Dr. Thorndike Presents at 2022 Fall Siena Lecture

On September 15, Dr. Jonathan Thorndike, Professor of English and Senior Fellow at Belmont University delivered the 2022 Siena Lecture at the Aquinas Center on “C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and the Canterbury Pilgrimage,” to the College’s students, faculty, and staff. The Siena Lecture series at Aquinas College was founded to further the College’s ongoing commitment to its “Education in Communion” initiative. While Dr. Thorndike resided as a scholar in residence at the C. S. Lewis Study Centre in Oxford, England, he and his wife, Claudia, walked the pilgrim way together from Saint Swithun’s shrine in Winchester Cathedral to the shrine of St. Thomas à Beckett at Canterbury Cathedral in memory of Thorndike’s mother. The Siena Lecture drew on Dr. Thorndike’s extensive knowledge of Lewis and Tolkien, as well as the rich tradition of Christian pilgrimages to Winchester and Canterbury. A luncheon followed the event, allowing students and faculty to continue exploring the topic with the speaker in a relaxed, conversational way. Dr. Thorndike has published an equally engaging book on his Canterbury pilgrimage, new this year, titled, The Long Walk to Canterbury: A Personal Journey.