Francis X. Maier
Senior Fellow
Francis X. Maier is a Senior Fellow in the Catholic Studies Program at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Mr. Maier’s work focuses on the intersection of Christian faith, culture, and public life, with special attention to lay formation and action.
Francis X. Maier is a Senior Fellow in the Catholic Studies Program at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Mr. Maier’s work focuses on the intersection of Christian faith, culture, and public life, with special attention to lay formation and action.
Mr. Maier served as senior adviser and special assistant to Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., for 23 years in Denver and Philadelphia. He previously served as editor in chief of the National Catholic Register and as a story analyst and screenwriter based in Los Angeles. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame and New York University’s School of the Arts, he is a former Fellow of the American Film Institute’s Conservatory for Advanced Film Studies, and the inaugural Senior Research Fellow (2020–22) at Notre Dame’s Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government. He is a cofounding board member of the University of Pennsylvania’s Collegium Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture and a board member of the Napa Institute and the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS).
His bylined work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, First Things, National Review, The American Spectator, The Catholic Thing, Crisis, This World, America, Commonweal, the New York Times Sunday magazine, Christian Science Monitor, and other national and foreign outlets. His book True Confessions: Voices of Faith from a Life in the Church, was released by Ignatius Press in early 2024.
Pro Deo et Patria
Francis X. Maier
For many families, the storm clouds currently gathering over Ukraine stir up some poignant memories.
Articles
The Catholic Thing / February 14, 2022
Ukraine and the Western Conscience
Francis X. Maier
The idea that Ukrainians might forget or ignore the memory of Russian criminality in their country, for the sake of a dubious peace, is ludicrous.
Articles
The Catholic Thing / January 27, 2022
Memory, History, and Hope
Francis X. Maier
Today’s distressing turmoil in the world and discord in the Church are hardly new. They’re part of humanity’s fallen nature and – unavoidably – our normal pastoral terrain.
Articles
The Catholic Thing / January 18, 2022
Catholic Journalists Called to Report the Truth with ‘A Consuming Passion for Excellence’
Francis X. Maier
Never doubt the importance of your work. The vocation of a Catholic journalist is to tell the truth; to bring hope; and to sustain faith. The Church and her people — and through them, the world — urgently need all three.
Articles
Catholic News Agency / January 12, 2022
How Marxism ‘Won’ the War of Ideas
Francis X. Maier
The late Italian writer Augusto Del Noce saw its ironic triumph coming in the West.
Articles
Wall Street Journal / January 7, 2022
2022: There’s Good News and Bad News
Francis X. Maier
As 2022 begins, it’s worthwhile looking at the particular challenges to all of us these days.
Articles
The Catholic Thing / January 1, 2022
The Music of the Season
Francis X. Maier
Once upon a time, in a saner, more humane age, the faraway Age of Faith, the joy and beauty of the season didn’t need to be manufactured, or hawked, or bought, or turned into kitsch.
Articles
First Things / December 14, 2021
The Promise and Peril of Synods
Francis X. Maier
The Petrine ministry carries with it a duty to foster unity and clarity of belief. Pope Francis surely understands this. Whether the theme and architecture of the 2023 synod serve that ministry is still to be seen.
Articles
The Catholic Thing / December 9, 2021
Augusto Del Noce and The Problem of Atheism
Francis X. Maier
Augusto Del Noce is the most important thinker we don’t know. Del Noce viewed The Problem of Atheism, his essay collection that will be made available in English early next year, as the cornerstone of his scholarship.
Articles
Public Discourse / December 5, 2021
Gratitude, Expectation, and Advent
Francis X. Maier
The Advent writings of the German martyr Alfred Delp can help us enter into the real heart of Christmas.
Articles
The Catholic Thing / November 26, 2021
Living Between the Poles: How to Be Faithful in a Time of Conflict
Francis X. Maier
Real people, both within and outside the Church, are messy creatures. We all have divided hearts. As a result, the real world is filled with conflict. Here’s what we can do.
Articles
The Catholic World Report / November 21, 2021