Villanova University Department of Humanities

Study abroad at Blackfriars Hall, Oxford University, has been a wonderful opportunity for Humanities juniors for well over a decade.

This year, the Hall was home to an awesome cohort of Humanities juniors, who spent two terms studying in the good hands of the Oxford Dominican friars

Pictured a-leaping here are Gigi Roth, '27 HUM, and Ashleigh Reen '25, HUM, last year's awardee of the Medallion for Excellence in Humanities, plus Alex Roth, '27 HUM--and the famous dinosaurs of Oxford University's Museum of Natural History

We are so grateful for the Catherine Barr Windels Scholarship, which continues to provide financial support to our students who embark upon this course of study at Blackfriars.

You can find out more about this opportunity on our website: https://buff.ly/2b7YyKR

Humanities alumna Regina Munch, '13 CLAS, and our own Dr. Terence Sweeney met up last Friday during the Liberty Award ceremony at the National Constitution Center.

They were among journalists downtown to report on Pope Leo XIV's honoring with the 2026 Liberty Medal, on that sweltering eve of the United States's 250th birthday.

You can read the Holy Father's powerful speech at the link below, as well as Regina and Terence's respective articles, which they industriously penned over the holiday weekend.

https://buff.ly/MB8wPQs
https://buff.ly/sF0uTqV
https://buff.ly/okCKcF1

It gives us great pleasure to announce the *inaugural* recipient of the St. Rita of Cascia Humanities Award for Augustinian Ideals to Gabe Donovan, ’26 CLAS, who graduated this May as a double major in Humanities and Public Administration in the Honors Program.

This new award is named for St. Rita of Cascia, one of the most remarkable saints in the Augustinian Order. Her life was distinguished by her commitment and care for those in her life—as a daughter, mother, wife, and member of a religious community; the depth of her contemplation and vision; her persistence and patience in the face of suffering; and her thoughtful, collegial generosity and service. She is popularly known as the “saint of the impossible” for overcoming adversity and resistance to realize her dream of joining the Augustinian community.

In the judgment of the department of Humanities faculty, the recipient of this award best exemplifies such qualities of character and intellect among the graduating class of Humanities majors. This includes a joyful life of service to fellow community members that is founded on an understanding of the Humanities educational mission; a generosity, depth of insight, and profound love of learning in and outside of the classroom; dedication to enhancing the department’s common good at events and activities—formal and informal; and, when relevant, a dedication to Humanities that overcomes difficulties to share in our life of learning.

And anyone who know Gabe Donovan knows how well this describe him! We extend retroactive congratulations to and gratitude for all those Humanities students over the years who have played a similar role enlivening our classrooms, our lounge, and our community at large in just this way.

Most of all, warm congratulations to Gabe, who will be studying for a Master of Public Administration at Villanova this coming academic year. We are so glad to have him around on campus for one more year!

The 2026 Humanities Outstanding Senior Essay Prize was awarded in May to Cate Donnelly, ’26 CLAS, for her essay: “All Things Bright and Beautiful: Meditations on Beauty.”

A panel of three faculty had the challenging task of deliberating the most outstanding piece of writing submitted by a strong class of Humanities majors at the end of their final semester together in Senior Symposium.

Advised by Dr. Helena Tomko, Cate’s essay was extolled by the evaluating committee for its “splendid thinking and writing through and through" and as exemplary of the “total Humanities package: interdisciplinary, well argued, well illustrated through art, and touching upon a core theme of our department.” In the words of one evaluator, “What a beautiful essay on beauty!”

Cate is now working for an art gallery in Atlanta, Georgia, as she continues to pursue her love of art and beauty. Congratulations to Cate!

We are thrilled to announce that the 2026 Karol Wojtyla Medallion for Excellence in Humanities was awarded to Emmaline Lombardo, a double major in Humanities and Political Science in the Honors Program.

During her four years in Humanities, Emmaline exemplified a contagious love of learning, deep questioning, and intellectual fellowship. Her junior year was spent as a Catherine Barr Windels fellow at Blackfriars Hall, Oxford University. Upon her return to campus for senior year she was an inaugural student leader in the Augustinian Ambassadors Program - and the founding feet of Villanova’s new Swing Dance Club. Her yearlong Humanities thesis for the Honors Program was titled, "Constituted for the Kingdom: A Political Eschatology for Our Times."

From Villanova, she heads now to the University of Notre Dame, where she is entering the Master of Theological Studies program (MTS).

Congratulations, Emmaline!

It's high time for a retrospective on all our wonderful end-of-year celebration and excitements of 2026! These are some fave shots from Senior Dinner 2026, as well as Commencement last month. Happy days with our graduating seniors in the Class of 2026--what a wonderful membership they are!! [Hannah Coulter reference😉]

Stay tuned for more Class of 2026 celebratory announcements in the coming days: the 2026 recipient of the Karol Wojtyla Award for Excellence in Humanities, our 2026 Senior Essay Prize Winner--and the first ever recipient of our new St. Rita of Cascia award 🥁 🥁 🥁

Last but not least we would like to highlight Cate Donnelly for our senior spotlight! Cate is a Humanities and English major, and wrote her essay on why it is important to recognize Beauty in one's life. Thank you, congratulations, and all best wishes to our 2026 graduating class!

Today's senior spotlight is Christian Rapattoni! Christian is a Political Science and Humanities major, and after school is planning on going to law school. Good luck, Christian, as we finish up finals!

On our first day of finals, we would like to highlight Meg Zelch in our senior spotlight! Meg is an Environmental Science and Humanities major, and in her thesis is asking, how does nature contribute to human flourishing? Congrats Meg, and good luck post-grad!

Next up for our senior spotlight is Emmaline Lombardo! Emmaline is one of our Humanities and Political Science majors in the Honors Program, and after graduation is looking forward to beginning a two-year Masters in Theological Studies (MTS) at Notre Dame, concentrating in systematic theology! Congrats and good luck Emmaline!