Rev. Tomás García Huidobro, S.J., the Rev. Francis Wade, S.J., Chair in the Department of Theology, will present the Rev. Francis Wade, S.J., Public Lecture on Thursday, Feb. 28, at 4 p.m. in the Raynor Memorial Libraries, Beaumier Suites BC.
Born in Santiago, Chile, in 1971, Father García Huidobro studied theology at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, the Boston College School of Theology and the University of Deusto. With a doctorate in biblical theology, his academic interests revolve around the Jewish roots of early Christian mysticism.
His topics of interest include the Temple of Jerusalem, the High Priesthood, early Adamic theology, the resurrection as a transformation of the believer and more. The sources that occupy his investigations are mainly the Fourth Gospel, the Pauline Letters and the Letter to the Hebrews, as well as the Jewish and Christian apocryphal, the gnostic literature, the rabbinic literature and the Hejalot.
After serving as a New Testament professor at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Father García Huidobro was sent to work in Russia where he was rector of the Propaedeutic Seminary and director of the Iñigo Library and Cultural Center in Novosibirsk, and director of the Saint Thomas Institute and of Symbol magazine in Moscow. His first encounter with the Russian world, however, came much earlier, during the years of his preparation for the priesthood, when he was sent to study the language and Russian culture from 1999 to 2001. The universality of the Society of Jesus has led him to enter into the dialogue between Zen Buddhism and Christianity in Japan where he meditated under the supervision of the Rev. Kakichi Kadowaki, S.J.
The lecture is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. For questions or special needs, please contact Debra Reeder at (414) 288-7511.