Newman Legacy Lecture Examines the Mortality of Mary

The National Institute for Newman Studies in affiliation with Duquesne University will host the second annual Newman Legacy Lecture, Did Mary Die? Newman on Sin, Death and Mary’s Mortality, on Thursday, April 18, at 5 p.m. in the Power Center Ballroom.

Dr. Paul Griffiths

Dr. Paul Griffiths, the Warren Chair of Catholic Theology at Duke Divinity School, will present the lecture, which focuses on Newman’s conflicting writings about Mary, the Blessed Mother.

Elements of Newman’s thought suggest that Mary was assumed bodily into heaven without dying. But he also writes that Mary did die, and that it is appropriate that she did. Griffiths will explore this tension in Newman’s thought, trace its roots, suggest a resolution and show the relevance of this topic to a broader understanding of the relation between sin and death.

“Paul Griffiths is an internationally respected Catholic scholar whose writings have deeply influenced many of the most important conversations among Catholic intellectuals for the past 20 years,” said Dr. Kevin Mongrain, the Ryan Endowed Chair in Newman Studies at Duquesne and executive director of the National Institute for Newman Studies. “His new research on Newman is groundbreaking, and we are very fortunate that he is coming to share it with us.”

Griffiths is the influential author of many books, including Intellectual Appetite: A Theological Grammar and Song of Songs: A Commentary. He lectures and publishes widely on Catholic philosophical theology, religious diversity, early Christian thought and Buddhist thought.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Mia McIntyre at 412.681.4375.