On the feast of Saint Scholastica (February 10th), The Portsmouth Institute was launched.
“The Portsmouth Institute is a summer conference, study, recreation and retreat center for Catholic intellectuals, scholars and all those who are interested in questions pertaining to Catholic leadership, life and service in the 21st century.”
What is labeled as “America‘s Premiere Catholic Boarding School” a center for summer study has been founded to explore the relevant matters pertaining to Catholic life in 21st century. Akin to what Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, Msgr. Luigi Giussani and Pope Benedict XVI and other like-minded intellectuals would say: faith broadens reason. This Institute envisions a comprehensive look at Catholicism from many vantage points that will appeal to scholars interested in Catholic faith and life. As you would expect, the Institute will engage faith and reason by engaging experts in the fields of spirituality, theology, history, science, the arts, politics, sociology as well as other aspects of contemporary society.
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Initial funding for The Portsmouth Institute has been established with generous contributions from National Review Institute, the William E. Simon Foundation, the Healey Family Foundation and other generous alumni and friends. Accepting the role of director is Jamie MacGuire, Senior Development Officer of the Portsmouth Abbey School and 1970 graduate of The Portsmouth Abbey School.
The Portsmouth Institute will feature leadership and participation by Portsmouth Abbey’s resident Benedictine monks and faculty of the Portsmouth Abbey School. Institute programs are designed to offer attendees frequent opportunities for informal discussion, as well as access to recreational opportunities on the School’s campus at Carnegie Abbey, and in nearby Newport. In keeping with its mission, the Institute’s yearly sessions will also provide opportunities for attendance at Mass, the Divine Office and “mini-Retreat” sessions centered around the Abbey’s landmark Church of St. Gregory the Great.
The Institute’s inaugural conference will be “The Catholic William F. Buckley Jr.: In Gratitude” June 18-21, 2009 at the Portsmouth Abbey School, Portsmouth, Rhode Island.
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