We have several famous namesakes, who inspire us and inform the spirit of the Project.

Catherine of Alexandria (287-305 CE) is the patron saint of philosophers. She is said to have confronted the Roman emperor Maxentius for his cruelty and in a single debate converted fifty of the best pagan philosophers summoned to refute her.

Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) received no formal education whatsoever. Nonetheless, she became not only a feared advocate against corruption but one of the great mystical writers of Europe, dictating thousands of letters as well as a spiritual masterpiece, the Dialogues. 

Catherine Doherty (1896-1985), founder of Madonna House, started the first national lending library in Canada, before the public library system took root. Readers in remote locations would write to her with requests. She would find the books they requested from her collection of donated books and mail them out, one by one.

Our Life of the Mind Seminars, reading groups and intensive reading groups are seminars that are conducted by open-ended conversation. Readers are not directed toward particular conclusions, but are encouraged to bring their own live questions. 

The format of our subject tutorials can vary, depending on the subject being studied and the preferences of the tutor.

While our intermediate and advanced subject tutorials require that one have previous experience studying the given language, the are no prerequisites for studying in our reading groups, intensive reading groups and Life of the Mind Seminars.

While the majority of our courses are conducted in English, we do occasionally offer courses in other languages.

Courses conducted in a language other than English will be identified in the term’s catalog of offerings, as well as on the registration form.

It depends on the course: readers admitted to a course will be notified by their tutor or reading group leader if there is a required edition.

We keep our focus on what we read or study, rather than who we are studying with. Accordingly, readers do not choose tutors, tutors do not choose readers, and members of reading groups do not choose one another.

Each individual who would like to participate in our courses must submit their own application. Readers may request in their application to be placed in a group with a friend, relative, spouse, etc., but we can’t guarantee that the request can be granted. Please let us know if you are unwilling to participate in a course if we cannot place your friend in it.

Readers may not participate in more than one Core Program course or intensive reading group per term. However, readers may participate in multiple reading groups if space allows.

Enrollment decisions are usually made within three weeks after the application deadline. See our Calendar page for more specific dates. 

If we are unable to place you in any of the courses you identified interest in, we will email you to confirm and offer some resources for study. 

Readers who wish to participate in multiple courses simultaneously will be sent a separate email for each course they were placed in.

If you haven’t heard from the group leader at least one week before their course is set to begin, check your spam folder, and then email us at: study@catherineproject.org.

Yes! You can do so here.

Upcoming events and important dates are listed on our Calendar page. We also encourage you to sign up for our mailing list.