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| Joseph Pearce |
MADISON — In a prestigious 1997 British readers’ poll, J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy The Lord of the Rings was voted the greatest book of the 20th century.
In the United States, a 1999 poll of Amazon.com customers selected this same novel as the greatest book not merely of last century, but of the millennium.
No less celebrated is this novel’s charming prequel, The Hobbit, as last year’s new blockbuster motion picture adaptation bears witness.
How did J.R.R. Tolkien’s devout Catholic faith influence his story telling and serve as a guide for communicating beauty, goodness, and truth in The Hobbit? How can this film provide a cultural means for evangelization?
World renowned Catholic author and EWTN television host Joseph Pearce will be exploring these questions and more at the spring St. Thérèse Lecture on Friday, April 5, at the Bishop O’Connor Catholic Center in Madison at 7:30 p.m. His lecture is titled, “The Hobbit and the Beauty of the Christian Life.”
Professor Joseph Pearce
Pearce is Writer-in-Residence and Visiting Fellow at the Thomas More College of Liberal Arts, and Visiting Scholar at Mt. Royal Academy, both located in New Hampshire. He is also the co-editor of the St. Austin Review, executive director of Catholic Courses, and series editor of the Ignatius Critical Editions.
He is a well-known biographer of Catholic literary giants G. K. Chesterton, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Hilaire Belloc. He has hosted numerous television series on EWTN.
Pearce’s talk will help listeners discover how the beauty of Catholic literature in popular culture can win souls for Christ and His Church.
Essay Contest
Accompanying this lecture is an Essay Contest for young people in the sixth to eighth grade, and high school students, respectively.
Essay contest winners will be honored at the lecture by Pearce and Bishop Robert C. Morlino of the Diocese of Madison, have their essay published in the Catholic Herald, and receive a cash award.
The topic of the essay is the following question: In J.R.R. Tolkien’s famous novel The Hobbit, how does Bilbo Baggins grow in Christian virtue throughout the story? How does he become more like Jesus Christ?
Grade level requirements, essay length and award levels are as follows.
• High School — Ninth to 12th Grade Level. Essay length: two to three pages. First Place Award: $300; Second Place Award: $150
• Middle School — Sixth to Eighth Grade Level. Essay length: one to two pages. First Place Award: $200; Second Place Award: $100
All essays are to include the author’s name, parish, school, grade, and contact information; they are to be typed in 12 point font and double spaced.
Submit entries by Friday, March 29, to oec@straphael.org or The Hobbit Essay Contest, Office of Evangelization & Catechesis, Diocese of Madison. P.O. Box 44983, Madison, WI 53744-4983. Entries may also be faxed to 608-821-3181.
Although it is not necessary for attendance, register for the lecture and obtain more information on the essay contest at www.madisondiocese.org/stls