Study and Sanctity: The 2026 Veritas Conference

Two of our Thomistic Institute Executive Board members, Nick and Ezekiel, headed to Washington D.C. this summer for the annual Veritas Conference, hosted at the Dominican House of Studies. This was President Ezekiel’s second time attending the conference, and Treasurer Nick’s first time attending.

From June 26 through June 28, 2026, our members attended the largest and most-anticipated Thomistic Institute event of the year- for three days of theology, philosophy, and fellowship. Veritas draws together campus chapter leaders, Thomistic Institute members, alumni, speakers, the broader TI community, and lovers of Thomistic philosophy to celebrate St. Thomas Aquinas. This year’s keynote speaker for the gathering was Fr. Thomas Joseph White, O.P. from the Angelicum.

Read the below Q&A with our TI friend Nick about his experience of Vertias, and see if perhaps you would be interested in attending next summer!

Why did you decide to attend Veritas?

Nick: As someone who is beginning my Order of Christian Initiation for Adults or OCIA into the Catholic Faith this year, while not required I felt in order to grow in my understanding in The Catholic Church teachings I needed to be surrounded by Roman Catholics of all different walks of life and background about why they are Roman Catholic and how their faith guides them. I learned at Veritas that a majority of the attendees are actually people who converted to the Catholic Faith- in turn, this helped me tremendously understand just how huge our faith as Catholics is.

How did you benefit from attending? What is the purpose of Veritas for Kean students?

Nick: One of my biggest challenges is relearning everything, as I am coming from Romanian Orthodox Church and to relearn and in a way rediscover the truth, is how I benefitted from Veritas. It is to have us strengthen our ability to reason carefully and logically about the truth of the Gospel just as Saint Thomas Aquinas. Not just to reason carefully and logically, but as Thomists we are to engage on an intellectual level on our Faith Culture, Philosophy, Theology, Ethics. All of these lead to study and as Father Ambrose Little describes it, "Why study? Why not just contemplate? Well, study is not just for its own sake, study is meant to lead us to contemplation. For once we know things from our study, we can then gaze upon them and rest in the knowledge that we have been contemplating the beauty of truth." What I learned the purpose of Veritas is to prepare us to contemplate because we will be the ones leading others to the truth about the message of the Gospel and towards the Catholic Faith.

What were some of your favorite moments?

Nick: Oh gosh this is a hard one, I have been mentioning this but the intellectual and contemplative conversations I have had with fellow Catholics and the Dominican Fathers from all different walks of life- and how their faith shaped who they are was so incredibly humbling it strengthens and rejuvenated my own faith. “Iron sharpens iron” could not be truer. Attending Mass with everyone at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in the way to describe it is Romans 12:5, "So we though many are one body in Christ." I felt this exemplified by not just the architecture but being surrounded by everyone at Veritas . This was by far my favorite moment that I got to experience at Veritas and that is something very few are fortunate to get, and I will forever be grateful for this experience.

How will you bring what you learned/gained back to our KeanCatholics community?

Nick: What I will bring back are the teachings from the Dominican Fathers. Since I am going to be beginning OCIA this year, anyone else who is just starting at Kean University this upcoming Fall Semester, and who have plans or just exploring the Catholic Faith- I want to be that small part and to showcase our faith is a universal one with life and hope. To spread the truth of the Gospel and the Catholic Church teachings as best I can. Following this motto to the fullest of Saint Benedict of Nursia, "He should first show them in deeds rather than words all that is good and holy." I wish to bring this to our Kean Catholics community but also to our Bible studies, our intellectual understanding of the gospel is to study because as Father Ambrose Little says, that leads to contemplation. I want to be the one to invite all to contemplate and debate and to intellectually and spiritually grow in our faith.

You can learn more about Kean’s involvement with the Thomistitc Institute by click on the tab at the top of our website, “Thomistic Institute.”