Houston,
26
January
2023
|
10:13 AM
America/Chicago

USTMAX Center’s March Luminary Lecture: ‘Dante’s Divine Comedy: The Perfect Companion for Holy Week’

Dr. Dominic AquilaUniversity of St. Thomas-Houston’s Professor of History, Dr. Dominic Aquila, is the USTMAX Center special guest for its March Luminary Lecture Series. His talk, “Dante’s Divine Comedy: The Perfect Companion for Holy Week,” is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 30, at the Sacred Heart Parish Life Center located at 704 Old Montgomery Road, Conroe, Texas. The lecture is in the St. Theresa Room. A Q&A follows the talk. Lite bites and beverages will be provided.

Your host is USTMAX Center, a UST micro-campus located in downtown Conroe. This event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP here.

“This is one of those ‘not to be missed’ opportunities that we are always excited to bring to the community,” USTMAX Center Senior Director Carla E.  Alsandor, Ph.D, said.  "Dr. Aquila’s engaging presentation style and vast knowledge are sure to captivate and intrigue the audience.”

Learn More about the “Divine Comedy”

The “Divine Comedy” of Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) is the greatest literary work of the Christian tradition, and the perfect accompaniment for our Lenten and Easter meditations.  Suffering a bitter exile from his beloved city of Florence, Dante assimilated his own tribulations to the sufferings of Christ.  His Comedy is a three-part, imaginative journey through the afterlife.  In the “Inferno” Dante, as a pilgrim, descends into hell and witnesses how sin disfigures men and women. “Purgatory,” the second book of the Comedy, is the story of human rehabilitation in preparation for a life of beatitude in “Paradise,” the third book of the Comedy.  Dr. Aquila’s talk highlights pivotal moments in the “Divine Comedy” that deepen our appreciation for the sacred events of the Easter Triduum.  

 Speaker Bio: 

Dominic A. Aquila is a professor of history at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas, where he was the founding dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. He served as provost, vice president for Academic Affairs, and dean of Graduate Studies from 2008 to 2017. 

Aquila has two doctoral degrees: one in higher education administration from Texas Tech University and another in history from the University of South Africa, which he began at the University of Rochester under the late Christopher Lasch. Aquila has an MBA from New York University and a bachelor’s degree in music from the Julliard School. 

Among his publications are “Dante’s “Purgatorio: A Liturgy of Forgiveness and Restoration,” (2021), “Music as a Liberal Art: The Poetry of the Universe” in Religions (2022); and “Natality and Human Action in Dante’s Commedia” (University of Notre Dame, November 2022). Aquila’s most recent book is “The Catholic Church and the Age of Enlightenment: the Challenge of Secularism 1648 – 1848.” 

In Spring 2023, Aquila is teaching Dante as Theologian for the University of St. Thomas’ School of Theology at St. Mary’s Seminary.