Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Dedicated to the Scholarly Legacy of S. Mark Heim
Opening prayer: JaQuan Beachem, Associate Dean for Community Development & Spiritual Formation, Andover Newton Seminary at Yale Divinity School
Welcome: Gregory Sterling, Dean of Yale Divinity School
Introduction of Simpson-Hewett Lecture and Speakers: Sarah Drummond, Founding Dean of Andover Newton Seminary at Yale Divinity School
Keynote Address: Francis X. Clooney
Responses: Catherine Cornille and John Thatamanil
Benediction: S. Mark Heim
Our Speaker: Francis X. Clooney, S.J., serves as the Parkman Professor of Divinity and Professor of Comparative Theology at Harvard Divinity School. After earning his doctorate in South Asian Languages and Civilizations (University of Chicago, 1984), he taught at Boston College for 21 years before joining Harvard’s faculty. From 2010 to 2017, he was the Director of the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard.
Clooney has devoted his scholarly career to the study of the religions of India and has played a leading role, like Mark Heim, in developing the field of Comparative Theology. Distinct from Comparative Religions, Comparative Theology takes seriously how understanding other religions has the potential to deepen one’s own faith.
A Roman Catholic priest in the Jesuit tradition, Clooney is the author of dozens of books and articles and recently published a memoir entitled Hindu and Catholic, Priest and Scholar: A Love Story (T&T Clark/Bloomsbury 2024).
Our Respondents: Catherine Cornille is Professor of Theology at Boston College. Her scholarship focuses on the Theology of Religions, Hindu- and Buddhist-Christian Dialogue, and Religious Hybridity. John Thatamanil is Professor of Theology and World Religions Director at Union Seminary and is an ordained Anglican priest.
Andover Newton Seminary at Yale Divinity School
April 16, 2026
Dedicated to the Scholarly Legacy of S. Mark Heim
Opening prayer: JaQuan Beachem, Associate Dean for Community Development & Spiritual Formation, Andover Newton Seminary at Yale Divinity School
Welcome: Gregory Sterling, Dean of Yale Divinity School
Introduction of Simpson-Hewett Lecture and Speakers: Sarah Drummond, Founding Dean of Andover Newton Seminary at Yale Divinity School
Keynote Address: Francis X. Clooney
Responses: Catherine Cornille and John Thatamanil
Benediction: S. Mark Heim
Our Speaker: Francis X. Clooney, S.J., serves as the Parkman Professor of Divinity and Professor of Comparative Theology at Harvard Divinity School. After earning his doctorate in South Asian Languages and Civilizations (University of Chicago, 1984), he taught at Boston College for 21 years before joining Harvard’s faculty. From 2010 to 2017, he was the Director of the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard.
Clooney has devoted his scholarly career to the study of the religions of India and has played a leading role, like Mark Heim, in developing the field of Comparative Theology. Distinct from Comparative Religions, Comparative Theology takes seriously how understanding other religions has the potential to deepen one’s own faith.
A Roman Catholic priest in the Jesuit tradition, Clooney is the author of dozens of books and articles and recently published a memoir entitled Hindu and Catholic, Priest and Scholar: A Love Story (T&T Clark/Bloomsbury 2024).
Our Respondents: Catherine Cornille is Professor of Theology at Boston College. Her scholarship focuses on the Theology of Religions, Hindu- and Buddhist-Christian Dialogue, and Religious Hybridity. John Thatamanil is Professor of Theology and World Religions Director at Union Seminary and is an ordained Anglican priest.
Andover Newton Seminary at Yale Divinity School
April 16, 2026
