Dr Gavin Ashenden is joined on Merely Catholic this week by Dr Derry Connolly, the founding president of John Paul the Great Catholic University, California.
Dr Connolly charts his journey from his youth in rural County Cork, Ireland, and a career in engineering and technology in Los Angeles to the moment when “God put it in my heart” to establish a “radically different” Catholic university in San Diego to harness the power of beauty to transform contemporary culture, and how he was able to realise his vision in spite of setting out with no funds.
In this 85th episode of the podcast series for The Catholic Herald, Dr Connolly also discusses with Dr Ashenden what a Catholic university is, and how John Paul the Great might form Catholics for Hollywood.