Renowned historical theologian Rev. Aidan Nichols, O.P. presented his first lecture as the College’s Rev. Robert Randall Distinguished Professor in Christian Culture on February 23 in the Smith Center for the Arts.

An affiliated lecturer at the University of Cambridge in England, Father Nichols is the second recipient of the Randall Professorship, which was established as the College’s first endowed chair in 2002. In his service as the Randall Professor this semester, he is teaching in the Liberal Arts Honors Program and is presenting two lectures to the College community.

Father Nichols’ lectures carry the general theme of  “Art, Religion and Society.” His first address was entitled  “The Order of Preachers and Art: The Dominicans of L’Art sacré.” It focused on the theological contributions by a group of Dominicans who became concerned about the poor state of religious art in the Province of France during a period from approximately 1937 to 1965.

His second lecture, “Craft or Connoisseurship: The Uses of Jacques Maritain’s Aesthetics,” will be on Wednesday, April 13, at 7:00 p.m. in the Feinstein Academic Center function room.

Born in 1948 in Lytham St. Anne’s, England, Father Nichols attained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Oxford University. Ordained in 1976, he holds a licentiate in sacred theology (S.T.L.) and a doctorate in theology. He has taught at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas (The Angelicum) in Rome, Italy, and at Blackfriars Hall, Oxford.

Father Nichols has published on numerous topics in theology including systematic, sacramental, and ecumenical theology. He has written 30 books and is currently working on a fourth volume of An Introduction to Balthasar.

The Rev. Robert Randall Distinguished Professorship in Christian Culture is named for a scholar, priest, and artist who served as a member of the faculty for more than 25 years. The professorship exemplifies the commitment to educational excellence and Christian values that have defined Father Randall’s life as an educator and priest.

The first recipient was Rev. Fergus Kerr, O.P., who is the director of the Aquinas Institute at Blackfriars Hall, Oxford.