Final night of celebration in song with the Encounter volunteers. 

Concluding remarks with Maurizio MANISCALCO,  President of New York Encounter, and John WATERS, author.

A testimony on the life of Christians facing terror and death in the Middle East by Archbishop Amel NONA, exiled Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Mosul, Iraq; a refugee family in Erbil, Kurdistan (on telecast); Fr. Pier Battista PIZZABALLA, Custodian of the Holy Land; and Marta ZAKNOUN (moderator), journalist. This event is organized in collaboration with the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation, Inc. 

Eyewitness accounts of stories of immigration and welcoming with Msgr. Ronald MARINO, Vicar for Migrant and Ethnic Apostolates Diocese of Brooklyn, and Giulio PISCITELLI, photographer; and Stephen SANCHEZ (moderator), Principal, Our Lady of Mount Carmel School, New York.

A talk by Fr. Julián CARRÓN, President of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation  on the role of freedom in the pursuit of human desire. 

Celebrated by Sean Cardinal O’MALLEY, Archbishop of Boston, with the Choir of Communion and Liberation, directed by Christopher VATH.

An evening of original musical reflections on the ancient and timeless verse of the Poet-King David, performed by Contemporaneous, directed by David BLOOM; and Ghostlight, directed by Evelyn TROESTER DEGRAF.  Tickets are $10/open seating. Buy tickets online (click here),  by mail, and at the door.

Reflections on Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato Si' (On Care for Our Common Home) with Sean Cardinal O’MALLEY, Archbishop of Boston; Jeffrey SACHS, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and Rebecca VITZ CHERICO (moderator), Instructor in Spanish Studies, Villanova University. This event is organized in collaboration with the Research Cluster on Science and Subjectivity.

The adventure of space exploration in the eyes of Tom JONES*, former astronaut; and Lindsay BLAKELY (moderator), Los Angeles Bureau Chief of Inc. magazine.

*Arrangements for the appearance of Dr. Jones made through HarperCollins Speakers Bureau, NY, NY. 

Stories of desire, sorrow, and forgiveness at the beginning of the Year of Mercy with Priscilla LA PORTE, sister of Cadet Matthew La Porte, recipient of the Airman Medal for his heroic actions during the April 16, 2007 Virginia Tech shooting; Joshua STANCIL, former inmate; and Fr. Peter John CAMERON, OP. (moderator), Editor-in-chief of Magnificat.

A dialogue on leading companies unafraid to explore new business horizons with Nancy ALBIN, Co-founder of Los Angeles Habilitation House; and Andreas WIDMER, Director of the Entrepreneurship Programs, Catholic University of America. This event is organized in collaboration with the WorkCenter in D.C.

Current trends in international development with Jackie ALDRETTE, Managing Director AVSI-USA;  Chris BLATTMAN, Professor of Political Science, Columbia University; Joakim KOECH, Principal, Cardinal Otunga High School, Nairobi, Kenya;  and Paolo CAROZZA (moderator), Director of the Kellogg Institute at Notre Dame University. This event is organized in collaboration with AVSI USA. 

A dialogue between Fear and Desire through timeless American poetry and songs with Shaw Street Collective. The Shaw Street Collective is a New Classical Ensemble dedicated to the creation of works and the re-imagination of what chamber music can be.

The Encounter opens with poetry read by actress Valerie SMALDONE, music performed by pianist Christopher VATH, and a conversation with Christian WIMAN, Poet and Senior Lecturer, Yale Divinity School, and Greg WOLFE, Editor of Image.

Final show with live music.   Learn More>

Photo by Brenda Abdelmesih.

A talk by Fr. Julián Carrón, President of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation, on the Catholic contribution to the quest for human identity in front of the challenges of our times. Learn More>

Painting by Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, Post-Impressionism, 1853-1890): Landscape Under a Stormy Sky, 1888. Image: Fondation Gianadda, Martigny.

A discussion with Darren Burris, Director of Instruction, Boston Collegiate Chartered Schools, and Fr. Albert Holtz, OSB, teacher, St. Benedict Prep., Newark, moderated by Fr. José Medina, U.S. Coordinator of Communion and Liberation, on the future of education in the U.S. Learn More>

A conversation with Donna Freitas, author and lecturer, and Christian Smith, Wm. R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Sociology, University of Notre Dame, on how social networks and virtual communities affect human identity. Learn More>

Eyewitness accounts of Fr. Giussani’s life commemorating the 10th anniversary of his death by Elizabeth Peralta, student at Saint Francis College, Kim Shankman, Dean of Benedictine College, Archibald Spencer, Professor of Theology, Northwest Baptist Theological Seminary, Canada, and John Waters, journalist. Learn More>

Celebrated by Sean Cardinal O'Malley, Archbishop of Boston, with the Choir of  Communion and Liberation.

Photo by Nicholas Erickson, 2014 New York Encounter.

A premier of a new modern dance work by composer Jonathan Fields and choreographer Jamel Gaines, with the acclaimed Creative Outlet Dance Theatre of Brooklyn. Paid admission, open seating. Tickets are $20 and are available online and at the door. Click here to purchase tickets.

A dialogue with Sean Cardinal O'Malley, Archbishop of Boston, Timothy Shriver, Chairman of Special Olympics, and Jean Vanier (on telecast), founder of L'Arche communities, on their discovery of human identity in their life long experience with people with disabilities. Learn More>

A presentation with Kenneth Miller, Professor of Biology, Brown University, Martin Nowak, Professor of Biology and Mathematics, Harvard University, and Richard Potts, Director of the Human Origins Program at the Smithsonian, moderated by Maria Teresa Landi, Senior Investigator at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), on the degree to which evolution explains who we are.  Learn More>

A presentation by Annette Insdorf, Director of Undergraduate Film Studies, Columbia University, followed by discussion with Armando Fumagalli, Director of the Masters Program in Screenwriting and Production for TV, Milan Catholic University. Learn More>

Screening of “The Beautiful Road,” a documentary marking the 60th anniversary of the birth of Communion and Liberation, will be presented by John Waters, journalist. See the trailer here. (Video will open in a new window.) Learn More>  

A discussion with Jennifer Nedelsky, Professor of Law, University of Toronto, and John Witte, Professor of Law, Emory University, moderated by Marta Cartabia, Vice-President of the Constitutional Court of Italy, on the relationship between the search for identity and the proliferation of new individual rights brought about by social changes. Learn More>

A night of talking and playing the blues, in search of music's true face with the Encounter Blues Band.

A group of musicians will lead us through a journey in search of the human face of music. Learn More>

Opening remarks by Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York, followed by an homage to the late Msgr. Lorenzo Albacete, theologian and a founder of New York Encounter. Learn More>

Photo by skippyjon.

Sunday, January 19. A musical celebration to end the New York Encounter weekend. A night dedicated to all NYE attendees and volunteers and to the joy of making music. Featuring the NYE House band and Saxophonist “Blue” Lou Marini.

Fr. Peter CAMERON, O.P., Editor-in-Chief of Magnificat, engages Fr. Julián CARRÓN,President of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation, on this year's New York Encounter theme.