Welcome back to the Word on Fire show. I'm Brandon Vot, the host and joining us as he does almost every single week for the podcast is Bishop Robert Barron, Bishop Barron. Always a pleasure.

Brandon, great to hear you and to see you.

We were just together a few days ago in the frigid snow covered land of Minnesota. We were up there for an honorary doctorate in a keynote that you were receiving and giving at the University of St. Thomas. Tell us a little bit about that.

And you were there for the Chesterton board meeting, just by chance we were in the same hotel. You were there for the meeting. And I was staying there for this event. So we were able to spend some time together.

One of my memories Brandon of Ed. You know, I'm from Chicago. So I know about Midwestern winters. You're not you're from Florida. So my image of you and kind of a skimpy coat. You know, because you were not properly a cooter.

It was my it was my one jacket that I own. It's like the one jacket you own and you looked pretty pretty uncomfortable. I must say walk across that campus.

For me, honestly, it was even though I'm sick to death of Chicago winners, but to sense that again was a bit nostalgic. It was like a homecoming, you know, to be in that really cold weather.

It was a joy. It was a great event.

We had mass with Archbishop Hebdo. I think one of the great churchmen in the country today. And I preach that mass.

Who by the way, during right before mass began, he said, I'm so glad that Bishop Aaron is here to preach because that means I won't have to listen to his homily tonight to prepare my homily.

Yeah, exactly. He's a good man. And so I preached to that. And then we had a cocktail hour with a lot of the donors to the Catholic studies program there. And then a dinner and then I gave a keynote address. They were nice to give me an honorary doctorate to which I was indeed honored by.

So it was a joy. And what did I talk about? I talked about all the some of the research on the nuns, you know, the N O N E S. And why young people are coming away from the church. And then what Catholic studies can do to address that.

So that was my topic. So many of you have heard probably some of those themes before, but it was a joy to talk about it up there.

So you've praised the Basilica Cathedral Basilica, I think that's there. Yeah, the cathedral of St. Paul. Yeah. And we did stop in there very briefly before the ceremony.

For my money, the most beautiful ecclesial building in the United States, built by the great Archbishop Ireland, you know, back in the early part of the 20th century.

And it's a splendid architectural gem because you look at it from the outside and you say, oh, you know, it's it's really compact. It's really small. It's charming.

Then you go inside and it's this cavernous building. It's extraordinary feat of architecture. And it's up there on this very high point of the 30th St. Paul. In fact, even looking down on the state capital. That was Ireland's intention to show that the other primacy of the faith.

So anyway, it's a I enjoy Minneapolis a lot. I like that area. And before we dive into the subject of conversation here, maybe say just a quick word about the Catholic studies program at the university, which I know you really esteem.

Yeah, founded by the late great Don Brio, died just about a year ago. Don was a real performer in Catholic education because he professor there at St. Thomas.

But had the idea of kind of around the time of.

Xcordia, Eclasia, you know, John Paul II's great statement on Catholic universities that they needed to revive the sense of the faith is animating all forms of intellectual life.

Don Brio was very influenced by John Henry Newman. And you can see the idea of a university very much behind the Catholic studies proposal.

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