WHERE “EVERYTHING IS WAITING FOR YOU”
(David Whyte)
→ 2026 Program PDF
The program presented below is not complete. Please be patient and come back soon, as we update program items daily.
FRIDAY, February 13, 2026
6:30 PM ET | Pavilion Auditorium
Flyer PDF | JPG
‘Everything is waiting for you’ (David White)
The Encounter opens with music, a talk by Colum McCann, writer, and a reflection by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Patriarch of Jerusalem
IN-PERSON & LIVESTREAMED
FRIDAY, February 13, 2026
9:00 PM ET | Pavilion Auditorium
Flyer PDF | JPG
A Place Where Freedom Thrives in Friendship
An evening of classical music with pianist Kuok-Wai Lio, cellist Nathan Vickery, and violinist Xiao Wang
IN-PERSON & LIVESTREAMED
SATURDAY, February 14, 2026
9:30 AM ET | Pavilion Auditorium
Flyer PDF | JPG
Hungry for Belonging?
A panel discussion on the perceived religious revival in the West, featuring Justin Brierley, writer; Lauren Jackson, journalist of The New York Times; and Chip Rotolo, research associate at the Pew Research Center, moderated by Brandon Vaidyanathan, professor of sociology at The Catholic University of America
IN-PERSON & LIVESTREAMED
SATURDAY, February 14, 2026
10:45 AM ET | ALTMAN Auditorium
Where Dignity Is a Given, Not a Goal
A witness by Rose Busingye, founder of Meeting Point International, an NGO in Uganda, moderated by Mark Danner, an international security and risk management consultant
IN-PERSON ONLY
SATURDAY, February 14, 2026
11:30 AM ET | Pavilion Auditorium
Flyer PDF | JPG
A Home in the Storm
Witnesses by Msgr. Pavlo Honcharuk, Bishop of Kharkiv, and Fr. Wojciech Stasiewicz, director of Caritas-Spes of the Kharkiv-Zaporizhia Diocese, on the faith that sustains the Church in Ukraine, moderated by Msgr. Earl Fernandes, Bishop of Columbus
IN-PERSON & LIVESTREAMED
SATURDAY, February 14, 2026
12:45 PM ET | ALTMAN Auditorium
Just War?
A conversation on contemporary Catholic teaching on the moral dilemmas posed by armed conflicts, with Gregory Reichberg, research professor at the Peace Research Institute Oslo, moderated by Amy Sapenoff Hamm, teacher
IN-PERSON ONLY
Saturday, February 14, 2026
1:30 PM ET | ALTMAN Auditorium
EXHIBIT PRESENTATION
The Matter of Time
Presentation of the exhibit on the meaning of time in science, history, and life with Valeria Frisullo Curto, curator
IN PERSON ONLY
SATURDAY, February 14, 2026
2:00 PM ET | Pavilion Auditorium
The End of an Era?
A conversation on the crisis of globalization and its significance with Paolo Carozza, professor of law, concurrent professor of political science, University of Notre Dame, and Michael Sandel, Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government, Harvard University
IN-PERSON & LIVESTREAMED
SATURDAY, February 14, 2026
3:15 PM ET | ALTMAN Auditorium
Places of Belonging
The photography of Walter Rosemblum through the eyes of his daughter, Nina Rosenblum, documentary film director, moderated by Amy Hickl, dean of faculty, Notre Dame Academy School, Los Angeles
IN-PERSON ONLY
SATURDAY, February 14, 2026
4:00 PM ET | Pavilion Auditorium
A Fact in History
A presentation of At the Origin of the Christian Claim, a seminal work by Fr. Luigi Giussani, on the occasion of its new translation, with John Haldane, chair of the Royal Institute of Philosophy, emeritus professor, St. Andrew University, U.K., Cyril O’Regan, Huisking professor of theology, University of Notre Dame, Ruth Okediji, Jeremiah Smith Jr. professor of law, Harvard University, and Davide Prosperi, president of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation, moderated by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, Papal Nuncio to the U.S.
