The purpose of the annual Aquinas Lecture is twofold:
1. To bring the thought or Thomas Aquinas himself to bear on contemporary theological questions: in this case, the speaker would be a well-known theological expert who has made a significant scholarly contribution to contemporary scholarship in St. Thomas Aquinas; or
2. In the spirit of St. Thomas, and because theology is inherently interdisciplinary and contextual, to bring important cultural, political, intellectual, or artistic currents into contact with theology and ministry. Speakers in this category would not have to be theologians but would relate their own work to theology, ecclesiology, or ministry. We would ask them to share important relevant insights with us, or to enable us to "hear what we need to hear" from the perspective of other disciplines.