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Understanding the Human Person in Terms of Love
The Institute is devoted to the study of the truth about the human person in all of its dimensions: theological, philosophical, anthropological, and cosmological-scientific. In light of John Paul II’s realization that without love man is incomprehensible to himself (Redemptor Hominis, 10), the Institute centers its study of the person in the original community of human society: marriage and family. Nuptiality opens the person to the truth of love, and from this, unlocks the truth of all reality.
Academics
Why Study at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute?
We are called to be witnesses and educators of authentic Christian life with the ability to engage the questions of the world in view of its divine destiny.
Pope John Paul II founded the Institute upon the idea that there is a reciprocal in-dwelling between anthropological reflection and reflection on marriage.
“The truth about man is the way to know the truth about marriage; the truth about marriage is the way to know the truth about man. Reflection on marriage is the crossroads where all these issues meet: the truth of love and sexuality, the truth of freedom, the truth of the genealogy of the person, and of human society” (Cardinal Carlo Caffarra, Graduation Address to the Washington Session, May 10, 2016).
We are committed to the whole of the theological tradition in fidelity to the magisterium, avoiding the fragmentation caused by extreme progressivism or rigid traditionalism. We believe that the aim of a genuine theological education is to receive the tradition in a prayerful receptivity, drawing on what is true, good, and beautiful, while embracing authentic development in the Church. We also engage the works of the Western tradition and of our own age so that we may understand man in his concrete situation and bring the wisdom of the Church’s tradition to the contemporary questions of our culture.
In contrast to our culture that tends to minimize education to a mere transfer of data, an authentic pedagogy requires both student and teacher to enter into a community in pursuit of knowledge and wisdom. We strive to offer a theological education that is dedicated, in both content and form, to the truth of the human person, who is made for communion with both God and man.
The Washington D.C. session was founded as the first international chapter of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute.
The Institute’s student-faculty ratio allows for one-on-one mentorship and encourages community among students united in a life-giving mission.
A high percentage of our full-time students receive scholarships from the Institute through the generosity of the Knights of Columbus.
Featured Faculty
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Nicholas Healy
M.T.S. Program Advisor
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Michael Hanby
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Antonio López, F.S.C.B.
Provost
Professor of Systematic Theology
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Margaret Harper McCarthy
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Joseph C. Atkinson
S.T.L. and S.T.D. Program Advisor
Registrar
Peter Martin
S.T.L. ’10
Director of the Office of Life, Marriage & Family and Communications, Diocese of Winona-Rochester
“Having this great network of friends and colleagues who have also studied at the Institute allows me to find ways to care for the needs of the people in the Diocese in a way that respects the dignity of the person and their vocation to love.”
Institute Publications
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Humanum Review: Issues in Family, Culture, and Science
An online journal, Humanum is about the human: what makes us human, what keeps us human, and what does not. We sift through the competing ideas of our age so that we might “hold fast to what is good.”
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Humanum Academic Press
HAP offers contemporary scholarship in metaphysics and philosophical and theological anthropology. The focus is on works that deepen the teaching of the Second Vatican Council or develop a theology and an anthropology of love in light of pivotal thinkers, including Wojtyła, Ratzinger, Guardini, and von Balthasar.
Apply Now
After the January deadline, admissions continue on a rolling basis for the spaces that remain available.
You may apply online or download an application and send with supporting documents to the Office of Admissions.