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By Neomi De Anda and Kayla Harris

The Marian Forum began in the fall of 2015 to provide a yearly occasion for the University of Dayton community, the global Marianist community and the International Marian Research Institute to reflect more deeply about Mary and the wide range of topics related to the study of Mary. The forum’s offerings alternate between academic presentations and interactive or spiritual activities such as liturgies, campus pilgrimages and panel discussions. Events scheduled for this year’s forum on Tuesday, Feb. 13, reflect the theme of Marian shrines. 

Mass, Mardi Gras and Marian Shrines

The forum’s events begin with a Marian votive Mass in the Marianist Hall Chapel at 12:30 p.m. After this Eucharistic celebration, a Mardi Gras parade will take place from the chapel to the Adele Center on Frericks Way. Inside, the Mardi Gras celebration continues from 1:45 to 3:30 p.m. with mingling and refreshments in the McGinnis Room.

Marian shrines and Mardi Gras celebrations use sensory, outward signs and symbols to reveal the significance of what unifies a certain community socially and religiously, respectively. The Catholic symbolism used in Marian shrines can offer a retrieval of the Catholic meaning of Mardi Gras because of Louisiana’s rich French Catholic history of communally revering Mary — evidence of which are the French Ursulines’ National Shrine of Our Lady of Prompt Succor and appeals to Louisiana’s patron saint, Our Lady of Prompt Succor, to intercede and keep communities safe during hurricane season.

University of Dayton Connections

At 3:45 p.m. in the Roesch Library Gathering Place, Katherine Dugan and Karen E. Park will give a lecture on their latest book American Patroness: Marian Shrines and the Making of US Catholicism. This lecture will be livestreamed. Visit go.udayton.edu/marianforum to register to attend virtually.

Marian Library director Kayla Harris wrote a chapter in this book focused on how an increase in online devotional practices, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, have pushed Marian shrines to provide opportunities to engage with their communities on the Internet. Mary of the Americas, an app created by undergraduate students from the University of Dayton in 2018, is one example of this type of creative innovation. 

University of Dayton community members can access the e-book of American Patroness through the University Libraries catalog. 

Marianist Award

The final event of the forum is the presentation of the Marianist Award at 5:15 p.m. in the Kennedy Union Ballroom. The University of Dayton presents the Marianist Award each year to a Roman Catholic who has made notable scholarly contributions to enriching Catholic intellectual tradition. 

This year’s recipient, sociologist Thomas Landy, is the founder of Collegium, a summer faculty development program exploring faith and intellectual life. Although retired as Collegium’s executive director, Landy continues to contribute to Catholic intellectual life, directing the Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J. Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture at the College of the Holy Cross and leading research for Catholics & Cultures — an online resource he founded that documents the religious lives and practices of lay Catholics in their own cultural contexts around the world.

In addition to the lecture and award presentation, Dugan, Park and Landy will visit select classes to further engage with students.

The Marian Forum is free and open to the public. Visit go.udayton.edu/marianforum for more information.