The first workshop of the Centro Studi Internazionale Leone XIV ETS officially begins, marking the launch of the Association’s scientific program, established in Florence on December 16, 2025. The inaugural meeting will take place from May 14 to 16, 2026, at the Convento di Santo Spirito, in preparation for the international conference scheduled in Rome on September 16–17, 2026.
The initiative is part of the research and training activities promoted by the Center and is inspired by the Apostolic Exhortation Dilexi Te of Pope Leone XIV on love for the poor, which serves as the guiding reference for the entire program.
The theme of poverty is thus adopted as a privileged lens through which to address the challenges of the contemporary world, in a perspective that intertwines theological reflection, social analysis, and political responsibility.
The May Workshop: An Internal Working Session
The May workshop will be held in Florence from May 14 to 16, 2026, at the Convent of Santo Spirito. It will bring together the Scientific Committee and the Local Organizing Committee of the Center for an in-person meeting focused on research themes and future planning.
Participation is reserved for members of the Scientific Committee, the Local Organizing Committee, and selected guests, in a deliberately intimate setting designed to foster in-depth dialogue and shared development of ideas.
The work will be structured around three main areas—theological foundations, contemporary issues, and experiences and proposals—following an interdisciplinary approach that will form the basis of the subsequent international conference.
The three conveners of the workshop will be Cristina Simonelli, Massimo Faggioli, and Simone Morandini, all leading scholars in the academic landscape.
- Cristina Simonelli, president of the Italian Women Theologians Coordination, teaches patristic theology in Verona and at the Theological Faculty of Northern Italy in Milan and is one of the most authoritative voices in contemporary theological thought.
- Simone Morandini, a theologian and expert in environmental ethics and science-faith dialogue, is vice-dean of the San Bernardino Ecumenical Studies Institute in Venice and teaches at the Pontifical University Antonianum.
- Massimo Faggioli, an internationally renowned historian of religions, teaches in Europe and the United States and is currently Professor of Historical and Contemporary Ecclesiology at the Loyola Institute of Trinity College Dublin.
The International Conference in Rome (September 2026)
The work initiated in Florence will continue with the international conference to be held in Rome on September 16–17, 2026, at the Pontificio Istituto Patristico Augustinianum, titled:
“Let everything be yours in common. The Frontiers of Poverty”
The conference will open with welcome addresses by Giuseppe Pagano and Juan Antonio Cabrera, followed by the Lectio Magistralis by Enrico Giovannini on the theme of poverty.
The program will be organized into several thematic sessions:
- Theological Foundations, with contributions by Donatella Scaiola and Kieran O’Mahoney on the biblical dimension of poverty, followed by Michele Cutino and Francesco Salvestrini on patristic and monastic traditions, with a focus on Saint Augustine. The discussion will be accompanied by the contribution of Donatella Pagliacci.
- Contemporary Issues, addressing Church teaching, global conflicts, and inequalities, with contributions from Erio Castellucci, Lucia Capuzzi, and Patrizia Giunti, alongside reflections on education and new technologies, including that of Elías Neira. The discussion will be accompanied by the contribution of Pier Davide Guenzi.
- Experiences and Perspectives, focusing on global poverty and its political and religious implications, with contributions from Luis Marín de San Martín, Debora Spini, and again Massimo Faggioli. The discussion will be accompanied by the contribution of Claudia Maiorelli.
The conference will conclude with a session dedicated to young scholars from international universities and final remarks by Joseph Farrell, Prior General of the Order of Saint Augustine.
A Public Lecture by Donatella Pagliacci
As part of the Florence workshop, a public event is also scheduled within the Center’s first lecture series dedicated to Saint Augustine.
On Thursday, May 14, 2026, at 5:30 PM, in the Chapter Hall of the Convent of Santo Spirito, Donatella Pagliacci will deliver the lecture:
“Let us live well, and the times will be good” (Sermo 311). Good citizenship and good politics according to Augustine
A full professor of Moral Philosophy at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan and a lecturer at the University of Macerata, Pagliacci is a leading scholar in philosophical anthropology and Augustinian thought.
The event, open to the public, offers an opportunity to reflect on the relationship between faith, citizenship, and political responsibility, providing a contemporary interpretation of Augustine’s thought.
The International Study Center Leone XIV
The Centro Studi Internazionale Leone XIV ETS is a research, training, and cultural institution established within the Order of Saint Augustine and inspired by the teaching of Pope Leone XIV.
Founded in 2025 as a Third Sector entity, the Center is based at the Convent of Santo Spirito in Florence and serves as a place of dialogue between academia, institutions, and civil society.
Its activities include scientific research, training programs, conferences, and collaborations with universities and research centers, with the aim of contributing to the understanding of global transformations and fostering a culture oriented toward the common good, responsibility, and the relational dimension of the human person.
