Church history scholar to present the 2005 Bellarmine Lecture at Fairfield University | Press Releases

The Rev. John W. O'Malley, S.J., distinguished professor of church history at the Weston Jesuit School of Theology, will discuss his latest book, "Four Cultures of the West," on Wednesday, March 30, at 8 p.m. at Fairfield University. The talk, the 2005 Bellarmine Lecture, will take place in the Oak Room of the Barone Campus Center.

The Bellarmine Lecture series brings distinguished Jesuit scholars in a variety of disciplines to deliver public lectures at Fairfield, providing the community with a chance to hear and interact with Jesuit scholars. The series is part of programming sponsored by the Aloysius P. Kelley, S.J., Chair in Catholic Studies. The current chairholder is Paul Lakeland, Ph.D.

O'Malley, who presented the first lecture in the series in 1988, will discuss his 12th book, "Four Cultures of the West," (Harvard University Press, 2004). In the book, O'Malley considers and compares the "prophetic culture" of Gregory VII and Martin Luther, the culture of academic analysis, the humanistic world of letters and the culture of image, ritual, art and performance.

Despite the book's weighty subject matter, Publisher's Weekly praised O'Malley's ability to draw readers in with his "warm and conversational." Another reviewer called it a "bold tour de force."

O'Malley, who holds a Ph.D. in history from Harvard University, won the 1995 Jacques Barzun Prize for Cultural History from the American Philosophical Society for his 1993 book "The First Jesuits." The book also won the Philip Schaff Prize for Religious History from the American Society of Church History in 1996.

He also won the 1979 Howard R. Marraro Prize for Italian History from the American Historical Association for his book "Praise and Blame in Renaissance Rome" and the Roland Bainton Prize for History for "Trent and All That" at the 2001 Sixteenth Century Studies Conference.

In addition to his work at the Weston Jesuit School of Theology, O'Malley is chair of the board of trustees of the Renaissance Society of America and chair of the nominating committee for humanities of the American Philosophical Society.

O'Malley has been recognized for his scholarship with several honors, including honorary doctorates Loyola University Chicago, Gonzaga University, St. Louis University, Marquette University, Georgetown University and several other institutes of higher learning.

He has held visiting professorships and lectureships at the University of Michigan; The Divinity School, Harvard University; Boston College; and Oxford University.

Admission to the lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, call (203) 254-4000, ext. 2492.