2024 Cardinal Meyer Lecture
Join us on March 7 and 8, 2024, for the Cardinal Albert Meyer Lecture featuring John L. Allen Jr., President and Founder of Crux, an independent Catholic news site.
See photos from last year’s lecture
Topic of the Lecture
Protocol, Politics and Posterity: The Legacy of Pope Benedict XVI and the Future of the Church
About this Event
The Cardinal Albert Meyer Lecture Series began in 1984. It was named after Cardinal Meyer to recognize his significant influence on the Church. He was a man of great intelligence who spoke eloquently for the values promoted by the Church. Since that time a distinguished list of speakers has participated.
For this year’s two-part lecture, John Allen will serve as the guest speaker. Following the Friday presentation, Mr. Allen will also participate in the panel discussion with distinguished USML faculty members.
Schedule
When: Thursday, March 7 and Friday, March 8
March 7
Union League Club Chicago
65 W. Jackson Blvd
Chicago, IL 60604
March 8
University of St. Mary of the Lake
1000 E. Maple Avenue
Mundelein, IL 60060
Thursday, March 7, 2024
Union League Club Chicago
7:00 p.m. Welcome by the Rector and Program Introduction
7:15 p.m. Keynote Address
8:00 p.m. Q & A Session
8:30 p.m. Conclusion
Parking at Union League Club Chicago
- Valet parking is available at 312 South Federal
- 0-3 Hours: $39
- 3-10 Hours: $45
- 10-24 Hours: 59
- Self-park is available at 318 South Federal
- 0-3 Hours: $29
- 3-10 Hours: $34
- 10-24 Hours: $39
Friday, March 8, 2024
The University of St. Mary of the Lake – Mundelein Hall.
9:00 a.m. Program Introduction
9:15 a.m. Keynote Address
10:00 a.m. Break
10:15 a.m. Faculty Responses with Fr. Emery de Gaál, Ph.D. & Dean Ted Whapham
11:00 a.m. Q & A Session
11:30 a.m. Conclusion
Entrance: You can enter off Route 45 or Route 176 and follow the signs to the Purple Lot or Welcome Center.
Parking: As you arrive on campus, please look for the directional signage, “Special Event”, that will direct you to the Purple Parking for guest parking or along Principal Avenue.
About John L. Allen Jr.
John L. Allen Jr. is the President and Founder of Crux, an independent Catholic news site, after serving as Senior Correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter and Associate Editor for the Boston Globe. He also serves as Senior Vatican Analyst for CNN. He’s the author of twelve best-selling books on the Vatican and Catholic affairs, and he writes frequently on the Church for major national and international publications. He’s also a popular speaker on Catholic affairs, both in the United States and abroad.
The London Tablet has called Allen “the most authoritative writer on Vatican affairs in the English language,” and renowned papal biographer papal biographer George Weigel has called him “the best Anglophone Vatican reporter ever.” Veteran religion writer Kenneth Woodward of Newsweek described Allen as “the journalist other reporters – and not a few cardinals – look to for the inside story on how all the pope’s men direct the world’s largest church.” In 2019, Angelusdescribed Allen as “the most well-known and trusted American ‘Vaticanista’.”
Allen’s work is admired across ideological divides. The late liberal commentator Fr. Andrew Greeley called his writing “indispensable,” while the late Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, a conservative, called Allen’s reporting “possibly the best source of information on the Vatican published in the United States.”
Allen grew up in Western Kansas, and holds a Master’s degree in Religious Studies from the University of Kansas. He’s received honorary doctorates from the University of St. Michael’s College in Toronto, Ontario; Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois; St. Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont, and the University of Dallas, Texas. Allen lives in Rome with his wife, Elise, who’s also a widely read correspondent for Crux.
Registration
The lecture is free and open to the public, but registration is required.