Events
Forthcoming Events
- April 15-16, 2027: Writing Fellows at Boston College
- May 20-21, 2027: “Local Catholic Histories in Global Perspective,” co-sponsored global Catholicism conference in Rome
- June 24-25, 2027: Second Workshop at Boston College “Opportunities and Challenges for Modern Catholic Studies: A Workshop for Archivists and Researchers”
Call for Applications
“Opportunities and Challenges for Modern Catholic Studies: A Workshop for Archivists and Researchers”
June 24-25, 2027
The Catholic Historical Research Initiative at Boston College Libraries welcomes applications for its second workshop to foster dialogue between archivists, researchers, and leaders of scholarly institutes engaged in the field of modern Catholic Studies.
This two-day workshop hosted at Boston College in June 2027 will gather individuals with diverse professional expertise – but with also a shared commitment to promote scholarly engagement with Catholic history and Catholic archival collections – to continue conversations that identify the field’s emerging opportunities and challenges. The event’s goals are to determine collaborative ways to exploit the former and resolve the latter.
The workshop will feature few presentations in favor of encouraging wide-ranging discussions on several topics and questions. For example, What are the research questions scholars should be asking of Catholic archival collections? And what collections are they neglecting? What are the research tools and resources required – whether by researchers or archivists or both? What is needed to improve access to scholarship and collections? How can archivists, researchers, and scholarly institutes best support each other’s work?
Applications are now invited to participate in the workshop on June 24 and 25, 2027. During the workshop, the Catholic Historical Research Initiative will provide participants with housing and food.
The Catholic Historical Research Initiative at Boston College Libraries develops significant and sustainable events, databases, travel grants, and other resources to support scholarly engagement with the University’s Catholic collections and the study of Catholic history more generally. The workshop’s schedule will include time for participants to visit the Catholic Religious Archives, which opened in 2026.
Application Form
Deadline: November 1, 2026
Contact: Seth Meehan, Program Director, Catholic Historical Research Initiative at Boston College Libraries (meehanse@bc.edu)
Selected Past Events
- Workshop: Discussion of a working biography of St. Oscar Romero by Kevin Coleman, University of Toronto, co-sponsored by the Jesuit Institute and by the Dean’s Office at the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences (2026)
- Book panel: Discussion of For I have Sinned: The Rise and Fall of Catholic Confession in America, by James O’Toole, featuring comments by James Keenan, SJ, Boston College, and Leslie Tentler, professor emerita at the Catholic University of America, and co-sponsored by the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life (2025)
- Lecture: David Collins, SJ, Georgetown University, “The Jesuits in the US: A Concise History … Concisely!,” co-sponsored by the Center for Ignatian Spirituality (2024)
- Lecture: Kathleen Sprows Cummings, University of Notre Dame, Dean’s Colloquium – “Monumental Questions: Catholicism, Gender, and the American Public Landscape,” co-sponsored by the Dean’s Office at the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences (2023)
- Lecture: Seth Meehan, Boston College, “My Time with ‘The Providential Man’: Observations on John McElroy, S.J., Founder of Boston College,” co-sponsored by the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life (2023)
- Book panel: “Writing Boston College’s History: A Conversation with James O’Toole,” featuring comments by Gregory Kalscheur, SJ, Dean of the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences, and Margaret McGuinness, professor emerita at La Salle University, and co-sponsored by the History Department, the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies, and the Office of the University Historian (2023)