2024 Holland Lecture – Seeing With the Heart: A Guide to Navigating Life’s Adventures

Kevin O’Brien, S.J., is a Jesuit priest and educator. Father O’Brien currently serves as executive director of Fairfield Bellarmine, an innovative two-year associate degree program in Bridgeport, Conn., on a new campus of Fairfield University. This initiative seeks to expand access and affordability in Jesuit higher education. The program features a core curriculum in the humanities and sciences and major tracks in business, computer science, health studies and liberal arts. He will present the Fall 2024 Holland Lecture "Seeing With the Heart: A Guide to Navigating Life’s Adventures," taking place on Thursday, Oct. 17 at 4 p.m. in the Panasci Family Chapel on the Le Moyne campus. A reception will follow in the Drescher Community Room. This event is free and open to the public. There's no need to register. Father O’Brien is the author of an award-winning book titled The Ignatian Adventure: Experiencing the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius in Daily Life, now in its second edition. His follow-up book, Seeing with the Heart: A Guide to Navigating Life’s Adventures, has recently won first prizes in spirituality by two Catholic media associations. Father O’Brien has taught and served in the administrations of St. Joseph’s University, Georgetown University and Santa Clara University. Born in Canada and raised in South Florida, Father O’Brien practiced law and taught high school before joining the Jesuits in 1996. As a Jesuit, he has taught business law, philosophy, ethics and theology on a variety of campuses. Father O’Brien also has a long association with the Jesuit Refugee Service, which assists and advocates for migrants and refugees across the world. Michael ’69 and Patricia Holland Ignatian Lecture provides an annual opportunity for students, faculty and staff, as well as friends of Le Moyne College and members of the greater Syracuse community, to listen, learn and engage with leading writers and speakers in the exploration of spirituality and faith in the 21st century. A chief characteristic of Jesuit education is the invitation to encounter God in deep, meaningful and sometimes surprising ways.