Events include Mass, lectures, panel

The Society of Catholic Scientists (SCS) chapter at Notre Dame hosted its second annual Faith and Science Week from September 16–20, celebrating the age-old dialogue and unity between the natural sciences and Catholicism in their pursuit of truth.

Co-sponsored by the College of Science and the McGrath Institute for Church Life, Faith and Science Week was organized by the student chapter of the SCS on campus, part of a national organization whose mission, according to club officers, is to dispel the commonly held belief that science cannot inform us about the Christian faith, and vice versa. 

The current president of the SCS chapter at Notre Dame, Elliott Kirwan, explained to the Rover that the society works to “provide a place for undergraduate and graduate science students to gather together and celebrate the way that both faith and science pursue truth together.”

The week’s festivities centered around the “Gold Mass,” which was first celebrated for scientists and engineers at MIT in 2016. The Mass, celebrated annually at Notre Dame since 2017, uses gold, following the color of the hoods and tassels of science graduates.

This year, the Mass was celebrated on the memorial of St. Hildegard of Bingen, who was declared a Doctor of the Church for her contributions to theology, ecology, music, and the healing sciences. Students and faculty from the Colleges of Science and Engineering gathered in the basilica to commemorate her feast and the special week.

Following Mass, students and faculty were invited to attend a lecture delivered by Gary Lamberti, Ph.D., Nieuwland Professor Emeritus of Aquatic Science in the Department of Biological Sciences at Notre Dame, who previously served as chair of the Department of Biological Sciences.

In the lecture entitled “The Global Freshwater Crisis: Science, Society, and Spirituality,” Lamberti advocated for increased care for water as the planet’s most imperiled resource. He noted that more than two billion people lack access to clean water and half of the world suffers from inadequate wastewater treatment. The discussion considered how society can address the freshwater crisis in light of Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical Laudato si’. 

Also included in the week’s events was a virtual tour of the universe in Jordan Hall’s planetarium, guided by a dialogue between an astronomer and a theologian. 

Joey Heston, a fifth-year graduate aerospace and mechanical engineering student, told the Rover that the guided tour was “really interesting,” emphasizing the implications of the astronomical data on display. “I think the thing that I found most interesting about it was how the radiosphere is a lot smaller than we often think it is. If other intelligent life existed elsewhere in the universe, we probably wouldn’t know about it just because of how long it takes the light to travel.”

Programming also included an in-person workshop focused on climate change and the Laudato Si’ Action Platform, an initiative to encourage parish and institutional involvement in the mission. An “Ask Me Anything” panel on faith and science featured four faculty members from the College of Science and the theology department and was followed by adoration and a reflection led by Sister Damien Marie Savino, F.S.E., Ph.D., Dean of Science and Sustainability at Aquinas College.

Notre Dame has long-standing connections to SCS and has hosted past society events on campus. In 2022, an official student chapter was established at Notre Dame for students passionate about science and its role in addressing questions such as: Who are we? Where do we come from? How was the universe created? Does evolution disprove that God created us?

If you would like to be added to the Society of Catholic Scientists’ newsletter, you can contact Elliott Kirwan at ekirwan@nd.edu.

Frankie Machado is a senior in Stanford Hall majoring in the Program of Liberal Studies and Pre-Health and can be contacted at fmachado@nd.edu. He can most likely be found reading a book in one hand and sipping on Cuban coffee in the other, attempting to break down the stereotype of the typical “Florida man.”

Photo Credit:  Society of Catholic Scientists

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