Catholic University’s School of Theology and Religious Studies will present this year’s Johannes Quasten Medal of Excellence in Scholarship and Leadership in Religious Studies to Rev. Brian E. Daley, S. J., Catherine F. Huisking Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame, at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, May 2, in Caldwell Hall Auditorium.
After the award ceremony, Father Daley will give a brief lecture titled “Logos as Reason and Logos Incarnate: Philosophy, Theology and the Voices of Tradition in the Early Church.” A reception will follow. Father Daley is the 26th medal winner recognized by the University since its award for external theology scholars across the nation was established in 1985.
“The School of Theology and Religious Studies proudly acknowledges the many research achievements of Father Daley as he follows the great accomplishments of Father Johannes Quasten,” says Rev. Mark Morozowich, dean of theology and religious studies. “His erudite scholarship witnesses to the importance of patristic study and its influence in theology today, and his many contributions shine as a bright example.”
A member of the Notre Dame faculty since 1996, Father Daley is an internationally renowned scholar of the writings, sayings, and lives of the earliest Christians. His teaching and research focus on such first- through eighth-century Christian thinkers as Gregory of Nyssa, Augustine of Hippo, and Maximus the Confessor as well as the eschatology of the early Church. Last October, Father Daley received the esteemed 2012 Ratzinger Prize in Theology from Pope Benedict XVI at a ceremony in Rome.
A 1961 graduate of Fordham University and a Rhodes Scholar, Father Daley studied classics, philosophy, and ancient history at Merton College, University of Oxford, where he earned a master’s degree before entering the Society of Jesus in 1964 and being ordained a priest in 1970.
He returned to Oxford in 1972, earned a doctoral degree in theology in 1978, and taught at the Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge, Mass., for 18 years before joining the Notre Dame faculty.
The medal is named for Rev. Johannes Quasten, an eminent professor of religious studies and a German native who in 1938 joined the faculty of the University’s School of Sacred Theology, where he taught until his retirement in 1979.
Father Quasten published more than 100 books and articles during his long career as a scholar of patrology, a branch of historical theology based on the teachings of the Christian church fathers. His most widely acclaimed work is the four-volume “Patrology,” which became a standard reference in the field.
The award ceremony and lecture are free and open to the public. For more information, call 202-319-5683. Persons requiring disabilities accommodations should contact [email protected].
MEDIA: To cover the event, contact Katie Lee or Mary McCarthy Hines in the Office of Public Affairs at 202-319-5600 or [email protected].
