Unlock the profound wisdom of the past.

Become part of a vibrant community dedicated to the restoration of sacred languages.

“Lift up high the torch of Latin [as a] bond of unity among peoples of all nations”

- St. John Paul II

Providentially, revelation has come to us through Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.

Knowledge of these languages has become increasingly rare, and so people are closed off to the sources of revelation.

The Church’s age-old wisdom risks getting locked away in the past, or lost in translation while direct access has been limited to an elite few.

Most programs of study, their methodologies and standards, do not facilitate coming into contact with the sources of revelation.

Latin is a “portal through which all can gain access to the Christian truths received from antiquity and to the great source texts of Church teaching” (St. John XXIII, Veterum Sapentia).

Embark on a learning journey that “restores the Latin and Greek languages to their positions of honor” (VS 8) and revitalizes Catholic culture.

We believe all who want to live the Catholic faith more fully and richly should know Latin and Greek so that “all can gain access to Christian truths.”

Learn joyfully. Learn masterfully. Learn living Latin and Greek.

Experience living Latin and Greek from experts who are real people.

We are Latinists with hearts for the Church. We are theologians, professors, priests, wives, mothers, brothers, fathers, and friends. We’ve learned from the best and we’re thrilled to share our knowledge with you.

Trusted by leading Catholic institutions.

What people are saying about Veterum Sapientia Institute.

Offered

24 Courses

(each semester)

Taught

175+ Students

(in 2023 alone; including 74 priests, religious, or seminarians)

Grew

500%

(enrollment from 2021 to 2022)

DOUBLED AGAIN

100%

(2023 enrollment over 2022)

Join our community where Latin and Greek come alive.

With every Veterum Sapientia Institute course, you’ll learn living ecclesiastical Latin and Greek.

Affordable & Flexible

Whether Latin is your hobby or profession, you’ll find a course that fits your life. We offer everything from workshops and seminars to professional certifications and diplomas.

Faithful to the Magisterium

Don’t just learn Latin. Learn Catholic Latin: Latin as we use it, need it, and celebrate it in the Church today.

Exceptional Faculty

VSI faculty are the best in their fields of study. They teach with approachability, expertise, and humanity.

Best teaching methods to learn Latin and Greek masterfully

Gone are the days of dead languages that put you to sleep. With VSI, you’ll learn Latin and Greek quickly and – dare we say it – have fun along the way.

Join the movement.

At Veterum Sapientia Institute, we accompany lifelong learners by equipping you to read, write, and think in ecclesiastical Latin and biblical Greek. Most university courses are cost prohibitive, inconvenient, or treat these sacred tongues as abstract, theoretical systems. Here, you’ll achieve mastery and maintain reverence for these languages, and gain a deeper appreciation for your Catholic faith along the way.

We believe it is possible and necessary to ensure that the profound truths expressed through sacred languages continue to resonate across borders and generations. We understand how difficult and frustrating it is to find experts in Latin and Greek who actually share your faith. That’s why we offer courses in ecclesiastical Latin and biblical Greek. Here’s how it works: visit our Admissions page. Choose your preferred program. Apply today or sign up for updates as courses become available.

Certificates & Diplomas

Personal interest in online courses

Latin immersion workshops

Kitchen table Latin tutoring

“[…] treasure the very rich heritage of the Latin tradition […]” and “[walk] along paths rich in hope and confidence…”

- Pope Francis

Dr. Nancy Llewellyn

Co-Founder, Veterum Sapientia Institute
Magistra - Introductory Latin


Magistra Annula is Associate Professor of Latin at Belmont Abbey College, coming to North Carolina after a decade at Wyoming Catholic College. She teaches Latin at the Charlotte Diocese’s new St. Joseph College Seminary in addition to her work at Belmont. Earlier in her career she studied with Fr. Reginald Foster and at the Pontifical Salesian University in Rome. Returning to her native California, Nancy founded SALVI in 1997 and served on its board until 2019, directing SALVI workshops (Rusticationes) around the country and abroad. She holds her PhD (2006) from UCLA.

Fr. Dylan Schrader, PhD

Magister - Scholastic Theology

Pater Pelagius is a priest of the Diocese of Jefferson City, Missouri, ordained in 2010. He holds a PhD in systematic theology from the Catholic University of America and is the translator of several Scholastic works, including On the Motive of the Incarnation, the first volume in CUA’s Early Modern Catholic Sources series, and Book 2 of Thomas Aquinas’s Commentary on the Sentences, edited by the Aquinas Institute for the Study of Sacred Doctrine. Fr. Schrader is the author of The Shortcut to Scholastic Latin, published by the Paideia Institute Press. He has attended every Veterum Sapientia conference since its inception.

