The Albacete Lecture on Faith and Culture

Monsignor Lorenzo Albacete, soul, mind and mentor of Crossroads, chaired its advisory board from its establishment in 2007 until he passed away on October 24, 2014. In order to honor his memory, to deepen his profound intuitions about the interaction of culture with religiosity and reason, and to follow his shining example of dialogue with people in various walks of life by meeting them at the level of human experience, Crossroads has established the “Albacete Lecture on Faith and Culture.” Our desire is for it to become an annual occasion and a meeting place, a “crossroads” where people who share a passion for knowledge may develop an understanding of why culture matters and where it finds its origin. And our wish is that the lecture may become, in time, a relevant cultural event for the city of New York.


The 2019 Albacete Lecture on Faith and Culture


Obeying Our Own Creations: God and Disenchantment in Amazon's World

A lecture on idolatry and secularization by William T. CAVANAUGH, Professor of Catholic Studies and Director of the Center for World Catholicism and Intercultural Theology at DePaul University

Presented by Crossroads Cultural Center, the Albacete Forum and the Sheen Center

A century ago, Max Weber declared that the modern Western world was disenchanted: gods and spirits were pushed aside by rationalizing forces, especially science and capitalism. But Weber also worried about a new type of enchantment, that people had become subjected to forces of our own making that were increasingly out of our control. This lecture explores disenchantment and enchantment in a world dominated by Amazon.com, the epitome of rationalization, and the purveyor of magical commodities.

The lecture is free and open to the public.

Limited seats. Reservation required
RSVP at sheencenter.org

Transcripts from Past Lectures

Inaugural Albacete Lecture with Remi Brague, October 22, 2016

2nd Annual Albacete Lecture with Fr. Julián Carrón, October 23, 2017

3rd Annual Albacete Lecture with D.C. Schindler, October 27, 2018

4th Annual Albacete Lecture with William T. Cavanaugh, October 14, 2019

About this Event

Date: Monday, October 14, 2019
Time: 7pm
Location: The Sheen Center
18 Bleecker Street
New York, NY 10012
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About the Speaker

William T. Cavanaugh
Professor of Catholic Studies and Director of the Center for World Catholicism and Intercultural Theology at DePaul University


Who is Monsignor Lorenzo Albacete?

Monsignor Lorenzo Albacete

Msgr. Lorenzo Albacete, theologian, columnist and lecturer, was a physicist by training. He held a degree in Space Science and Applied Physics as well as a Master’s Degree in Sacred Theology from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. He also held a doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas in Rome. He was a co-founder and a professor at the John Paul II Institute in Washington, DC. He taught at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, NY, and from 1996 to 1997 served as President of Catholic University of Puerto Rico in Ponce. He was the advisor on Hispanic Affairs to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for many years. He was the author of God at the Ritz: Attraction to Infinity (Crossroad Publishing Company), a book in which, as priest-physicist, he talks about science, sex, politics, and religion.

Learn more about Monsignor Lorenzo Albacete »


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