Caldwell, NJ – The Sister Maura Campbell Lecture Series at Caldwell University presented “Is Vatican II Attractive to Young Catholics?” by Dr. James F. Keating, Associate Professor of Theology and Director of Humanities at Providence College, on Thursday, October 15, 2026.

The event began with an introduction and prayer by Dr. Stephen Meawad, Department of Theology and Philosophy Chair. Dr. Keating then began his lecture by highlighting the recent resurgence of young people interested in Catholicism in the United States and Europe, citing a rise in adult baptisms and college students’ interest in the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) which gives non-baptized adults or individuals baptized in different faith traditions a path to enter the Catholic Church.

Dr. Keating then compared this trend to the resurgence that the Church had expected following Vatican II in 1965, but did not see. Keating argued that the primary difference is that Vatican II sought to bring people into the Church by accommodating the culture at the time, but the young people coming to the Church now are looking for the opposite. Dr. Keating said

“The Church after the [Vatican II] Council made a great effort to appeal to young people by mirroring the culture, to say, ‘Listen, the Church is not different from the rest of the world. In fact, we’re part of the same project of making a better world.’ The thing now, however, is that young people are coming to the Catholic church, they’re looking for something different from the culture, they already have the culture. They have it 24/7… in their phones at every moment. They’re looking for something different.”

About the Lecture Series

The lecture series is named after the late Sister Maura Campbell who was a distinguished professor of Theology at Caldwell University. She was a theologian, philosopher, researcher and national leader in education whose scholarship and teaching spanned 50 years. The lecture series is devoted to bringing interesting lecturers in Theology, Philosophy, Ethics, International Affairs and the Liberal Arts on campus.