The Lattey Lecture

Sister Damien Marie Savino will deliver the biannual Lattey Lecture, "Humans as Gardeners: 'Tilling' and 'Keeping' in the Spirit of Integral Ecology", on Thursday, 30 April 2026 at 5:30 pm in the Garden Room, St Edmund’s College. Given the availability of space, we would like to invite anyone interested in attending to register by 23 April. A small drinks reception will follow in the Garden Room.

In his landmark environmental encyclical, Laudato Si’: On Care for our Common Home, Pope Francis called for "a new way of thinking about human beings, life, society and our relationship with nature" (LS 215). What might this new way of thinking – and living – look like, especially in view of the notion of integral ecology that lies at the heart of the encyclical? This lecture dialogues with that question, proposing the image of humans as gardeners and exploring the vocation to "till and keep" that was entrusted to humans in Genesis 2:15. The lecture draws from themes in the speaker’s recently published book, "Learning the Language of Creation: Catholic Social Teaching and Integral Ecology". Applying the biblical notions of "tilling and keeping" to contemporary ecological concerns, the lecture reflects on how these complementary approaches can enrich the Catholic understanding and practice of integral ecology and creation care.

About Sister Damien Marie Savino: Sister Damien Marie Savino is a Franciscan Sister of the Eucharist who holds a doctorate in Civil/Environmental Engineering and masters’ degrees in theology and soil science. Her interdisciplinary research interests include integral ecology and Catholicism, theology and science, technology and faith, ecological restoration, and resilience theory. Currently she serves as the Melchor Visiting Research Professor in the College of Engineering at the University of Notre Dame, with a concurrent appointment in the McGrath Institute for Church Life. Sister Damien Marie is author of the 2025 book, "Learning the Language of Creation: Catholic Social Teaching and Integral Ecology", available from Liturgical Press. She was also an editor and contributor to the 2023 book, "Responding to the Global Pandemic as a Systemic Crisis: The Economy of Francesco as a New Paradigm". She has published and lectured widely, both nationally and internationally, on integral ecology, Laudato Si’ and creation care, the integration of science and faith, and questions of technology.

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