Albury Aquinas Symposium 2026
About
St Patrick's Catholic Parish, Albury, in association with The Austin Woodbury Institute, is delighted to present a symposium on the theology and philosophy of the Angelic Doctor, St Thomas Aquinas. Our seven speakers will present on a wonderful range of topics that reflect the genius of St Thomas. From the pinnacle of Transubstantiation in the Eucharist to considerations of true happiness or the question of extraterrestrial life, St Thomas has thought about it all. There will be time for questions to be taken after each speaker's presentation and we hope much convivial discussion with light refreshments.We begin with the Holy Mass at 5.30pm in St Patrick's Church on Friday evening May 1st and continue in the St Patrick's Hall, Smollett St, Albury, NSW, with a light supper ahead of our first two speakers presenting their papers.
On Saturday May 2nd, we return for the TLM Holy Mass at 10am in the Eucharistic Adoration Chapel adjacent to St Patrick's Church and then move to St Patrick's Hall for, concluding with the 5th speaker at 5pm before a light supper.
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Each session will run for 75mins comprising of an approximately 45min paper followed by Q&A.
****Friday Session Times:
7.00pm Session 1 - Fr Steven Ledinich
8.15pm Session 2 - Ms Kathy Kupresak
****Saturday Session Times:
11.00am Session 3 - Dr Don Boland
12.15pm Session 4 - Mr Peter Kalina
2.15pm Session 5 - Mr Michael Baker
3.30pm Session 6 - Dr Brendan Triffett
5.00pm Session 7 - Mr Daniel Younan
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This event is free of charge. Please register through Trybooking for your free tickets.
Parking is available in the grounds of St Patrick's Church, entry is from Olive Street.
LIVESTREAMING INFORMATION: PLEASE NOTE THERE HAS BEEN A RECENT CHANGE TO THE LINK
For those who cannot attend in person, livestreaming will be available for all sessions via "Google Meet". Those who wish to access the livestream are asked, as a courtesy, to please email us at veraphilosophia111@gmail.com before the symposium begins to register with us their name and location.
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****The livestream link :*****
https://meet.google.com/ajh-vaco-btb
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Please keep this link private or passed on only to those who are genuinely interested so as to assist us with the security of the symposium broadcast.
A mobile number has been provided - we ask that you please use email for any necessary written enquiries and only use the mobile number for more urgent communications very close to or during the symposium itself.
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Program Details
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Friday May 1st – Feast of St Joseph The Worker, First Friday of the Month
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5.30pm Holy Mass St Patrick’s Church
6.15pm Opening Prayer, Chaplet of The Holy Face St Patrick’s Hall
Opening Address Fr Steven Ledinich
6.30pm Light Supper St Patrick’s Hall
7.00pm Session 1 St Thomas Aquinas on Transubstantiation,
Rev Fr Steven Ledinich, LPh, PhD
8.15 pm Session 2 Aquinas on Nature and Grace,
Ms Kathy Kupresak, BA(Phil)
9.30pm Closing Prayer Fr Steven Ledinich
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Saturday May 2nd, First Saturday of the Month
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8.30am Holy Hour St Patrick’s Church
10.00am Holy Mass, TLM
Eucharistic Adoration Chapel,
Adjacent to Church, access via walkway or from Olive Street.
10.45am Morning Tea St Patrick’s Hall
11.00 am Session 3 On True Happiness
Dr Donald G. Boland, LIB, PhD
*paper will be presented via livestream
12.15pm Session 4 Dr Austin Woodbury and The Quinque Viae of St Thomas Aquinas, Mr Peter Kalina
1.30pm Light Lunch St Patrick’s Hall
2.00pm Chaplet of The Holy Face St Patrick’s Hall
2.15 Session 5 How The Universe Operates, A Metaphysical Analysis
Mr Michael Baker, LlB
3.30pm Session 6 Thomas Aquinas and the Question of Extraterrestrial Life, Dr Brendan Triffett, PhD
5.00pm Session 7 The Aristotelian Notion of Relation in St Thomas’ Trinitarian Theology, Mr Daniel Younan, BA (Phil), MA (Theol)
*paper will be presented via livestream
6.00pm Light Supper St Patrick’s Hall
Closing Address
Closing Prayer Fr Steven Ledinich
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Our Speakers:
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Fr Steven Ledinich is currently the parish priest in St Patrick's Parish, Albury, NSW and lecturer in philosophy at Vianney College, the seminary for the diocese of Wagga Wagga. He has a licentiate in philosophy from the Angelicum University in Rome and a doctorate in philosophy from the Australian Catholic University.
Ms Kathy Kupresak was born in Australia and raised a Catholic. She is a graduate of the former Centre for Thomistic Studies (Syd) having studied under Dr. Woodbury’s Aquinas Academy graduates Mrs. Alice Nelson, Dr. Don Boland and Dr. John Ziegler among others. Kathy holds a Bachelor of Arts (Philosophy) through Regina Apostolorum (Rome) and since gaining her degree she has taught public courses in Philosophy and Theology to both adults (St. Patrick’s Parish Albury) and older homeschooling children in the Albury area. As one of the founders of the Austin Woodbury Institute (Syd), she is currently teaching Philosophy and Theology subjects.
Donald G Boland Ll. B. (Sydney), Ph. D. (Angelicum) is a founding member of the Centre for Catholic Studies Inc. in Sydney Australia and is one of its former Presidents. After obtaining a doctorate in philosophy from the University of St Thomas in Rome, he taught philosophy and law in both Catholic and secular educational institutions.
Mr Peter Kalina was a student for many years and later a teacher of Philosophy, Theology and Latin at the Centre for Thomistic Studies in Sydney. He is now teaching the same subjects at the Austin Woodbury Institute.
Mr Michael Baker spent some 35 years practising as barrister and solicitor in New South Wales. His studies at Sydney University’s Law School in the 1960s were balanced with studies in the philosophy of Aristotle and Aquinas at Sydney’s Aquinas Academy under Fr Austin M Woodbury SM, PhD, STD and his assistants John Ziegler BSc, Geoffrey Deegan BA PhD and Donald Boland LlB, PhD.
Dr Brendan Triffett completed his PhD in philosophy at the University of Tasmania, the subject of his being Thomas Aquinas and John Milbank. He is especially interested in metaphysics and the intersection of philosophy and theology. He has published articles in The Heythrop Journal and Mercator online, and chapters in two books published by the Christopher Dawson Centre. Aquinas, Kierkegaard and Dietrich von Hildebrand are three of his favourite philosophers. His dream is to set up an online philosophy school especially for Catholics. In the meantime he does other work in the education field such as tutoring and administration. He no longer finds the time to compose at the piano and cannot play quite as well as he used to.
Mr Daniel Younan OP, known in the Dominican Order as Br. Albert Thomas, is a qualified musician, philosopher and theologian. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy through the Regina Apostolorum in Rome, an Associate Diploma and Licentiate in Music through the Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB), a Master of Arts in Theology though Holy Apostles College and Seminary in America and is currently writing his doctoral thesis at Pontifex University in Atlanta, Georgia US. He is currently the Director of Music at Frenchs Forest Catholic Parish in Sydney, Director of the Children’s choir at St Joachim’s Parish, Lidcombe, Co-Director of Studies and one of the founding members of the Austin Woodbury Institute, President of the Lay Dominican Provincial Council and Vice Co-ordinator of the Asia Pacific Council of the Lay Dominican Fraternities.
Location
St Patrick's Hall
Smollett Street, Albury NSW 2640
Contact Form
Albury Aquinas Symposium 2026
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