About
“I felt warmly received here. Found everyone to be gracious and caring. The discussions were fruitful and interesting. The cuisine was excellent and memorable.”
Every year Thomas Aquinas College hosts two weekends to give friends from around the country a taste of its unique program of Catholic liberal education. With the guidance of faculty members, participants discuss selections from the Great Books on a given theme. They work together to unfold the authors’ meaning and discern what truths it contains.
Our chaplains offer Masses on campus each day and are available for confession and spiritual direction throughout the weekend. Our guests enjoy delicious meals and delightful company.
On both campuses, the Seminar Weekend features three discussions about the selected texts, nightly on-campus receptions, and time for Eucharistic Adoration in the College chapel. Guests have ample opportunity to visit with members of the student body and — at Sunday morning’s Mass — to take in the beautiful music of the Thomas Aquinas College Choir.
At the California campus, 70 miles north of Los Angeles, guests stay in private rooms, each equipped with its own bathroom, in the Mission-style residence halls. In New England, some 100 miles northwest of Boston, the College arranges for lodging at the nearby Inn at Crumpin-Fox and organize transportation to and from its historic, century-old campus. On both coasts, fine dining is provided on campus, courtesy of the College chef.
Whether you opt for California’s summer sun or New England’s fall foliage, your Seminar Weekend will be a time of intellectual stimulation, deepening faith, and enduring friendships.
This Year’s Theme: “American Exceptionalism & Threats to Democratic Liberty,”
“The weekend helped me understand better my role, the role of grace, the role of Jesus, and the role of God in helping me attain salvation.”
Tocqueville’s Democracy in America aims to show the excellence of America and the threats to its greatness. “Tyranny of the majority” is one of those threats. Besides the obvious danger of an elected majority trampling on the rights and interests of the minority, Tocqueville identifies a far more sinister tyranny exercised over thoughts and opinions.
Tocqueville is also concerned with the inordinate love of equality that he describes as the principal passion of Democratic countries, and which is felt more ardently than the love of liberty. The more equal and alike men become, the more they are bothered by any remaining inequalities, however slight. Tocqueville predicts that the love of equality leads, in the end, to socialism and the nanny state.
All those who desire to defend the spirit of liberty, which animates what is best in American life, should read Tocqueville’s thought-provoking book. Please join us as we discuss selections from Democracy in America in small seminar discussions led by members of the College’s teaching faculty.
Dates, Locations & Pricing
Below are the standard rates; members of the President’s Council may be eligible for significant discounts.
| Summer July 11-13, 2025 Santa Paula, California $750 single / $1,250 couple |
Fall |
All-inclusive price includes lodging, meals, seminars, and readings.
Discounts are available for President’s Council members at the Teresa of Calcutta level and above.
