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.
Inside the USCCB: An Interview with Jayd Henricks
Francis X. Maier
Jayd Henricks is President of Catholic Laity and Clergy for Renewal.
What We Need Now / August 22, 2023
Critics, Enemies, and the Difference
Francis X. Maier
The strengths and weaknesses of a pope are magnified a hundredfold by the importance of his ministry and its global, very public stage.
First Things / August 21, 2023
The Revenge of Unintended Consequences
Francis X. Maier
There’s a sort of classical tragedy quality to Francis. His strength is also his weakness.
The Catholic Thing / August 21, 2023
Thoughts on Catholic Higher Education and Culture
Francis X. Maier
Msgr. James Shea is president of the University of Mary and an author of the highly regarded “From Christendom to Apostolic Mission: Pastoral Strategies for an Apostolic Age.” He shares his thoughts on Catholic higher education, today’s culture, and Church renewal in this WWNN interview with Francis X. Maier.
Articles
What We Need Now / July 25, 2023
Everything Solid Melts into Air
Francis X. Maier
Microsoft, Apple, Google, and similar corporations have sparked a culture-wide upheaval resulting in social fragmentation and bitter antagonisms.
Articles
The Catholic Thing / July 20, 2023
Hey, Mr. Spaceman
Francis X. Maier
The best of science fiction is implicitly theological.
Articles
The Catholic Thing / July 6, 2023
The Devil, You Say
Francis X. Maier
See the film. Preferably in the daylight. Preferably with a friend.
Articles
The Catholic Thing / June 22, 2023
Memory and Identity
Francis X. Maier
Again and again, men have consecrated America’s virtues and best ideals on the battlefield. They’ve done it with their blood.
Articles
The Catholic Thing / June 6, 2023
The Appeal of Regime Change
Francis X. Maier
History never repeats itself. But patterns of human thought and behavior repeat themselves all the time. That’s why the past has so many lessons for the present. One of them is this: Every society has an elite leadership class, no matter how well disguised. That includes democracies. It thus includes our own.
Articles
The Catholic Thing / May 22, 2023
On Crossing the Rubicon
Francis X. Maier
So how do we fix things? How do we restore what we once had? Well, the truth is, maybe we can’t. Maybe that shouldn’t be our main focus. There’s no quick fix for problems we behaved ourselves into. But as Christians, we can at least change our thinking and our actions.
Articles
The Catholic Thing / April 27, 2023