Enter the conversation where love and complexity converge.
November 9–11, 2026
The Villanova Inn · Villanova, Pennsylvania
In 2026, we celebrate a decade of visionary work—ten years of imagining love as the energy of transformation, and a pivotal turning point as that work continues under a new name: the World Institute for Science, Religion and Culture (WISR). We invite you to gather with us in person (and online) at Villanova University to mark this milestone and deepen our shared journey.
More details on speaker lineup and schedule are coming soon—for now, plan to join us!
Confirmed Speaker Lineup
The following speakers are confirmed for plenary talks and panel discussions.
As additional speakers are added, they will be included here.
Ilia Delio
Ilia Delio, OSF, PhD, is a Franciscan Sister of Washington DC and Professor at Villanova University. She is the Founder and Executive Director of the World Institute for Science, Religion and Culture, an online educational forum focused on integrative thinking and personal formation. She is the author of over twenty-five books, including The Christian Mutation: Reclaiming the Dynamic God of Jesus (Orbis, 2026), The Not Yet God: Carl Jung, Teilhard de Chardin and the Relational Whole, The Hours of the Universe which won the 2022 Gold Nautilus Book Award and The Unbearable Wholeness of Being: God, Evolution and the Power of Love (Orbis 2013) which received the 2014 Silver Nautilus Book Award.
Ilia graduated with a B.S. in Biology from DeSales University, a master’s degree in biology from Seton Hall University, a doctorate in Pharmacology from Rutgers University-New Jersey Medical School, and a doctorate in Historical Theology from Fordham University. She is also the recipient of four Honorary degrees, as well as the Association for Catholic Colleges and Universities Monika Hellwig Award for her contributions to the Catholic Intellectual Tradition.
Her area of research is Systematic-Constructive theology with a focus on religion and evolution, following the vision of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. She continues to develop a new framework of God, self and world through the integration of science and religion, mapping the next level of human evolution in an age of artificial intelligence.
Kathleen Duffy
Kathleen Duffy, SJ, PhD, is Professor Emerita of Physics, Director of the Institute for Religion and Science at Chestnut Hill College, President of the American Teilhard Association, Associate Editor of Teilhard Studies, and serves on the Board of Cosmos and Creation. Kathleen is the recipient of the Doctor of Humane Letters, Honoris Causa from Iona College, New Rochelle, NY, October 18, 2009; was inducted into the Hall of Fame for Catholic Witness, St. Hubert High School in 2005; and received the John Templeton Foundation Quality and Excellence in Teaching Award in 1998.
Her current research interests concern the religious essays of Jesuit paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, his spirituality, and the relationship of his synthesis to modern developments in science. She has published award-winning books including Teilhard’s Mysticism: Seeing the Inner Face of Evolution; Teilhard’s Struggle: Embracing the Work of Evolution; an edited volume of essays about Teilhard’s life and work entitled Rediscovering Teilhard’s Fire, as well as many book chapters and articles. Kathleen also guides evening, weekend, and week-long retreats on topics related to Teilhard’s life and work.
Dan Horan
Daniel P. Horan, PhD, is Professor of Philosophy, Religious Studies and Theology and Director of the Center for the Study of Spirituality at Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana. He is also Affiliated Professor of Spirituality at the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas. A columnist for the National Catholic Reporter, he is the author or editor of more than fourteen books, including Catholicity and Emerging Personhood: A Contemporary Theological Anthropology, A White Catholic’s Guide to Racism and Privilege, and The Way of the Franciscans: A Prayer Journey Through Lent. Prof. Horan’s most recent book is titled Engaging Thomas Merton: Spirituality, Justice, and Racism and his next book, due out in Summer 2024, is titled Fear and Faith: Hope and Wholeness in a Fractured World. He is currently working on a book on Christology tentatively titled, Not Because of Sin: Reconsidering the Reason God Became Human.
His academic research, writing, and teaching focuses on medieval and contemporary spirituality, theological anthropology, Christology, antiracism and LGBTQ issues, and theologies of creation. Prof. Horan regularly lectures around the United States and abroad; and serves on several university, academic, and publication editorial boards. He is recipient of numerous awards for his writing and service and is co-host of The Francis Effect Podcast.
Andrew Del Rossi
Andrew Del Rossi, Ph.D., is a theologian, author, and retreat leader with a focus on the integration of spirituality and psychology. He holds a doctorate in theology with a concentration on Christian spirituality from La Salle University in Philadelphia, serves as the director of the Spirituality Center at Daylesford Abbey in Paoli, PA, is on the Board of the American Teilhard Association, and hosts the Sacred Synergy podcast. Andrew's new book Sacred Synergy: Spiritual & Psychological Growth in an Evolving World was published with Paulist Press in May of 2026.
