THE McGRATH INSTITUTE OF CHURCH LIFE
& THE SOCIETY OF CATHOLIC SCIENTISTS
present
THE McGRATH INSTITUTE OF CHURCH LIFE
& THE SOCIETY OF CATHOLIC SCIENTISTS
present
WHAT IS THE ST. ALBERT INITIATIVE?
The St. Albert Initiative is a half-day program on science and faith for Catholic high school students, teachers, and parents as well as interested members of the general public (high school age and above). It will feature short talks by Catholic scientists and the opportunity to meet, eat with, and ask questions of Catholic scientists in many fields and at various stages of their careers.
It will be held at the Event Center at the Cathedral of the Assumption in San Francisco, CA, on Friday, March 13, 2026, from 8:45am to 2:30pm. (Sign-in at 8:45am. Events start at 9:15am)
The St. Albert Initiative is sponsored by the Society of Catholic Scientists (SCS), the Science and Religion Initiative of the McGrath Institute for Church Life.
Event highlights include:
An Opening Talk (45 minutes including questions) on "Science and the Catholic Faith," by Stephen M. Barr and Chris Baglow.
‘Lightning Round’ Talks. There will be three rounds of 25-minute talks, with a menu of eight talks to choose from. Talk titles: "Evolution and the Catholic Faith" / "What Does Artificial Intelligence Do and How Does it Work?" / "Modern Science, the Catholic Church and the Galileo Affair" / "The Science of the First Humans" / "The History of Life in Deep Time" / "Is the Universe Fine-Tuned for Life?" / "The Chemical Elements and Cosmic Order" / "The Big Bang and Fr. Georges Lemaitre"
Big Questions/Ask-a-Scientist Poster Sessions. Attendees will have an opportunity to meet Catholic scientists one-on-one and ask them about their fields of science, career paths, the big unsolved questions in their areas of science, being a Catholic in science, and anything else they are curious about. The scientists will be a varied group: young and old; male and female; experimenters, observational scientists, and theorists; and in many areas of research. Students interested in STEM subjects and teachers interested in renewing their own understanding will dialogue about cutting-edge topics, including: evolutionary biology, early humans, grand unified theories of particle physics, the Big Bang and cosmology, chemistry, plant biology, genomics, environmental science, biomedical research, planetary science, mathematics, and much more.
Click HERE for the PROGRAM & SCHEDULE. Click HERE for Bios of Speakers and Poster Presenters.
REGISTRATION:
How to Register: Please register through the Registration Page on the McGrath Institute website. NOTE: on the Registration Page, each person coming should individually register. At the opening of the event, during the sign-in period, attendees will be asked to fill out a very brief sign-in sheet, but registration must be done in advance through the Registration Page.
Registration Deadline: Registration will close on March 11, 2026.
Does it Cost Anything to Register?:
The event is free for all attendees (high school students, teachers, parents, and interested members of the general public).
High school teachers get 6 hours of professional development (certificate to be awarded by the University of Notre Dame).
Members of the general public are welcome to register to attend the event.
LOCATION: The event will take place at Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep School (click HERE), address 1055 Ellis St, San Francisco, CA 94109.
The St. Albert Initiative is named after St. Albert the Great, bishop, scientist, philosopher, theologian, teacher, and patron saint of natural science and scientists.