Annual Teilhard de Chardin Lecture featuring Dr. Christiana Zenner
Sr. Ilia Delio, OSF
October 31
7 – 8:30PM
The Hank Center welcomes Dr. Christiana Zenner, as our 2026 Teilhard de Chardin, S.J. visiting Fellow in Catholic Studies. Professor Zenner, who specializes in the areas of fresh water values and ethics; religious ecological ethics at the intersection of ecological theory, Laudato Si’, and the ecological turn in Catholic social teaching, will offer this year's Teilhard lecture. The lecture will engage Teilhard's theological vision as a framework that provides valuable orientation for navigating contemporary challenges. All are welcome as we contemplate and discuss a future characterized by hope and active participation in the ongoing creative process, grounded in a threefold faith: faith in God, faith in the world, and faith in God in and through the world.
About Dr. Christiana Zenner
Dr. Christiana Zenner Christiana Zenner is Associate Professor of Theology, Science and Ethics in the Department of Theology at Fordham University, where she is affiliated faculty in Environmental Studies and American Studies. Her research into emerging and established fresh water ethics as well as Anthropocene conceptualizations intersects with ecological theory, religious ecologies, developments in the earth sciences, and the ecological turn in Catholic social teaching. In all of her work, she strives to grapple with the deep patterns—both conceptual and institutional—that shape perception of cultural-religious moralities and frames of ecological-ethical perception; to demonstrate rigorous and responsible multidisciplinary approaches to contemporary eco-social realities, especially those pertaining to fresh water justice and climate change; and to articulate constructive, anti-colonial, intersectional feminist ways forward.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was a Jesuit paleontologist who developed an innovative synthesis of evolutionary science and Christian faith, drawing particularly on Pauline cosmic Christology. His dynamic theology rests on two fundamental principles: emergence and complexity-consciousness, which together describe how matter evolves toward greater organization and awareness. This vision invites us into a new, mutual God-world relationship energized by love. Teilhard's theological framework offers valuable orientation for navigating contemporary challenges marked by rapid technological and social transformation. His vision encourages engagement with the future characterized by hope and active participation in the ongoing creative process, grounded in a threefold faith: faith in God, faith in the world, and faith in God in and through the world.