The Institute for Human Ecology
Human flourishing illuminated by Catholic social doctrine
Our Mission
The Institute for Human Ecology (IHE) at The Catholic University of America is the nation’s leading academic institute committed to identifying the economic, cultural, and social conditions vital for human flourishing.
Drawing on the Catholic intellectual tradition, the mission of the IHE is to educate students, sponsor multidisciplinary research, advise Church leadership, and organize symposia, conferences, and lectures for the academy and the public square. IHE programs challenge the materialistic and reductionist worldviews of institutions, policy-makers, and opinion-formers that stand in the way of prosperity and human dignity.
Our People
Our Logo
The fleur-de-lis (lily flower), which appears on the coat of arms of Pope Leo XIII, who issued the charter for The Catholic University of America, traditionally represents the Holy Trinity as well as the Blessed Virgin Mary. (It was, for instance, featured on the coat of arms of Saint Joan of Arc.) The lily is also the ancient symbol of Saint Joseph, the patron of the IHE. The twelve stars bring to mind Mary’s crown of twelve stars (“on her head a crown of twelve stars”) (Revelation 12:1), the twelve Apostles, and the twelve Schools at The Catholic University of America. Additionally, the stars symbolize the light radiated by God, as described, for example, in the Psalms, “in your light we see light” (36:10), and by Dante in the last line of Paradiso, “the Love that moves the sun and the other stars.”
Our Patron Saints
Saint Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary
As an institution proudly devoted to Catholic truth and the uplifting of the family, we turn regularly to our heavenly family for aid and inspiration to our primary patron, Saint Joseph, and the Blessed Virgin Mary (especially as the Immaculate Conception, Our Lady of Sorrows, and Our Lady of Oxford).
The IHE’s programs have secondary patron saints who serve as models for the formation we endeavor to imbue and powerful intercessors for our staff and students in times of need.
Other Patron Saints
- Saint Charbel Makhlouf
- Saint Pio of Pietrelcina
The IHE’s programs have patron saints who serve as models for the formation we endeavor to imbue and powerful intercessors for our staff and students in times of need. They are:
Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face
Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, one of our primary patronesses, reminds us that the peak of the Catholic intellectual tradition always points to the heavens. We take to heart her intimation that we are all pilgrims in this world, making our way to our true home — indeed, each of us is a “sojourner” on the earth (Psalm 119:19). Following Saint Thérèse, the cultivation of divine wisdom and the attainment of eternal Easter after death directs and informs all our earthly endeavors.
Saint John Henry Newman
Patron of our Undergrad Program. As a tutor and cleric at Oxford, Saint John Henry had a profound pastoral influence on the undergraduate population, urging them in his Parochial and Plain Sermons to pursue purity of heart, integrity of mind, and intimacy with Christ above all things.
Saint Josephine Bakhita
Patroness of the M.A. in Human Rights Program. Born in Sudan in 1869, Saint Josephine was kidnapped at the age of seven and sold into slavery. She was sold several times, eventually becoming a nanny for an Italian family. Josephine gained her freedom and became a Canossion Sister, where she spent her life preparing missionary sisters to work in Africa and exemplified Christian charity.
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When asked what she would do if she could meet her captors, she replied: “If I were to meet those who kidnapped me, and even those who tortured me, I would kneel and kiss their hands. For, if these things had not happened, I would not have been a Christian and a religious today.”
We seek the intercession of saints from the first centuries of the Church: Anne, John the Baptist, Mary Magdalen, Paul, George, Catherine of Alexandria, Augustine of Hippo, Scholastica, and Benedict (ora et labora). From the second millennium, we implore the aid of Saints Anthony, Margaret of Castello, Catherine of Siena, Joan of Arc, Thomas More, Kateri Tekakwitha, Zélie Martin, and Louis Martin. Finally, we entreat Saint Gabriel the Archangel, herald of the Incarnation, for his prayers before the heavenly throne.
The list is long because we are fond of “God’s friends,” as Sigrid Undset calls them. We treasure their assistance. Through the pleading of our heavenly advocates, may Almighty God bless and crown our endeavors.
The IHE esteems Pope Leo XIII. An early champion of Catholic social doctrine and the beauty of tradition, Pope Leo XIII granted the founding charter to The Catholic University of America in 1887, urging the University to “give to the Republic her best citizens.”
We seek the intercession of saints from the first centuries of the Church: Anne, John the Baptist, Mary Magdalen, Paul, George, Catherine of Alexandria, Augustine of Hippo, Scholastica, and Benedict (ora et labora). From the second millennium, we implore the aid of Saints Anthony, Margaret of Castello, Catherine of Siena, Joan of Arc, Thomas More, Kateri Tekakwitha, Zélie Martin, and Louis Martin. Finally, we entreat Saint Gabriel the Archangel, herald of the incarnation, for his prayers before the heavenly throne.
This list is long because we are fond of “God’s friends,” as Sigrid Undset calls them. We treasure their assistance. Through the pleading of our heavenly advocates, may Almighty God bless and crown our endeavors.
The IHE esteems Pope Leo XIII. An early champion of Catholic social doctrine and the beauty of tradition, Pope Leo XIII granted the founding charter to The Catholic University of America in 1887, urging the University to “give to the Republic her best citizens.”
