Workshop on the relevance of Gaudium et Spes in preparation for the centenary of Opus Dei
On April 23, at the Aula Alvaro del Portillo of the Santa Croce University, the workshop Inculturating Faith in Today’s Human Context – Insights from the Relationship between Faith and Culture according to Gaudium et Spes will take place. This academic event brings together scholars and researchers around one of the central questions of contemporary Christian thought: the relationship between the Gospel and culture.
The meeting is structured as a space for dialogue between keynote presentations and contributions selected through a call for papers, offering a plurality of disciplinary perspectives. Starting from Gaudium et spes, the speakers will explore the meaning of culture as the place where faith is expressed, engaged, and embodied.
The sessions will be devoted primarily to the theoretical foundations of the relationship between faith and culture, with contributions highlighting both the challenges posed by contemporary crises and the resources offered by the Christian tradition to interpret them. Ample time will be dedicated to discussion, fostering direct exchange among participants. Throughout the day, the selected contributions will explore specific themes of inculturation: from the role of the laity in society and education, to the dialogue between faith and science, and the cultural implications of political and economic action. There will also be reflections on the transmission of faith within the family context and on the Christological foundation of culture, in dialogue with figures such as Joseph Ratzinger and Josemaría Escrivá. The event thus presents itself as a laboratory of ideas, bringing together theology, philosophy, and the human sciences, and reflecting on how the Christian message can be communicated and lived within contemporary cultural conditions.
The workshop is part of a broader research program promoted by the University on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Gaudium et Spes (1965) and in preparation for the centenary of the founding of Opus Dei (1928–2028). The three-year project includes two seminars and one workshop each year, involving faculty members and doctoral students in a path of reflection on the relationship between the Gospel and culture.
For the current academic year, particular attention is given to the promotion of human culture and the dialogue between faith and culture, with reference to paragraphs 53–62 of Gaudium et Spes, offering an opportunity for interdisciplinary reflection on the cultural challenges of the present.
