(New Orleans)—The Department of Religious Studies at Loyola University announces a lecture by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and author Garry Wills on Tuesday, September 24, 7:30p.m., in Nunemaker Hall. Wills’ latest book, Why I Am a Catholic, is the focus of this discussion. The book explores the history of Catholicism and the rewards of struggling to maintain one’s faith while Church leadership faces its own challenges. The event is free and the public is invited. Copies of the book will be available for signing after Wills’ remarks.

Wills is the author of two dozen books, including Papal Sins, a colorful description of how the papacy has changed in dramatic ways over the centuries. This book speaks to many committed Catholics and other readers searching for spiritual meaning in a world filled with scandal, doubt and skepticism.

Wills won the Pulitzer Prize in 1993 for Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words that Remade America. While writing several books about the Catholic Church, he has also written about Roman culture, Jack Ruby, Richard Nixon, Thomas Jefferson, Ronald Reagan, John Wayne, St. Augustine and race relations in America, to name only a few topics. In addition to the Pulitzer, he has won two National Book Critics Circle Awards and the 1998 National Medal for the Humanities.

Born in Atlanta, his formal education is in classical studies, earning his doctorate at Yale University. He is now an adjunct professor, teaching history at Northwestern University. He is also a frequent contributor to newspapers and magazines and moves with ease between American politics, ancient history and medieval philosophy, synthesizing information across disciplines.

For more information about the event, contact Deborah Halter, department of religious studies, 865-3681.