FROM A(MBROSE) TO (GEN.) Z: RESOURCING THE TRADITION IN RESPONSE TO CONTEMPORARY CONCERNS IN THE CHURCH

An international conference at St. Ambrose University, Davenport, Iowa, April 24-26, 2026

Hosted by the Academy for the Study of St. Ambrose of Milan (ASSAM)

KEYNOTE ADDRESS:

“HOW CAN WE GIVE HOPE TO THE YOUNG?”

His Eminence Timothy Cardinal Radcliffe, O.P.

A wave of deep social challenges faces the Church today. This conference proposes a synodal response, rich in diverse perspective and resourcing the rich heritage of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition. The goal is to help all participants to incarnate hope for the Church and for society. Papers will represent those who have experience in the areas mentioned below, as well as experts in the life and teachings of St. Ambrose of Milan, our Patron Saint. We, the Church, are called to hope and to take risks for the sake of the Gospel. Ambrose encourages us still "to seek wisdom, contemplation, and action through sound reason" (Comm. on Psalm 118 2.32), or as Pope Francis said, “Our goal is to dare to turn what is happening to the world into our own personal suffering and thus to discover what each of us can do about it” (Laudato Si 19).

Keynote, Topical Keynote, and Paper Sessions Schedule (Keynote Address is free and open to the public. To register for the conference, click on the button at the top or bottom of the page. All events will be held in the Rogalski Center Ballroom unless otherwise noted):

Friday, April 24

4:00-5:00 pm Mass.  Most Reverend Bishop Dennis Walsh presiding.  (Christ the King Chapel)

6:30 pm  Conference Welcome, Dr. Ethan Gannaway and Fr. Robert “Bud” Grant

6:40 pm “Reimagining the Catholic University: Drawing Upon the Charisms and Values of Our Founders in Times of Complex Change” Dr. Amy Novak, President/CEO St. Ambrose University/Mount Mercy University, and Dr. Todd Olson, President Mount Mercy University

7:00 pm Keynote Introduction, Dr. Amy Novak, President/CEO St. Ambrose University/Mount Mercy University  

7:05 pm Keynote Address: “How Can We Give Hope to the Young?”  His Eminence Timothy Cardinal Radcliffe, O.P. 

*The Keynote Address will be livestreamed. Join: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/261182515037376?p=Gvo0ke7PjtYON4resM; Meeting ID: 261 182 515 037 376; Passcode: tv9gy6yu

Saturday, April 25

8:00-8:45 am: Addressing Gen Z: “Anxious Young Souls and Restless Hearts: St Ambrose and the Christian Tradition on Anxiety” Dr. Mara Adams and “Intergenerational Harmony: Pope Francis' 'Classic' Approach to Modern Youth” Dr. Kevin Vaughan

9:00-9:40 am  “Catholic Teens and Young Adults Today: Patterns of Belief, Belonging, and Affiliation”  Dr. Nabil Tueme 

10:00-10:40 am “A Gift from God: The Faith of Young Latino Catholics”  Dr. Timothy Matovina and Juan Miguel Alvarez 

11:00-11:40 am “Ending Death Penalty, Advancing Justice and Beginning Healing”  Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy 

11:50-12:50 Student Roundtable Session with Tom Chapman, Dr. Timothy Matovina, Juan Miguel Alvarez, Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, Dr. Nabil Tueme, Dr. Donna Carroll, and Dr. Kevin Vaughan  

1:00-1:40 pm “Women in Catholic Leadership: Breaking Barriers and Building Bridges”  Dr. Donna Carroll  

1:55-2:35 pm  “LGBTQ+ Experiences of Catholic Faith”  Dr. Julia Sadusky - virtual (Gottlieb Room, Rogalski Center)

2:50-3:30 pm  “AI and the Church’s Public Witness on the Dignity of the Human Person” Tom Chapman 

3:40-5:40 pm: Concurrent Paper Sessions

Ambrose of Milan (A) 

3:40-4:10 pm “Ambrose and New Perspectives on Solitude” Fr. Pierluigi Banna, PhD 

4:10-4:40 pm “Everyday Challenges in Ambrose’s Letters”  Mons. Francesco Braschi, PhD  

4:40-5:10 pm “Ambrose of Milan and the Development of Mary as Scholar and Teacher” Dr. Lisa Powell 

5:10-5:40 pm “Ambrose and the Environmental Challenge”  Dr. Paola Moretti 

Serving Those in Need (B) 

3:40-4:10 pm “Corita Kent : Art, Justice, Conscience, and Dissent in the CIT”  Dr. Keri Manning 

4:10-4:40 pm “The Christian Mandate to Serve the Vulnerable, from St. Ambrose to Pope Leo XIV”  Dr. Matthew Coomber 

4:40-5:10 pm “Ianua mea omni uenienti patebat: Ambrose’s Ethics of Hospitality toward Foreigners”  Dr. Marcela Andokova 

5:10-5:40 pm “Contemplative Awareness as Serving (In)Justice in Action”  Dr. Michele Petersen  

7:30-8:30 pm “Fr. Edward Catich's Theophany and Disruptive Church Art” Paul Herrera, followed by a performance by the St. Ambrose University Chamber Singers, directed by Dr. Nathan Windt (Christ the King Chapel)

Sunday, April 26

7:45-9:15 am Paper Session

Miscellanea (A) 

7:45-8:15 am “Artificial Intelligence, Ambrosian Wisdom, and the Church” Dr. Ethan Gannaway 

8:15-8:45 am “Saving Nature: Creation as a Sacramental Presence of Christ”  Fr. Bud Grant, PhD 

8:45-9:15 am “Religion, Natural Law, and the Contemporary Search for Meaning” Dr. Joseph Hebert  

9:30-10:10 am Closing “Couch” Colloquium, facilitated by Tom Chapman, with His Eminence Timothy Cardinal Radcliffe, O.P., Dr. Marcela Andoková, Juan Miguel Alvarez, Dr. Kevin Vaughan, Dr. Mara Adams, Dr. Michelle Petersen, and Dr. Julia Sadusky (virtually) 

10:30-11:30 am  Mass.  Fr. Dale Mallory presiding; homily by His Eminence Timothy Cardinal Radcliffe, O.P.  (Christ the King Chapel)

Schedule subject to change. For any additional information, please contact assam@sau.edu.

Registration