Unlock the Rich Heritage of the Faith with Veterum Sapientia Institute.
Veterum Sapientia Institute exists to form Catholics in their cultural and spiritual birthright by teaching living Latin and Greek languages. We are committed to becoming the premier institute for this purpose, and to setting the standard for pedagogy in Latin and Greek.
Our vision is to ignite passion for the Latin and Greek languages and the Church’s history in individuals worldwide, facilitating a richer understanding of our Catholic heritage. When it is fully realized, VSI’s approach will underpin Catholic language learning in seminaries and school communities around the world. To find out more or to support our vision –
We proudly house an international team of top experts in spoken Ecclesiastical Latin and Biblical Greek. They’re committed to helping you explore the depth of your Catholic heritage and providing comprehensive support in your journey.
Your path to learning Ecclesiastical Latin or Biblical Greek should be clear from the start. Get answers to common questions about our courses, certifications, and how we can assist you on your Continuing Education journey.
VSI is working to revitalize the study of living Latin and Greek, following the principles laid down by Pope St John XXIII in the Apostolic Constitution Veterum Sapientia. We have undertaken this work because we share the vision which the Pope outlines in this document: the Latin and Greek writings of both pagan and Christian authors contain timeless wisdom which is valuable in every age. We are the only institution in the world that has dared to implement the late Pope’s bold vision for renewal of Catholic culture, and we want to make these treasures available to everyone.
VSI’s distinctive methodology is founded on three principles:
We offer online classes which anyone can attend, from the first beginnings of the sacred languages to more advanced seminars and reading courses on specific authors, texts and topics. We also offer summer workshops each year, in which participants spend a week learning to speak Latin with the staff and fellow students. Our website provides various resources including Latin prayers with video recordings plus a daily blog about topics related to Latin, Church history, and classical history.
Our Diploma in Ecclesiastical Latin is the only pontifically accredited program of study of its kind. In total credits, it is MORE than a Master’s degree. Our methodology is not built around gaining credits to achieve a degree, but rather on true mastery of the Latin language at the level the student is currently studying. We do not emphasize accrual of credits, but mastery. If you achieve certification at any of our levels, you can be sure it really means something, and that you are able to use the language in whatever path of life you pursue.
If you are interested in applying VSI credits toward a Master’s degree, you may be able to complete a Master’s degree through one of our partner institutions.
Contact us for more information.
Our classes during the academic year are 100% online. Instructors meet with classes on Zoom every week. At the beginning of the semester you’ll be provided a Zoom link to the class where you will meet each week.
Yes! We offer week-long in-person summer workshops each year for a completely immersive experience with the Latin language. We spend the week in a bubble of Latin immersion. For laity and beginners, check out our workshop page HERE: For intermediate and advanced clergy, check out our workshop page HERE.
Latin is a risen language, like the Founder of the Church. If Latin died as a pagan language, it rose again as a Christian one.
It is of course true that Latin is no longer spoken by anyone as a truly native language which they learn from infancy; such languages are often called “dead.” But in the life of the Western Church, Latin rose from its native-language death to become a universal language. In this way, Latin has remained in constant use since antiquity, and retained its grammar and meaning in a way that no other language can claim.
Moreover, it is through this language that all the Church’s members are able to share in Her prayer life, Her spiritual life, and Her intellectual life. We believe that life must be accessible to all Catholics as widely as possible. Latin and Greek are also the keys to countless ancient texts, nearly all of which have never been translated. These texts, both Catholic and secular, open up a world of knowledge and connection to history when read in their original languages.
Absolutely! Our VSI classes and workshops attract people of all different ages, backgrounds, interests, and ethnicities. Some want to learn Latin as part of their studies, others for their work in a particular academic field. Many of our students come to us for their own purely personal interests!
At Veterum Sapientia Institute, we honor the wisdom of the ancients and unlock the doors to the vast patrimony of the Faith. We provide Vatican-accredited certificate and diploma programs, along with online courses and in-person workshops, to enrich your understanding of Latin, Greek, and the Catholic Faith.
Join us today and delve into the majestic languages that bind our Catholic family together.
Add your contact information to our email list so you can be the first to know about dates and deadlines for our Summer and Fall 2024 term and Summer immersion workshops.
Sign up now, so you can stop searching for ways to bring your faith to life and start discovering eternal truths today.
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.
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.
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.
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 - 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.
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
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.
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.
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!
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.
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