Father John Francis Kartje, rector of the University of Saint Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary, will speak on Nov. 13 at Elmhurst College on “How to Engage Mystery: Advice from a Scientist for Nones, Nuns and All.”
With doctoral degrees in both scripture and astrophysics, he will bring unique insight to the exploration of how faith and science inform each other.
A native of East Chicago, Indiana, Father Kartje has been President of the University of Saint Mary since 2015. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics and a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics in 1987 from the University of Chicago. In 1995, the University of Chicago’s Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics conferred a Ph.D. degree on Father Kartje.
The title of his doctoral dissertation was “Models of the Optical/Ultraviolet Continuum Polarization in Active Galactic Nuclei: Implications for Unification Schemes.”
Father Kartje was ordained in the Archdiocese of Chicago and received a Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree from the University of St. Mary of the Lake in 2002. He earned a Doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Catholic University of America’s Department of Biblical Studies in 2010. The title of his dissertation is “Wisdom Epistemology in the Psalter: A Study of Psalms 1, 73, 90, and 107.”
The Elmhurst College lecture will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Frick Center.