"The truth shall make you free." -- John 8:32
A Great Books college is a place where students encounter the most influential works of human civilization directly, rather than learning primarily through textbooks and summaries.
Students read Homer, Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, Dante, Shakespeare, Newton, Tocqueville, Dostoevsky, and many others. They study mathematics, science, philosophy, literature, history, theology, and the arts through the original texts that shaped our civilization.
Rather than large lectures and multiple-choice exams, Great Books education emphasizes:
The goal is not merely to prepare students for a career. The goal is to prepare them for a meaningful life.
Modern higher education often produces specialists who know more and more about less and less. At the same time, many graduates leave college without ever seriously confronting the enduring questions of human existence:
These questions are not obsolete. They will always have signficance no matter how technically advanced we become.
The Catholic intellectual tradition has spent two thousand years engaging these questions. Great Books education invites students into that conversation.
A student who has wrestled with Plato, Augustine, Aquinas, Dante, Pascal, Newman, and John Paul II possesses something increasingly rare in our age: intellectual depth.
A Catholic Great Books college differs from a secular Great Books program in one important respect: It does not view truth as fragmented. Instead, it begins with the conviction that faith and reason are complementary paths toward the same reality. Students are encouraged to explore every discipline honestly and rigorously:
The Catholic tradition does not fear difficult questions. It welcomes them! The purpose of Catholic higher education is not indoctrination. It is formation: the cultivation of wisdom, virtue, and intellectual excellence.
Saint Juan Diego stands at the intersection of faith, culture, humility, and evangelization.
He was not a king, scholar, or political leader. He was an ordinary man whose openness to God's grace changed history.
San Antonio and South Texas possess a unique cultural and spiritual heritage shaped by Catholicism, Hispanic traditions, and a deep sense of community. Juan Diego College seeks to honor that heritage while preparing students for the challenges of the twenty-first century.
San Antonio is one of the largest Catholic cities in the United States, yet it lacks a dedicated Catholic Great Books college.
Imagine a place where students gather to discuss Aristotle in the morning, study Euclid in the afternoon, attend Mass in the evening, and participate in service projects throughout the community.
Imagine graduates who can:
Such graduates are needed in business, education, technology, healthcare, government, ministry, and family life.
Juan Diego College would begin modestly.
This vision may take years or even decades to realize. Great institutions are built patiently. The first step is simply finding others who believe such a college is worth building.
Yes.
Employers consistently value graduates who can communicate clearly, solve problems, think critically, and learn independently.
Great Books graduates have gone on to careers in law, medicine, education, business, engineering, technology, public service, and entrepreneurship.
No.
While Juan Diego College would be unapologetically Catholic, students of all faiths (or no faith at all!) would be welcome to participate in the pursuit of truth.
Absolutely.
The Great Books tradition includes Euclid, Galileo, Newton, Einstein, and many of the foundational works of mathematics and natural science.
The better question is whether education that neglects wisdom is practical. A society needs more than technicians, it needs thoughtful human beings. The current moral challenges presented by generative AI are a perfect example of why we need thoughtful, well-educated leaders and citizens.
Juan Diego College is currently a vision in development.
If you are interested in:
we would love to hear from you.
Juan Diego College San Antonio, Texas
Website: https://juandiego.org
Email: rlopez@salsa.net
"A small beginning is enough."
-- Inspired by the Catholic intellectual tradition and the enduring conversation of the Great Books.