Catholic Colloquium with Vatican Journalist John Allen, Jr.

Well-known journalist, blogger, and commentator on all
things related to the Vatican John Allen, Jr. will discuss the papacy of Pope
Francis on Wed., Sept. 11 as part of Saint Xavier University’s (SXU) Catholic
Colloquium lecture series. This event is co-sponsored by SXU’s Office for University
Mission and Ministry and the Vicariate V Ministry Commission.

Allen’s lecture, titled “Faith and the ‘Francis Effect’:
What a New Pope Means for the Catholic Future,” is scheduled from 6:30 to 8
p.m. in the Butler Reception Room, located in the Warde Academic Center at
SXU’s Chicago campus, 3700 W. 103rd St. This event is free and open to the
public, but registration is required for guaranteed seating. To register,
please visit www.sxu.edu, keyword: allen.

Allen will bring his worldwide experience of Catholicism to
a reflection on the papacy six months after the election of Pope Francis and
talk about what these beginning months suggest about the future of the Church,
globally and in the United States.

Allen is the prize-winning senior correspondent for the
National Catholic Reporter and the senior Vatican analyst for CNN. He is the
author of seven bestselling books on the Vatican and Catholic affairs,
including “The Future Church: How Ten Trends Are Revolutionizing the Catholic
Church” and “Ten Things Pope Francis Wants You to Know.” Allen covered the
conclave that elected Pope Francis, has traveled the world covering Catholic
affairs, and writes a weekly Internet column titled “All Things Catholic.” His
work is admired across ideological divides within the Church, and he is a
popular speaker on Church matters in the United States and abroad.

The Catholic Colloquium lecture series, inaugurated in 2006,
honors the responsibilities of a Catholic university to serve its students,
faculty, staff and the broader Catholic and civic communities by providing
opportunities to examine contemporary civic, religious and social questions in
the light of a vibrant, socially committed faith. Speakers in this series also
explore ideas and issues that foster the development of healthy, active
spiritual lives.

For more information, please contact University Mission and
Ministry at (773) 298-3900 or mschroeder@sxu.edu, or visit www.sxu.edu,
keyword: allen.