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“Ad multos annos,” which in Latin means, “for many more years,” represents the legacy of St. Thomas Aquinas’s contributions to Catholicism, culture and philosophy during the 800th anniversary of his birth this week.

 

To celebrate, Notre Dame hosted a four-day conference from Sept. 22 to Sept. 25, 2024. Events were kicked off Sunday with an opening Mass on Sunday, Sept. 22 with the first keynote address by John A. O’Brien Professor of Theology, Jean Porter, and a reception to follow.

 

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday began with a continental breakfast in McKenna Hall and various chaired sessions to follow. The talk’s themes include, but are not limited to: metaphysics, ethics, politics & society, psychology & anthropology and theology. With over 30 presenters for the semi-plenary sessions and over 120 speakers committed to presenting their research and papers, the three days of panels and speakers were day-long. “Aquinas at 800: ‘Ad multos annos,’ ” had over 500 attendees registered in person, as well as the option for Zoom participation.

 

Keynote speakers include Notre Dame’s own, Jean Porter, Serge-Thomas Bonino, O.P. and Thomas Joseph White, O.P. of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas (Angelicum) and Rudi te Velde of Tilburg University.

 

Around campus, students may notice various homages to Aquinas besides his contributions in the classroom. Sorin College’s chapel bears his name, as well as a variety of undergraduate philosophy courses beginning with “Aquinas on…”

 

Kat Regala, a senior in the Program of Liberal Studies (PLS), attended several of the week’s offerings.

 

“I enjoyed engaging with the scholarly tradition.” Regala said.

 

Preparation for this conference also began with the inception of a class that would pair well with the content. Taught by Professor Denis Robichaud, “Aquinas’s Philosophical Bookshelf or Aquinas’s Great Books” fulfills the Intellectual and Cultural History requirement for the major. Arden Jennings, another PLS senior and member of Robichaud’s class, found value despite the course’s obligation to attend.

 

“The conference was a great way to expand my thinking on Aquinas by hearing from scholars in so many different niches of Thomism,” Jennings said. “I especially enjoyed the lectures on virtue and thinking of his works as “an itinerary of the moral life.”