15th Annual Thomas Merton Black History Month Lecture
“Lead Me, Guide Me”:
The Gift
of Black Catholics to the Universal Church
Chris Pramuk
Through oral history, poetry, and sacred song, Dr. Pramuk explores the dynamics of faith in the witness of Black Catholics in the United States. Their gift is an enduring gift of wisdom, as Thomas Merton describes it, an “attunement of opposite tensions” born in the crucible of African American experience and the Psalmist’s faith that God can “make a way out of no way.”
Dr. Christopher Pramuk is Regis University Chair of Ignatian Thought and Imagination, and an Associate Professor of Theology, where he teaches courses in theology and spirituality. He is the author of six books, including two award-winning studies of the famed Catholic monk and spiritual writer Thomas Merton, as well as Hope Sings, So Beautiful: Graced Encounters Across the Color Line, a meditation on race relations in society and church. Chris’s latest book, The Artist Alive: Explorations in Music, Art, and Theology, draws from his many years of using music, poetry, and the arts in the classroom. Chris lectures widely around the country and has led retreats on topics such as racial justice, Ignatian spirituality, and the witness of Thomas Merton.
Co-sponsored by: Campus Ministry, Bellarmine University, Magee Christian Education Foundation and Louisville ITMS Chapter.