The Hobart Lecture, an ongoing lecture series since 2000, invites our communities to engage the pressing questions of our time through faith, theology, and dialogue. Named for Bishop John Henry Hobart, the Third Bishop of New York (1816–1830), the lecture honors his enduring commitment to mission, integrity, and service to the Church.
Twenty-five years after 9/11, the questions raised by that day remain urgent: how do we respond to fear without turning strangers into enemies? What does it mean to recognize another person as a neighbor? And how can solidarity be sustained across the division of religion, culture, and politics?
The 2026 Hobart Lecture will be delivered by Archbishop Rowan Williams, the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury (2002-2012), theologian, distinguished poet, and public intellectual. He has also taught at Oxford and Cambridge, and was Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge, from 2013 to 2020.
Drawing on his experience in New York on September 11, 2001 and on themes developed in his recent book, Solidarity: The Work of Recognition, Rowan Williams reflects on solidarity not simply as agreement or shared identity, but as the demanding work of recognizing others in their difference.
Register below and join us on October 14, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. at St. Thomas Fifth Avenue (1, West 53rd Street, New York, NY 10019), as we gather for this important conversation.
