I Have Called You Friends

Experience the Event

Presented by de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture

Ever felt your imagination crave a deeper sense of wonder? Step directly into a rich world where mythic landscapes awaken your soul and ancient faith reshapes everyday life. By reconnecting truth with beauty, this immersive experience rekindles your spirit, lifting you out of modern isolation into a radiant, sacramental vision.

Want more On Catholic Imagination? Click here to check out the full series.

Meet the Speaker: Ben Reinhard '08 M.M.S., '14 Ph.D.

Ben Reinhard ’08 M.M.S., ’14 Ph.D. is a professor of English at the Franciscan University of Steubenville after nine years at Christendom College, where he served as English department faculty, Director of the Advanced Studies Program, and Academic Dean. His research focuses on Anglo-Saxon literature and culture, Middle English literature, and the Inklings. Ben received his B.A. from Purdue University and his M.M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame. Ben is originally from Bluffton, Indiana and lives in Steubenville with his wife Hannah and their five children.

Meet the Speaker: Jon Balsbaugh

Jon Balsbaugh is an assistant professor of education at Hillsdale College. He has more than 25 years of experience as a teacher and administrator. Prior to this, he was the president of Trinity Schools, a network of private Christian schools of classical education across the country.

Meet the Speaker: Siobhan Maloney Latar

Siobhan Maloney Latar is a teacher at Trinity School at Meadow View in Falls Church, Virginia, as well as adjunct professor of theology at St. Bernard’s School of Theology and Ministry in Rochester, New York. She studied Humanities and Catholic Culture at Franciscan University and received her Masters in Theological Studies and Doctoral Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies in Marriage and Family in Washington, D.C.

Her dissertation was on the Scottish writer and theologian, George MacDonald, and her license thesis was entitled, “Light from an Invisible Lamp: the Sacramental Vocation of the Artist according to J. R. R. Tolkien.” Her work and interests include philosophy, Church history, the intersection of art, literature and theology, and the sanctity of work and the lay vocation.

Meet the Moderator: Richard Kim '08 M.A., '12 Ph.D.

Richard Kim ’08 M.A., ’12 Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Loyola University Chicago. His core areas of research are ethics, moral psychology, and East Asian philosophy. His research seeks to deepen our understanding of the nature of well-being and relevant concepts including pleasure, emotion, and virtue. In both research and teaching he employs an interdisciplinary, cross-cultural methodology that integrates traditional philosophical analysis with contemporary empirical research and insights from East Asian philosophical traditions.

Before coming to Loyola he received my PhD from the University of Notre Dame and worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the City University of Hong Kong and Saint Louis University.