The Pope Francis Institute

Pope Francis walking in front of a white wall

A hub for learning, dialogue and leadership formation launching at St. Jerome’s University

Continuing a mission of mercy

One year after Pope Francis’s death, St. Jerome’s University is announcing the launch of the world’s first initiative of its kind dedicated to advancing his substantial pastoral legacy.

Centred on our Waterloo campus, yet with a global reach, the Institute will be guided by the core themes of Francis’ pontificate. These include amplifying voices on the peripheries, advocating for migrants and refugees, caring for our common home, and healing the social fragmentation of our digital age.

Grounded in a living tradition

As a new kind of space for public engagement, the Pope Francis Institute will leverage St. Jerome’s unique position at the nexus of academic, ecclesial and community life. Its programming will apply the wisdom of our tradition to contemporary concerns, while deepening faith through study and reflection.

The endeavour represents the next chapter in St. Jerome’s University’s over 160-year legacy of forming virtuous leaders for lives of dynamic Christian service.

A powerful instrument for cultural renewal

The Pope Francis Institute expands St. Jerome’s time-tested toolset, while putting it in the hands of a wider, international audience. It will host a diverse range of programs, each rooted in the spirituality of Francis and the educational tradition of his Jesuit order.

  • Professional development and continuing education, including microcredentials. These programs provide holistic formation to equip leaders in ministry, education, healthcare, and the social service sectors.
  • Personal formation programs focused on ethical, values-based leadership principles. These include immersive retreats and workshops that draw on the wealth of Francis’ teaching to inspire mercy and radical solidarity.
  • Public lectures and events that assemble scholars, religious leaders, activists, and engaged citizens to address critical contemporary issues. These gatherings will build on the success of the Lectures in Catholic Experience, which for more than forty years have brought leading field experts to St. Jerome’s.
  • Groundbreaking research conducted by the Institute for Religion, Culture, and Societal Futures, also housed at St. Jerome’s. The IRCSF is Canada’s leading driver of social scientific and empirical research related to religion, spirituality, and emerging forms of communities of belief and practice.

St. Jerome’s is grateful for the support of an Advisory Committee of local and international experts, who have been convened to develop the Institute and plan its initial activities.

Advisory Committee Members

Dr. Peter Meehan (Co-Chair)

Peter is a historian of the social, religious, and political history of the Catholic Church in Canada. He currently serves as the 8th President and Vice Chancellor of St. Jerome’s University in the University of Waterloo.

Dr. Carol Ann MacGregor (Co-Chair)

Carol Ann is St. Jerome’s Vice President Academic and Dean. She is a sociologist of religion and serves as an Associate Director of the Institute for Religion, Culture, and Societal Futures at St. Jerome’s.

Dr. Tricia Bruce

Tricia is a sociologist of religion and She is an Affiliated Research Scholar of the University of Southern California’s Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies and a 2025-2026 Affiliate with the Center for the Study of Religion and Society of the University of Notre Dame. In 2024, she was appointed by Pope Francis as a Consultor to the General Secretariat of the Synod on Synodality.

Sebastian Gomes

Sebastian is the director and writer of Salt and Light Media Foundation documentaries The Francis Effect (2014) and The Francis Impact (2019). He is currently Executive Editor of Audio and Video at America Magazine, the Jesuit review, and serves as executive producer of the Inside the Vatican and Jesuitical podcasts.

Dr. John Milloy

John serves as Director of the Centre for Public Ethics at Martin Luther University College as well as Practitioner-in-Residence in the Department of Political Science at Wilfrid Laurier University. He is a former Liberal Member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario (2003–2014), representing the riding of Kitchener Centre. During his time in office he held several cabinet portfolios including Minister of Social Services and Minister of Training, Colleges, and Universities. Prior to his time at Queen’s Park he served as a legislative assistant to Prime Minister Jean Chrétien.

Dr. Michael W. Higgins

Michael is the author of, among other books, The Jesuit Disruptor: A Personal Portrait of Pope Francis (House of Anansi, 2025) and the fifth President and Vice Chancellor of St. Jerome’s University. He currently serves as the Basilian Distinguished Fellow of Contemporary Catholic Thought at the University of St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto.

Dr. Sarah Wilkins-Laflamme

Sarah is an Associate Professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology and Legal Studies at the University of Waterloo. She specializes in the sociology of religion and currently serves as Director of the Institute for Culture, Religion, and Societal Futures. She is widely considered to be Canada’s leader in understanding quantitative data about religion and regularly serves as an advisor to national and international survey research projects.

Rev. Dani Villanueva, SJ

Rev. Dani Villanueva, SJ, is a Jesuit priest from Spain currently based in Bogotá, Colombia. He is trained as a computer science engineer and holds a Licentiate in Moral Theology from Boston College, along with a Global Executive MBA from Georgetown University. His work centers on integrating social justice, pastoral ministry, education, technology, and network-based approaches to mission. He currently serves as General Coordinator of the Fe y Alegría International Federation, a Church-based educational network serving communities at the margins through more than 1,800 schools in over 22 countries.

Dr. Michael P. Murphy

Michael is Director of Loyola University Chicago's Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage. His research interests are in Theology and Literature, Systematic Theology, and the literary/political cultures of Catholicism—but he also thinks and writes about issues in eco-theology, social ethics, and new media ecologies. His most recent scholarly work is "Technologies of the Incarnation: Catholic Cosmotechnics and New Horizons for Liturgical Participation"in Catholic Cosmotechnics in the AI Age (forthcoming from St. Augustine's Press, spring, 2026). 

Pope Francis placing his hand on the head of a child in the crowd

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The Pope Francis Institute will officially launch with a public event in the 2026/2027 academic year.

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Support the Pope Francis Institute

The exceptional support of the St. Jerome’s community provides the foundation for a project of this scope and significance. We prayerfully ask you to discern how you can help build a “culture of encounter” through the Pope Francis Institute.

Photos:

Pope Francis walking by Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Pope Francis with children by ThiênLong is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0