vianney National Seminary in Pretoria, South Africa.
Fr. Baldovin held key advisory roles, including serving on the advisory committee for the Bishops’ Committee on the Liturgy of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL).
He has authored numerous books, including Living Bread, Saving Cup: Understanding the Mass and Reforming the Liturgy: A Response to the Critics. His scholarship has been widely published in prominent journals such as Worship, Theological Studies, America, and Commonweal, and his work has been translated into French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese and Albanian. Additionally, he has received numerous accolades, including the Berakah Award for distinguished achievement from the North American Academy of Liturgy.
Fr. Baldovin served on the Fairfield University Board of Trustees for nearly 20 years, from 2004 to 2023, and on the Board of Trustees of the College of the Holy Cross. He is president of the International Jungmann Society for Jesuits and the Liturgy, and remains actively involved in parish ministry, assisting at churches in Cambridge and Lexington, Mass. He received his BA from the College of the Holy Cross, an MDiv from Weston School of Theology, and MA, MPhil, and PhD from Yale University.
Event Details:
Lecture: “Where is God in the Liturgy? The Way Forward for Liturgical Reform”
Speaker: Rev. John F. Baldovin, S.J., professor of Historical and Liturgical Theology, Boston College Clough School of Theology and Ministry
Date: Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Dolan School of Business Event Hall, Fairfield University
Livestream: Register here.
Fairfield University is a modern, Jesuit Catholic University, rooted in one of the world’s oldest intellectual and spiritual traditions. More than 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students from 44 states, including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and 46 countries, are enrolled in the University’s five schools. In the spirit of rigorous and sympathetic inquiry into all dimensions of human experience, Fairfield welcomes students from diverse backgrounds to share ideas and engage in open conversations. The University is located in the heart of a region where the future takes shape, on a stunning campus on the Connecticut coast just an hour from New York City.
America Media, a Jesuit media ministry, is the leading provider of editorial content for thinking Catholics and those who want to know what Catholics are thinking. We lead the conversation about faith and culture by producing excellent, unique, relevant and accessible content across multiple platforms. Our contributors are the principal figures in the American Catholic Church today; the decision-makers and opinion leaders who drive the ecclesial and civic debate about religion, society, politics and the arts. Our flagship magazine, America, has been published continuously since 1909, making it one of the oldest periodicals in the United States today.