The Soul of Catholic Education: Lecture Calls to Integrate Faith, Reason, and Service

In college, Jason King, Ph.D., Beirne Chair and Director of the Center for Catholic Studies at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, TX, was a mathematics major and found himself in a complex analysis class. “I liked math. I was good at it,” he said. “And one day the professor worked this proof on the board. At the end of it, he turned around with a tear in his eye and asked, ‘Isn’t that the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen in your life?’ To him, it was something more than numbers and logic. It was something captivating, something that moved him—and I didn’t see that.” 

At that point, Dr. King realized he needed to study something that stirred a similar passion in him.

Dr. King was the second speaker in the 2025–26 Vincentian Chair of Social Justice Lecture Series. His lecture, “The Soul of Catholic Education,” continued the series theme, “The Catholic Intellectual Tradition,” and was held on October 9 in the D’Angelo Center on St. John’s University’s Queens, NY, campus.

A professor helped Dr. King see that education was more than just following the right path and getting a job. It was also about new ideas, popular culture, social sciences, natural sciences, and “everything that you can imagine that helps you think about life and community.”

Dr. King began taking classes with professors whose reputation for inspiring their students preceded them. “Before, my path had felt narrow, shaped by pressures I couldn’t see and didn’t understand,” he explained. “I began to see a larger world, one of beauty and curiosity, values and purpose. I felt like I understood myself better and could make decisions about the life I wanted to live. I could see how my beliefs about what is good and true, as well as my relationships with friends and neighbors could guide my choices about how to live. I wanted meaningful work and a meaningful life.”

Dr. King believes his college education made it possible for him to find his way to professional fulfillment. “This is what drove me to become a teacher,” he reflected. “I felt like this awakening should be something for everybody. We should be more than our ability to work and produce. We should care and wonder, be moved by beauty and truth.” 

He added, “We should know we are not just defined by culture and economics and politics. We are more than employees and consumers, more than voters and statistics. We are persons capable of joy and dignity.”

All of this drove him to become a professor of theology, a discipline he sees as much more than courses or campus ministry, but a way of forming the whole person—intellectually, morally, and spiritually. “I went to Catholic colleges, not because they were perfect, but because I found in them a mission to point to that kind of education, the one that I experienced and wanted to share, the one that I thought was most important,” he said.

Dr. King referenced a national study that concluded graduates of Catholic colleges found their lives far more satisfying and purposeful. “These numbers point to the way Catholic education shapes not only minds, but whole lives,” he said. “The tradition emphasizes emphasis on dignity, community, transcendence, and lasting work.”

He noted that graduates of Catholic colleges stood out in terms of mentoring, serving on local school boards or community boards, and volunteering at food banks. Dr. King highlighted that St. John’s students dedicate more than 110,000 hours of volunteer work each year through community-engaged learning programs and campus-wide initiatives, such as  University Service Day.

“To affirm human dignity is to affirm our responsibility to one another,” he said. “Love of neighbor is not extracurricular—it’s essential.”

Before the lecture, a luncheon was held, allowing students to engage with Dr. King about their Catholic college experience and why they chose St. John’s.

Finance major Jack Collins, a sophomore, has attended Catholic schools his entire life. “Seeing how well my Catholic high school formed me and made me who I am, I only applied to Catholic colleges because I knew I wanted that same formation for my higher education,” he stressed. 

A member of the St. John’s chapter of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Jack was attracted to the University’s focus on service and education. “It drew me here. Now, I’m vice president of the chapter. I’m going to keep serving St. John’s and the larger community.” He is considering becoming a religion teacher in the future.

“When we think of the high cost of an education at a Catholic university, the issue of value-added to the price must necessarily emerge,” noted Rev. Patrick J. Griffin, C.M. ’13HON, Executive Director, Vincentian Center for Church and Society.  

“Dr. King provided us with a report that indicates the added value in the experience of a more meaningful life, in the participation in service, and in the call to ethical decision making. These concrete fruits encourage us who strive to make this kind of education available to our students. These are real values added.”

A recording of the lecture can be viewed here.