Catholic Cafe: Enhancing Regis' Catholic Identity

The Catholic Café, run by the Catholic Studies department within Regis College, consists of monthly meetings of Regis students, staff, and faculty on topics of importance in developing our understanding of the Catholic faith. Your donation on Regis Gives Day will help to fund speakers, community meals, and the cost of scholarly books and articles to further the development of our Catholic students and enhance Catholic identity and religious community at Regis University.

The Catholic Cafe project was born out of conversations between the Director of the Program of Catholic Studies, Dr. Michael Baxter, and students who wanted support for their traditional Catholic beliefs and practices. The program involves late afternoon talks, often with an accompanying speaker, followed by a meal and post-dinner questions and conversations.

The series began with an examination of "The Catholic Thing," a theme derived from G.K. Chesterton's writings on becoming Catholic and elaborated on by Bishop Robert Barron. Some potential future topics for the series include: how to be Catholic in an increasingly secular society; maintaining ethnically rooted Catholic identities amid the dynamics of immigration and assimilation; and Catholic great books, such as Augustine’s Confessions, Dante’s The Divine Comedy, and Newman’s The Idea of a University.

With additional funding, The Catholic Cafe aims to host more speakers, help to cover the cost of program meals, and purchase articles and books for the series to further participants’ intellectual engagement. This project should be supported by parents aiming to help the University nurture the faith of Catholic students, by alumni aiming to help recover and sustain the Catholic character of Regis; and by friends of Regis aiming to contribute to Catholic intellectual life in Denver, the Front Range, and around the state of Colorado.

Please consider a gift on Regis Gives Day in support of this program and help Regis live out its mission as a university of the Catholic faith.