Gregory Stock
Gregory Stock, Ph.D., is a scientist, writer, entrepreneur, and public communicator whose work represents a deep exploration into what it means to be human in the 21st century. During his career, he has developed the foremost paradigm for personal inquiries into values and beliefs, which has significant implications for humankind as it faces the profound shifts brought by silicon and biotech. Today, Greg serves as an expert speaker and advisor to biotech and healthcare companies and to non-profits at the cutting edge of human health.
Thomas Jay Oord
Thomas Jay Oord, Ph.D., is a theologian, philosopher, and scholar of multi-disciplinary studies. Oord is a best-selling and award-winning author, having written or edited more than forty books. Academic Influence ranks him among the most influential theologians in the 21st century. Oord directs doctoral programs at Northwind Theological Seminary and directs the Center for Open and Relational Theology. He is known for his research and writing on love, open and relational theology, science and religion, evil and power, and the implications of freedom and relationships for transformation.
Session Schedule and Details
All times are in Eastern Time (ET) | GMT-4 (New York). Please adjust accordingly if you're in a different time zone.
Monday, November 9
4:00 - 7:00 PM | General Registration
5:00 - 6:45 PM | Donor Reception (Invitation Only)
7:00 PM | Introduction and Welcome
7:15 – 8:30 PM | Ilia Delio
Love and the indestructible in Teilhard de Chardin
For Teilhard de Chardin, love is the indestructible energy that outlasts universal collapse — but only because it participates in Omega: a real, personal, already-actual center, immanent yet transcendent. Omega is uncreated Love, and the possibility of love when everything else breaks down. As the ground of the personal, it ensures that what finally survives is not impersonal energy but persons in communion, held by a Love that resists breakdown and pulls us onward.
8:00 – 8:45 PM | Keynote Q&A
Tuesday, November 10th
8:00 – 8:15 AM | Optional Morning Reflection
8:30 – 9:00 AM | Continental Breakfast & Gathering
9:00 – 10:15 AM | Thomas Jay Oord
Disruption and the Many Meanings of Love
At least a half dozen meanings of love are on offer today. Each meaning suggests a particular way to make sense of disruption in an evolving universe. Some do so poorly, others do better. In this lecture, I will draw from different meanings of love to propose a way of understanding love that makes sense of disruption. This way is inspired by Alfred North Whitehead, Teilhard de Chardin, and Christian scripture, but it is not restricted to them.
10:15 – 10:30 AM | Coffee Break
10:30 – 11:45 AM | Andrew Del Rossi
Build the Earth: Involution, Embodiment, and Planetary Healing
“The Age of Nations is past. The task before us now, if we would not perish, is to shake off our ancient prejudices, and to build the Earth.” — Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Teilhard’s prophetic words present an urgent question for today: What does it mean to build the Earth? Drawing from the vision of Teilhard de Chardin, Thomas Berry, and other contemplatives, this presentation explores the relationship between involution—the inner expansion of consciousness—and embodiment as essential dimensions of healing and wholeness on a global scale.
In a world marked by conflict, fragmentation, and ecological crisis, lasting transformation requires more than external change. It calls for an inner awakening that expands our capacity for love, communion, and creative participation in an unfolding universe. As consciousness ascends, it seeks expression through the very matter of our embodied lives and is committed to the mutual flourishing of the entire earth community. This talk invites us to explore how personal transformation and planetary healing are inseparable dimensions of a single evolutionary process in which each of us is called to build the earth.
11:45 AM – 1:00 PM | Lunch Break
1:00 – 2:00 PM | WISR Circle Networking
2:00 – 3:30 PM | Breakout Sessions
Dan horan - Discovering god and the true self: contemplation according to thomas merton
This breakout presentation explores the rich tradition of Christian contemplation as practiced and taught by the twentieth-century mystic, monk, and author Thomas Merton. Widely recognized as the father of contemporary Christian meditation, Merton’s teachings on the practice of contemplation retrieved ancient wisdom for modern audiences, inspiring generations of spiritual practitioners to discover God and, in turn, discover their true selves. In this session, we will examine who Merton was, what Merton’s teachings on contemplation and the ‘True Self’ are, and why these spiritual insights matter for us today.
