[SydPhil] October 15: The First Catholic Priests in Australia: Irish Criminals or Men of the Enlightenment?

[Catherine Wesselinoff]

The Global Catholic Studies group at the Notre Dame Institute for Ethics and Society warmly invites you to a seminar with Professor Jürgen Overhoff (Münster)

DATE AND TIME: Thursday, October 15, 1:00 - 2:30 pm (Sydney time)

IN PERSON: University of Notre Dame Australia, Broadway/Sydney Campus, NDS23/102 (46 Mountain Street Ultimo, NSW, 2007)
Location note: NDS23 is a new UNDA building located at 46 Mountain Street - see these links for assistance:

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ONLINE: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/414696675444119?p=HL47eLn2jjVHJGYSm4

MEETING ID: 414 696 675 444 119

PASSCODE: ET7TK6Wy

TITLE: The First Catholic Priests in Australia: Irish Criminals or Men of the Enlightenment?

ABSTRACT: When the first Catholics were transported to Australia at the end of the 18th century, they were predominantly Irish. Many of them had taken part in the 1798 rebellion against British rule in Ireland. Australia’s first Catholic priests were also among these Irish people. Who were these men, what was their level of education, and what religious and political goals did they pursue after their arrival in Sydney? This lecture examines the early history of Catholicism in New South Wales in the context of the Catholic Enlightenment in Ireland.

BIO: Jürgen Overhoff is professor of the history of education at the Universität Münster, where he directs the Working Group for German-American Educational History. Educated in Berlin, London, and Cambridge, he specializes in the Enlightenment and transatlantic educational history. His previously published books include a monograph on the political thought of Thomas Hobbes and a biography of Benjamin Franklin, alongside studies of Johann Bernhard Basedow, philanthropinism, and Frederick the Great. From 2018 to 2022 he served as president of the German Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies. His latest book, "George Washington and Frederick the Great: Parallel Lives" was published with Princeton University Press in 2026.


Dr Catherine Wesselinoff
The University of Notre Dame Australia.
Lecturer | School of Philosophy and Theology
Lead, Strategic Programs and Partnerships | Institute for Ethics and Society (IES)

The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Aesthetics Area Editor (Acting)

Recent Publications:
"Beauty's Comeback", Debates in Aesthetics, Vol 19. No. 2, 2025, pp 35-45.
"Apophatic Beauty in the Hippias Major and the Symposium", The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 82, Issue 1, 2024, pp 36-44.
The Revival of Beauty: Aesthetics, Experience, and Philosophy, Routledge, 2023.

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