The Lord's Jester: Re-discovering St. Francis of Assisi through the eyes of G.K. Chesterton

A conversation

with Fr. Ian BOYD, C.S.B. , President of The G. K. Chesterton Institute for Faith & Culture, Editor of The Chesterton Review and Dermot QUINN, Ph.D., Professor of History, Seton Hall University

Presented by Crossroads Cultural Center, and The G.K. Chesterton Institute for Faith and Culture

What makes G.K. Chesterton's book on St. Francis very remarkable is the very question that it intends to address, as explained in the introduction. In short, it is the following: How could a man like St. Francis happen? Because, as Chesterton says, modern men can make sense of Francis only by suppressing one side of his personality. Some people admire his humanitarian spirit, but must ignore his asceticism. Others venerate the saint, but let his sanctity push his humanity into the shadows. The fact is, instead, that Francis was a lover because he was a saint, and was a saint because he was a lover. In fact, according to Chesterton, Francis remains a mystery until we understand “that to this great mystic his religion was not a thing like a theory but a thing like a love affair.” Unfortunately, this deep unity of our faith and our humanity is very hard to understand for us today. We live in an age of fragmentation, in which God may have a place in our life, but he must stay there. This is why it is so important that we remember that there was someone for whom love of God and love of life coincided.

The event is open to the public and free of charge.

About this Event

Date: Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Time: 7pm
Location: Crossroads Auditorium
125 Maiden Lane, 15th Floor, NY, NY
(ID required to enter the building)
map

About the Speakers

Fr. Ian Boyd, C.S.B.
President, The Chesterton Institute for Faith & Culture

Dermot Quinn, Ph.D.
Professor of History, Seton Hall University

Invitation

Download the invitation.

Video

Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part V
Part VI
Part VII

Photos - click on image below