I want to make people aware of an exciting partnership that is developing between the Theology of the Body Institute and www.Pontifex.University. Together we have created a unique graduate degree program called Master of Arts: Theology of the Body and the New Evangelization. 

As we’ve worked together designing this program, I’ve enjoyed getting to know the provost of Pontifex, David Clayton. You can learn more about his important work renewing the arts and culture through his blog and podcast at thewayofbeauty.org. You can see and hear David and me having a lively discussion about the popular culture and the New Evangelization here. 

We will have more details to come about our new relationship with Pontifex in upcoming newsletters. For now, I will let David tell you about the program in his own words, which follow.

By David Clayton

Pontifex University is canonically Catholic and faithful to the Magisterium. All of our courses can be taken online. We have no semesters, so you start when you want, go at your own pace, and work according to your own schedule. 

The Master of Arts Degree in Theology of the Body and the New Evangelization is granted by Pontifex University and is awarded after the successful completion of 36 credit hours, an exam for each course, and a final thesis. Twenty-two (22) of these credits will be acquired by completing eleven (11) five-day on-site courses offered by the Theology of the Body Institute. The remaining fourteen (14) credits will be acquired via Pontifex University’s online platform. You can see the full layout of Core and Elective courses here.

Rooted in the inspiring interpretation of Holy Scripture by Pope St. John Paul II, the courses offered by the TOB Institute integrate naturally with Pontifex courses to create a focus on the human person and our place in society today. The goal of this is not simply a theoretical understanding of the subjects, but also to lead each of us towards the supernatural transformation of the person in Christ. 

Our intention is that every student will strive to fulfill the artistic vocation to which we are all called — in which his medium is himself. As Pope St. John Paul II wrote in his Letter to Artists: “Through his ‘artistic creativity’ man appears more than ever ‘in the image of God,’ and he accomplishes this task above all in shaping the wondrous ‘material’ of his own humanity and then exercising creative dominion over the universe which surrounds him.” 

The shared vision of Theology of the Body Institute and Pontifex University is that graduates will actively participate in:

• Preaching to those who have never heard the gospel (ad gentes)
• Preaching to those Christian communities where the Church is present and who have fervor in their faith, and
• Preaching to those Christian communities who have ancient roots but who “have lost a living sense of the faith, or even no longer consider themselves members of the Church, and live a life far removed from Christ and his gospel. In this case what is needed is a ‘new evangelization’ or a ‘re-evangelization.”

Preaching, in this context, is the communication of the gospel by both words and deeds. It is understood that it is by the beauty and joy of our daily lives — and especially through the loving interaction with our fellows and by the beauty of Christian culture — that people become open to the reception of the Word.

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For more information or to enroll, please follow the instructions on the Master of Arts page here.