News around the globe
To mark the 100th anniversary of Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty's ordination, the Irish Post Office has issued a special stamp. O'Flaherty lived at the German seminary Campo Santo Teutonico for almost ten years and, during the German occupation in 1943/44, brought around 6,500 people, including numerous Jews, to safety from the Nazis.
From 4 to 27 July 2026, Rector Prelate Dr Peter Klasvogt invites seminarians to Paderborn for the Summer Academy on Catholic Social Teaching. The theme is Pope Leo's vision of the Church between continuity and change.
The new online platform Communio (Herder Publishing House) regularly publishes articles related to Rome (category ‘City of Wonders’), most recently an article by Stefan Heid entitled ‘Farewell to the Pope King: Pius XI, the Feast of Christ the King and Christian Archaeology’.
Deadline: 31. January
Marco Besl and Claudia Wiener from the University of Munich are inviting submissions for their conference from 19 to 21 November 2026.
8 December marks the 20th anniversary of the death of renowned Catholic theologian Leo Scheffczyk (1920–2005). To mark the occasion, Catholic private television station K-TV has produced a short documentary film lasting around 20 minutes, which will be broadcast several times over the coming days:
A major conference on the history of housing foundations entitled ‘Foundations as role models: the Fuggerei in context’ is taking place at the Augsburg City Archives. The range of lectures covers topics from the Fugger foundations in Augsburg to similar phenomena of poor relief and social welfare in Europe.
A study day is being held in Siena to mark the 500th anniversary of the Sienese Academy of the Intronati, an academy of writers and humanists. RIGG member Simone Andreoni will speak about the Hall of the Noble Ladies of Siena in the Collegio Petroniano.
Die Abtei von der King David Street aus gesehen.
by Sebastian Grünbaum
In August 2025, I was generously given by the Görres Society and the Abbey of the Dormition the possibility to visit Israel.
The benedictine Abbey of the Dormtion is a wonderful place that is situated on Mount Zion. The beautiful church, built from sandstone, whose foundations were laid 125 years ago, can be visited daily. There is also a possibility to enjoy the Benedictine spiritual tradition in the form of daily hours. Downstairs in the crypt, there is a beautiful sculpture of Mary as she is sleeping.
The Schneemelcher College of the Protestant Theology Faculty at the University of Bonn is hosting the first Patristic Schneemelcher Symposium. Topics relating to the Apocrypha, the Old Testament and art will be presented
Yesterday, 3 September, it was that time again: in the evening, the procession of the brightly lit Gothic macchina of St. Rosa, patron saint of Viterbo, took place. In March, the staff of the Roman Institute had taken a trip to Viterbo, and now Federica Giordani was able to take photos from her room at close range.
Römisches Institut der Görres-Gesellschaft
