The exponential growth of liberal arts schools in the Catholic tradition has also brought a resurgence of interest in Latin language learning.
Following the mind of Pope St. John XXIII’s Apostolic Constitution, Veterum Sapientia, on the necessity of promoting Latin instruction, Veterum Sapientia Institute is pioneering a robustly Catholic Latin-immersion approach in which learning Latin is not the end in itself, but rather the means through which we access the intellectual and spiritual traditions of the Latin rite.
Reading the Church Fathers, St. Thomas Aquinas, and other great saints and theologians in their original Latin becomes the foundation for conversation in Latin about these same texts, and the whole of the Church’s patrimony of Latin writings. Conversation, in turn, builds stronger readers.
This approach is not new – in fact, it might be considered the “old” way of learning Latin. For over 25 years, inspired by the life’s work of Fr. Reginald Foster, a number of his students have built on their experience of his famous sub arboribus conversations (“conversations under the trees”), informal Latin conversation practice originally held in a monastery garden. They have sought to integrate the very best in modern language pedagogy, while remaining clearly focused on the Catholic faith.
This methodology is for the first time being made available to teachers through a new teaching credential program in Latin Pedagogy, launching in summer of 2024. Diligent attention not only to the how of teaching, but also the what can provide a transformative experience for the learner, forming students not only intellectually but spiritually by integrating the Catholic mission into every aspect of classroom curricula.
More information about VSI’s new Teaching Credential in Latin Pedagogy can be found at:
www.veterumsapientia.org/teaching-credential
