But a celestial brightness—a more ethereal beauty—
Shone on her face and encircled her form, when, after confession,
Homeward serenely she walked with God's benediction upon her.
When she had passed, it seemed like the ceasing of exquisite music.

Nuns loom large in American art depicting the Catholic Church, from Oscar winning films like The Bells of St. Mary’s, Song of Bernadette, and Lillies of the Field, to paintings by Andrew Wyeth and Andy Warhol. This artistic portrait of the American Church has some basis in fact—of the twelve canonized saints claimed in some way by the United States, seven of them were nuns. It should come as little surprise then that when American authors tell the story of the Church in the United States, they are in the habit of foregrounding nuns, from the poems of Longfellow, to the histories of Hawthorne, from the comic musings of Flannery O’Connor to the lovely novels of Willa Cather.

This season of Global Catholic Literature will focus on three figures: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, whose Acadian epic Evangline tells a story of Catholic immigration to 18th century America; Rose Hawthorne, daughter of Nathaniel Hawthorne, literary convert, and nun; and Flannery O’Connor, whose writings fictional and non-fictional paint a comic picture of the American nun. On the 250th anniversary of the American Founding, Longfellow, Hawthorne, and O’Connor will take us to the nunneries and trace the subtle, indispensable role nuns have played in the American Church from the Founding to the present day.

Join us as we read through Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s beautiful poem in dactylic hexameter, Evangeline, meditate on the writings of Venerable Rose Hawthorne Lathrop, O.P., and contemplate Flannery O’Connor’s comic vision of American nuns.

Thither, by night and by day, came the Sister of Mercy. The dying
Looked up into her face, and thought, indeed, to behold there
Gleams of celestial light encircle her forehead with splendor…

Dates: Mondays in October, 7:00 - 8:30 PM ET

• October 5

• October 12

• October 19

• October 26

Location: Virtual via Zoom. The link will be distributed to participants via email in advance of each session.

Registration:

• Early Bird Registration: $65 through September 5

• Regular Registration: $75 through October 1

To register, click the button below. Questions? Please contact Joe Perez-Benzo (jperezbenzo@collegiuminstitute.org).