IN-PERSON & LIVESTREAMED
Saturday, February 14, 2026
5:15 PM ET | ALTMAN Auditorium
EXHIBIT PRESENTATION
You Can’t Die for a Dollar
Presentation of the exhibit on Peter Giannini, founder of Bank of America, with Astrid Rosa, curator
IN PERSON ONLY
SATURDAY, February 14, 2026
6:00 PM ET | Pavilion Auditorium
The Church and AI
A panel discussion on how Catholic social doctrine is addressing the challenges of artificial intelligence, with Louis Kim, former vice president of personal systems and AI at Hewlett Packard, Chuck Rossi, distinguished engineer, Meta, and Paul Scherz, professor of theology, University of Notre Dame, moderated by Davide Bolchini, executive associate dean, Luddy School of Informatics, Indiana University
IN-PERSON & LIVESTREAMED
Saturday, February 14, 2026
7:15 PM ET | ALTMAN Auditorium
EXHIBIT PRESENTATION
There Is No Greater Love
Presentation on the exhibit on Franz and Franziska Jägerstätter with Joe Gleason, film editor of A Hidden Life, and Margaret Tobin, curator
IN PERSON ONLY
SATURDAY, February 14, 2026
8:00 PM ET | ALTMAN Auditorium
More Than Just a House
The concept of dwelling place in the Muslim and Jewish tradition, with Wael Farouq, associate professor of Arabic Language and Culture, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, and Malka Simkovich, editor-in-chief of the Jewish Publication Society, moderated by Stephen Adubato, associate editor of Compact
IN-PERSON ONLY
SATURDAY, February 14, 2026
9:00 PM ET | Pavilion Auditorium
The Rock
An electronic rock-pop gospel, based on T. S. Eliot's Choruses from “The Rock,” adapted and directed by Jared McNeill, theater director
IN-PERSON & LIVESTREAMED
SUNDAY, February 15, 2026
8:30 AM ET | Pavilion Auditorium
Holy Mass
Mass for the 21st anniversary of Fr. Luigi Giussani’s death, celebrated by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, with the Choir of the New York Encounter, directed by Sebastian Modarelli, music director at the Co-Cathedral of St. John, Rochester, MN
IN-PERSON & LIVESTREAMED
SUNDAY, February 15, 2026
10:15 AM ET | ALTMAN Auditorium
Seascapes and Countryside
Places of belonging in the poetry of Gerald Manley Hopkins with Ron Hansen, novelist, and Paul Mariani, poet, moderated by Tom Tobin, English high school teacher
IN-PERSON ONLY
———
Featured image: Vincent van Gogh, View of Vessenots Near Auvers, 1890, oil on canvas, The Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum, PD-US
SUNDAY, February 15, 2026
11:30 AM ET | Pavilion Auditorium
Time and the Temple
A conversation between Fr. Mauro Lepori, Abbot General of the Cistercian Order, and high school students from Atchison, KS, involved in the exhibit “Cry Out to Him Who Is Now,” moderated by Aaron Riches, professor of theology, Benedictine College
IN-PERSON & LIVESTREAMED
SUNDAY, February 15, 2026
12:45 PM ET | ALTMAN Auditorium
Seeking a Home
A Catholic view on the status of immigration to the U.S. with Ashley Feasley, legal expert in residence at the Immigration Law and Policy Initiative, The Catholic University of America, Msgr. Evelio Menjivar-Ayala, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., and Mario Russell, executive director, Center for Migration Studies, moderated by Jackie Aldrette, managing director, AVSI USA
IN-PERSON ONLY
SUNDAY, February 15, 2026
2:00 PM ET | Pavilion Auditorium
250 Years and Counting…
A panel discussion on the current relevance and future prospects of America’s founding ideals with Mary Ann Glendon, Learned Hand professor of law, emerita, Harvard University, and Meir Soloveichik, American Orthodox rabbi and writer, moderated by John McCarthy, professor of philosophy, The Catholic University of America
IN-PERSON & LIVESTREAMED
SUNDAY, February 15, 2026
3:15 PM ET | Altman Auditorium
Joyful Days Ahead
A presentation of Giovanni Calzone’s diary, an Italian philosophy teacher who died young, with Carolyn Boothe, U.S. Navy lieutenant, and Peter Fields, physicist, The University of Chicago, moderated by Holly Peterson, assistant superintendent for academics, Diocese of Columbus
IN-PERSON ONLY
SUNDAY, February 15, 2026
4:00 PM ET | Pavilion Auditorium
Something Incredible, Waiting to Be Known
An introduction to quantum physics and quantum computing with Mikhail Lukin, Joshua and Beth Friedman university professor and co-director of the Quantum Science and Engineering Initiative, Harvard University, and Giulia Semeghini, assistant professor of applied physics, Harvard University, moderated by Evelyn Tang, assistant professor of physics and astronomy, Rice University
IN-PERSON & LIVESTREAMED
SUNDAY, February 15, 2026
5:30 PM ET | Pavilion Auditorium
Twice Called
A tribute to the 19 martyrs of Algeria with Fr. Thomas Georgeon, postulator of the cause of beatification, Anne-Marie Gustavson, sister of Bishop Pierre Claverie, and Paul Heck, professor of theology and Islamic Studies at Georgetown University, moderated by Msgr. Stephen Raica, Bishop of Birmingham
IN-PERSON & LIVESTREAMED
SUNDAY, February 15, 2026
7:00 PM ET | Pavilion Auditorium
‘The fire roars and the door stands open’
(G. K. Chesterton)
Final night of celebration and songs with the Encounter volunteers
