The Ecclesiological Investigations International Research Network (EIIRN) will hold its seventeenth international conference on 15–17 September 2027, in Temuco, Chile, hosted by the Catholic University of Temuco (Universidad Católica de Temuco).
This conference will explore how Christians today understand the preferential option for the poor. Who are ‘the poor’ and what does it mean to be churches for, of, and with the poor? What theological significance does the moniker ‘Church of the poor’ hold? Pope Leo XIV has called the Church’s tradition of care for the poor “a beacon…of evangelical light” (Dilexi te, 103). The gathering centers on the question of poverty not as a social problem but as a transformative hermeneutical axis for the Church’s life. Not resting with discourse ‘about’ the poor, love invites us instead to take a theological and physical journey to the margins on a quest to learn.
The conference will probe approaches to these questions from churches that are increasingly intercultural and frame dialogue as an integral part of their mission. How do Christians today think about the social dimension of their lived faith in light of rapid demographic and religious changes? What are the consequences of these new models of community for Christian ethics and doctrine? What aspects of the wisdom from the margins help us to think about the synodal processes in our churches today? How does the commitment to ecumenical and interreligious dialogue affect and inform the missiology of the future? Does the notion of iglesia de los pobres have relevance beyond the so-called ‘Global South’? How do other areas of theology inform ecclesiology regarding the preferential option for the poor, influencing its models and structures? Classical understandings of justice and charity appear differently in light of the experience of indigenous communities, of novel types of activism, and of evolving diversity in sites that were once dominated by a single Christian church. This gathering will place the wisdom of the churches in Chile in dialogue with the larger Latin American and Caribbean reality and with intercontinental theologians and ministers reflecting on what is ‘marginal’ and what is the ‘center’ of Christian life globally. Theologians have been debating the ‘Church of the Poor’ for decades. In this conference, we invite participants to broaden and deepen this debate, explore new trends in ecclesiology, and, in this context, address the issue of poverty from various theological perspectives, so that we may help one another discern the missiology of the future.
Both English and Spanish will be working languages for the conference. The majority of the conference sessions will be held at the Catholic University of Temuco.
The Catholic University of Temuco
The Catholic University of Temuco was founded in 1959 by Bishop Alejandro Menchaca Lira, the first institution of higher education in the Araucanía region. It bears a strong vocation for public service, seeking to respond to the distinct challenges and opportunities of the local cultural context. This focus on interculturality marks the southernmost Catholic university in the world; our hosts invite participants to come to the frontier. You can learn more about the offerings of UCT and its mission here; for information about the Faculty of Religious Sciences and Philosophy, click here.