University of Notre Dame

The McGrath Institute at the University of Notre Dame seeks renewal in the liturgical formation of children through a three-year research and formation project entitled, Contours of Wonder: Childhood and the Liturgical Imagination in Our Age. Based in the Notre Dame Center for Liturgy (NDCL), this initiative will cultivate liturgical formation founded upon a theology of wonder and childhood inspired by the works of Romano Guardini and Hans Urs von Balthasar. To that end, the NDCL will partner with Villanova University to host three scholarly gatherings, culminating in three research volumes. Based on this research, a series of workshops and a leadership cohort will be piloted in five partner dioceses throughout the United States. Cohort participants will spend a year exploring new ways to approach the liturgical formation of children and developing an implementation plan for their local churches, schools, and dioceses toward a renewed vision of children and worship for the whole Church. The initiative will offer an undergraduate course based on the themes of childhood, wonder, and liturgical formation. To promote ongoing scholarship in this area, the NDCL will host lectures and webinars throughout the three-year initiative and also offer three academic research fellowships to undergraduate and graduate students.