One of the Académie française “immortals” and a reputed philosopher and theologian, speaks on the post-war years in France, a time of turmoil, and renewal, for christianity.

Jean-Luc Marion, a professor at the University of Chicago and the Sorbonne, will give a lecture on Cardinal Lustiger and the “New Springtime of the Church” in Paris. Marion gave an éloge for Archbishop Jean-Marie Cardinal Lustiger when he assumed the cardinal’s seat in the Académie française.

As Archbishop of Paris, Cardinal Lustiger gained the nickname “le bulldozer” for his efforts to rebuild the Church by founding new parishes, establishing a new seminary and the École Cathédrale, creating Catholic Radio Notre- Dame and KTO television, establishing a cultural center for dialogue at the Collège des Bernardins (a thirteenth-century monastery building recovered from the state), and publishing a best-selling books, among them Osez Croire, or Dare to Believe.

Lustiger’s work was grounded in a deep spirituality nourished by the “French School” of Bérulle and François de Sales, a commitment to reconcile the French Church with democracy, and an effort to establish deeper relations with the Jewish people.

This event is co-sponsored by the Lumen Christi Institute for Catholic Thought at the University of Chicago