The McFarland Center is committed to furthering the study of the diversity and context-specificity of Catholic practice today, in a Church whose greatest vitality is increasingly found in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The Center promotes Global Catholicism scholarship both on campus, through faculty research and events, and in the public eye, through open-access resources like the Journal of Global Catholicism and Catholics and Cultures.
Global Catholicism for a Public Audience
Catholics and Cultures
Catholics and Cultures is a website that gives students, teachers, and members of the public across the world access to scholarship, data, videos, and images depicting contemporary forms of lived Catholicism around the world. This dynamic resource currently features content from more than 40 countries and regions, from Argentina to Ukraine. Explore by country or theme.
Journal of Global Catholicism
The Journal of Global Catholicism is an open-access, peer-reviewed scholarly journal founded by Editor-in-Chief Mathew N. Schmalz, professor of religious studies at Holy Cross. It is dedicated to fostering the understanding of diverse forms of lived Catholicism with attention to their significance for theoretical approaches within and across multiple academic disciplines. The Journal invites submissions. Read the latest issue»
The Catholic World
The Catholic World, an upcoming volume published in the Routledge Worlds Series, seeks to provide a comprehensive overview of the Catholic tradition as global, diverse, and multi-faceted with the understanding that “Catholic” itself is a polythetic category, which is shifting and flexible. The volume will situate Catholicism within its global context, provide a substantive overview of key elements structuring Catholic belief and practice, and conclude with a thematic approach that engages Catholic Studies as a sub-discipline. The Catholic World aims to be a comprehensive resource for scholars and students who wish to engage Catholicism not as a monolith, but as an ever-evolving and locally instantiated lived religious tradition.
Global Catholicism on Campus
Sponsorship of Faculty Research in Global Catholicism
The McFarland Center promotes new scholarship in the field of Global Catholicism by sponsoring faculty research across disciplines. This research helps people, in particular Holy Cross students, understand the distinctiveness and variety of Catholic practice around the world.
Lectures and Conferences
The McFarland Center hosts lectures and conferences both online and on-campus related to the study of Catholicism across the world.