2018 - “The Catholic Church in the European Project”

Tuesday, October 2, 2018
Eck Visitors Center Auditorium

Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States of the Holy See, was invited to give the 2018 Keeley Vatican Lecture. Known for his gregarious personality and extensive global experience, Archbishop Gallagher delivered a lecture entitled “The Catholic Church in the European Project,” which explored the Catholic Church’s relationship to “the European Project” during a time of turbulence in European and global affairs.

Paul Richard Gallagher was born in Liverpool and attended St. Francis Xavier’s (Jesuit) College in Woolton. He attended the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy and joined the Vatican’s diplomatic service in 1984. In that service Gallagher has held positions in Tanzania, Uruguay, war-torn Burundi and Guatemala, the Philippines, and the Council of Europe.

In 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Rev. Gallagher to serve as his Papal Nuncio to Australia, a position he held until Pope Francis appointed him Secretary of State in 2014. The Secretariat of State is responsible for the Holy See’s network of nunciatures and diplomatic missions to states and international organizations around the world. Rev. Gallagher is the first Briton to hold this high a position in the Vatican's foreign affairs. In his capacity as Secretary, he has been an advocate for peace, ecumenism, the abolition of the death penalty, and the importance of freedom of religion and freedom of conscience.

The Keeley Vatican Lecture seeksto deepen Notre Dame’s connection to the Holy See by bringing distinguished representatives from the Vatican to campus to explore questions related to Notre Dame’s Catholic mission. The series was established in 2005 through the generous support of Terrence R. Keeley (‘81). Past speakers in the series have included Rev. Antonio Spadaro, SJ; Bishop Borys Gudziak; Rev. Friedrich Bechina, FSO; Archbishop Charles J. Brown; Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella; Walter Cardinal Kasper; Archbishop Jean-Louis Bruguès, OP; Reinhard Cardinal Marx; Angelo Cardinal Amato; Archbishop Celestino Migliore; and Dr. Francesco Buranelli; and Archbishop Michael J. Miller.

Event details | Lecture paper | Photo gallery | Press release