St. Bonaventure University faculty member Fr. Michael Calabria, O.F.M., Ph.D., will discuss interfaith relationships through the context of the 800th anniversary of the famous meeting of St. Francis of Assisi and the Sultan at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21 in the Fine Arts Center Main Theatre.

“The meeting between the sultan and St. Francis goes beyond interfaith relationships and serves as a paradigm for encountering the ‘other’ in society,” Fr. Calabria said. “St. Francis and al-Kamil went on a personal journey together. They first saw each other as ‘others,’ then each cast that aside and recognized himself in the other person, thus finding the reflection of God in their connection. That’s the journey that I believe we all need to take today.”

Fr. Calabria is an Islam and art scholar who has traveled extensively in the Muslim world, conducting research in Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Oman, Turkey, and India. He speaks widely on various aspects of Islam and Islamic culture including the Qur’an, Islamic spirituality, art and architecture, and Christian-Muslim relations. He lived in Cairo from 2001–02 ministering in a hospital for people with leprosy. He later spent many summers in Egypt teaching English at a Coptic-Catholic seminary in Cairo.

Fr. Calabria earned a bachelor’s degree from Johns Hopkins University and graduate degrees from Brown University, Columbia University, Washington Theological Union, and the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom.

This event is co-sponsored by the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, Viterbo University, the La Crosse Interfaith Shoulder to Shoulder Network, and Viterbo Ministries. It is free and open to the public.