Shaleen Kendrick - Do this in Re-Membering: The Last Supper, Glimmers, and Co-Regulation as Worship
If theology for humans is corporeal, then worship must reach us where we actually live: in sensing, breathing, relating bodies. This experiential breakout draws on a neurospirituality reading of the Last Supper as a ritual of re-membering. Through the lens of interpersonal neurobiology and polyvagal theory, the bread and wine become what that theory calls glimmers: sensory cues of safety that help nervous systems regulate, alone and together. "Do this in remembrance" becomes an invitation to return, again and again, to wholeness-making. Rather than a transaction rooted in unworthiness, the table becomes a practice of co-regulation and grace as a somatic reality. Participants will explore how shame-based ritual can encode fragmentation and how integrative ritual can cultivate belonging, then practice a simple table ritual together: a sensory anchor, naming what is fragmenting and what nourishes, and the norm "witness, don't fix." Participants will leave with a practice they can bring to their own tables, classrooms and communities, and with a question: what might it mean that God meets us through the rhythms of the body?
Tripp Fuller & Ilia Delio - Love at the Edge of the Fracture: Ilia Delio on Ten Years of Christogenesis
Teilhard de Chardin lived through two world wars and still found love working beneath the rubble, pulling the universe toward greater unity. So what do we do with that vision now, in a world that seems committed to splitting apart? I sit down with my friend Ilia Delio as the World Institute for Science, Religion and Culture marks its 10th anniversary with Love, Conflict, and an Unfolding Universe. We talk about WISR's future, why conflict might be part of evolution and not a sign it has failed, what The Christian Mutation says about the dynamic God of Jesus, and whether cosmic love can still lead in the age of AI. Are we doomed as a species, or is something deeper going on? Ilia thinks it's the second. Come find out why.
3:30 – 4:00 PM | Music & Coffee: Rusty Nelson
4:00 – 5:00 PM | Integration Session
Conference attendees will be given the opportunity to ask questions of the speakers who have presented so far and an open dialogue space will open for mutual learning and integrative process.
5:00 – 7:00 PM | Dinner Break
7:00 – 7:15 PM | Award for Excellence in Teilhard Studies
7:15 – 8:00 PM | Award Address: Kathleen Duffy, SSJ
The Promise of Paradox
During his tenure as stretcher bearer during World War I, Teilhard experienced a deep spiritual/psychological encounter with God and the Cosmos that initiated a new way to understand reality. As a result, he was able to live a more integrated life, a life that could deal with the many contradictions that beset him. In fact, his profound synthesis depends on his ability to live with paradox. In his first wartime essay, “Cosmic Life,” Teilhard attempts to share this event and its effect on his view of the world. In this paper, I share examples of Teilhard’s abundant use of paradox both in his relationships and in his writings and his process for transcending such barriers. I argue that understanding more clearly his approach to contradiction could help us evolve toward a more integral way of living that has serious implications for our modern world at this very polarized time in history.
Wednesday, November 11th
8:00 – 8:15 AM | Optional Morning Reflection
9:00 – 10:00 AM | Continental Breakfast & Gathering
9:00 – 10:00 AM | Dan Horan
The Difference Love Makes: What the Incarnation can Teach Us About Living in Community With All Creation
This presentation explores what difference a Christological view grounded in divine love might mean for those of us living in a time of violence and conflict, and how embracing this theological outlook can shape our faith and relationships in practical ways. In particular, we will explore how God becoming human in the Christ event reveals insights about how we human beings are called to live in community with all creation and renew our sense of ecological interdependence in an age of environmental degradation and climate crisis.
10:00 – 10:15 AM | Coffee Break
10:15 – 11:15 AM | Gregory Stock
AI as Agent of Human Transformation: Toward a Post-Truth World?
The general focus on the raw capabilities of AI frontier models and the implications of the coming emergence of AGI and ASI are blinding us to the far more powerful implications of massively networked specialized systems. From a macro-evolutionary perspective, it seems clear that coming massive networking effects in AI will be much more transformative than the evolution of AGI itself. Termite colonies, multicellular organisms, and today’s global brain all show how even relatively simple elements can, once massively interconnected, produce sudden phase transitions, and that is precisely what is unfolding with AI today.
The implications for us, a dramatic transformation of what it means to be human, are profound. We are rapidly entering a post-truth environment in which reliable evaluation what it is “real” becomes nearly impossible, yet narrow threads of verification remain possible—especially in the domain of human-to-human communication, which can still be deliberately walled off and made trustworthy through our technology. Doing so might meaningfully ease the turbulence of the immediate decades ahead.
11:15 AM – 11:30 PM | Stretch/Stand/Move Break
11:30 AM – 12:00 PM | Panel Discussion
12:00 – 12:30 PM | Closing Ritual
12:30 - 1:00 PM | Closing Remarks from Ilia Delio
Registration
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