Mr. Christopher Owens, STM

Chief Executive Officer

Christopher Owens completed licentiate studies at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (“the Angelicum”) with a concentration in Thomism, and is a doctoral candidate at the same university. His research investigates the question of predestination in the writings of the early Thomists. More generally, Christopher’s research interests in both philosophy and theology are focused on the preambles of faith, ontology, meta-ethics, and action theory as found principally in the Thomistic tradition, as well as in the medieval dialectic of the University of Paris. Additionally, Christopher serves on the editorial board for Philosophical News, the official journal of the European Society for Moral Philosophy, and is vice-president of the Albertus Magnus Center for Scholastic Studies, based in Norcia, Italy.

Fr. Joseph Matlak

Magister


Fr. Joseph Matlak is a priest of the Eparchy of Saint Josaphat in Parma (Ukrainian Greek-Catholic). Born in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England, he studied Ancient History at King’s College London, and completed seminary studies and a Licentiate in Sacred Theology at the Catholic University of America, Washington DC. He is currently finishing a doctorate at the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies in Cambridge, England. He serves as administrator of Saint Basil the Great Parish in Charlotte, North Carolina, and is an instructor within the Honors College of Belmont Abbey College. He has previously worked in parishes and missions, schools, youth and young adult ministry, liturgical music, and Catholic media, among other roles.

Magister Marcus Porto

Magister - Introductory Latin

Magister Marcus holds a B.A. in Liberal Arts from Thomas Aquinas College and a Latin Fluency Certificate from Academia Vivarium Novum, where he learned to speak Latin under Luigi Miraglia. He is currently a graduate student at Kentucky University, studying Latin under Terence Tunberg and Milena Minkova, and works as a classical languages’ instructor, Liberal Arts teacher, and editor at Instituto Hugo de São Vitor, Brazil.

Dr. Samuel Stahl

Magister

Samuel Stahl earned a PhD in Classics at the State University of New York at Buffalo. His dissertation is an annotated verse translation from Claudian’s carmina minora; his passions, both personal and professional, include Christian poetry and ecumenism. In addition to his work with VSI, he teaches ELA at a Catholic grammar school in Western New York, where he lives with his wife and two cats.

Magister Tod Post, MA

Magister

Mr. Post holds a B.A. in philosophy from St. John’s Seminary College in Camarillo, CA and an M.A. in Medieval Studies from the Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of Toronto. His areas of study and interest include codicology and palaeography and creating medieval and classical inks and writing materials. He particularly enjoys working in his garden surrounded by plants from the classical world such as papyrus, acanthus, figs, olives and grapes which also gives him an opportunity to practice his botanical Latin. He is a lifelong resident of southern California where he has been teaching and promoting Latin since 2004 and where he resides with his wife and six children.

Kit Adderley

Magister

Kit Adderley became interested in Ancient Rome at a young age, and following a particularly interesting and formative Roman History class in high school, decided to study Classics at Franciscan University of Steubenville. While studying and in subsequent years, Kit was blessed to attend many spoken Latin programs both in the United States and in Rome. Kit has taught Latin for 10 years at the high school and middle school level in Texas and Minnesota, most recently designing and implementing a spoken Latin program for high school that enjoyed tremendous success. Kit currently works in the finance industry but continues to love Latin and the classical world and is excited to work with Veterum Sapientia in bringing that knowledge to others.

Matthew Ratcliff

Coordinator for Marketing and Course Development

Matthew Ratcliff is a graduate from Belmont Abbey College, where he fell in love with Latin while studying under Nancy Llewellyn and Gregory DiPippo, and where he encountered the natural method for the first time. He has previously taught for Aquinas Learning Center in Charlotte for the 2023-2024 academic year. Matthew firmly believes that everyone can learn Latin well. He loves incorporating physical movement in the classroom and is excited to share the joy of the language with every class!

Magister Gregory DiPippo

Director of Academic Development, Assistant to the Dean, Magister - Introductory Latin

Magister Gregorius was born and raised in Providence, Rhode Island, where he attended a high school which offered an excellent Latin program. He attended McGill University in Montreal, where he studied Classical Languages and Literature, and the Augustinian Patristic Institute in Rome, where he studied the Fathers of the Church. For 23 years, he worked as a tour guide in Rome, and for the last 15 years, he has been a regular contributor (and for 10 years editor) to the New Liturgical Movement website.

Andrea Allen

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