NOVEMBER SEMINAR

Did God create the world for Mary?

Date: 12th November 2025

Time: 3pm (in the UK)

[09:00 in US CT; 10:00 in US ET]

Venue: Online via Zoom

The Annunciation (Fr Angelico, 1440-45)*

THEME

The question of why there is something rather than nothing is one of the perennial and fundamental metaphysical questions. In our November research seminar, Dr Michaël Bauwens will present a philosophical exploration of how Mary might offer a novel and challenging perspective on that question. From a theological perspective, the idea that God created the world for Mary has some representatives within the tradition, for example, Maximilian Kolbe in the 20th century. On the other hand, the First Vatican Council anathematized anyone who denied 'that the world was created for the glory of God.' What seems to be at stake is preserving divine freedom and gratuitousness in the act of creation, while maintaining an overall theocentric conception of creation. Mary is arguably capable of striking a subtle balance between an anthropocentric and a theocentric view of creation, hinging on the intertwining of divine and human freedom.

OUR GUEST SPEAKER

Michaël Bauwens obtained his PhD in philosophy from the KU Leuven Institute of Philosophy in 2018, with a dissertation on the metaphysics of institutions. Since 2019, he has been a researcher at the University of Antwerp and at ETF Leuven. His publications focus mainly on the intersection of philosophy, theology, and the social sciences. Since 2023, he has also been organizing the annual Sedes Sapientiae Symposium, which seeks to advance the project of philosophizing in Mary.

REGISTER

To receive the free Zoom link, please send an email to Catherine O'Brien at info@marianstudies.ac.uk

*Fra Angelico, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons