By Dominic Andres
The Catholic Institute of Technology was born on the back of a napkin, in a restaurant in Castel Gandolfo, Italy. “CatholicTech” in shorthand, it is an American research university, the first in the world to have a fully Catholic identity. It was founded by Bill and Alexis Haughey in 2023 and opened its doors just a year later, in 2024. Its president is Bishop Arthur Kennedy, and its Dean of Academics is Jeff Kleck, formerly of the US’s prestigious Stanford University.
Bill and Alexis met at a friend’s birthday party, and soon after began dating. Bill, a civil engineer, worked in construction. The more tedious aspects of his work had him thinking about automation, and its potential to assist in human flourishing.
Meanwhile, Alexis had attended MIT to study mechanical engineering. After graduating she worked in Brazil, as part of a Fulbright fellowship, to develop clean and sustainable water supplies. Despite working in different fields, both Bill and Alexis recognized that technology has enormous potential to improve the lives of everyone, from the poorest to the richest.
As the two grew closer, they realized their mutual interest in technology, its potential and the systems that could create it. Further, they came to a strange realization: The Church had been the leader in scientific and technological progress for two thousand years, but it no longer held that position.
Instead, Catholic engineers were considered outliers in scientific circles. The attitude of many scientists was, in Bill’s words, “How can you work in the tangible and believe in the intangible?” This issue was a source of frustration to both Bill and Alexis, and they began to discuss how they could fix it.
Their first substantial conclusion was that a truly Catholic research university was an absolute necessity. Unfortunately, no such institution existed, and none of the current Catholic universities had the interest or ability to do that work. If, then, the Church was to reclaim her place at the forefront of scientific endeavor, someone would need to found a university which integrated modern scientific research with a thoroughly Catholic identity.
Months passed, and the pair went from dating, to engagement, to marriage. They decided to tour Europe for their honeymoon, and one of the stops was Castel Gandolfo, where Brother Guy Consolmagno, S.J., had invited them to tour the Vatican Observatory (an institution of which he is the director). Bill and Alexis were stunned when they learned that the Vatican Observatory is the oldest continually-funded research institution in the world. By seeming coincidence they had ended up at the institution which had for centuries carried the mantle they wished to take up, that of Catholic scientific pre-eminence.
After touring the Observatory, which is located in Castel Gandolfo, they headed off to dinner. As they walked, trudging up a steep hill, they still had the idea for a Catholic research university in their minds. Then Bill saw a sign, posted on a gate leading to a large, walled-off property…a “For Sale” sign. It was an odd coincidence that at the same place which had hosted their ideal of Catholic scientific endeavor for hundreds of years, there was also a property for sale which could be used for similar purposes.
Still, they continued on, eventually arriving at the restaurant. Bill, curious, unlocked his phone and pulled up the listing for the property they’d seen. The first words on the screen were:
“Former American Catholic College Campus.”
At that moment, CatholicTech was born.
A view of the Catholic Tech campus
The rest of the night was spent scrawling out financial plans and speculative timelines, first on napkins and then on notepads, all the way back to Rome and into the early hours of the morning. The planning continued through the rest of their honeymoon and into their regular married life, until, one month later, they finalized the property deal with Opus Dei (which had been using the campus as a retreat center).
CatholicTech’s campus is a gem, situated just above beautiful Lake Albano, only thirty minutes outside of Rome and ten minutes from the Vatican Observatory. The grounds span a full sixty acres, and include combination classroom and dormitory buildings, athletic facilities (including tennis courts and a pool), and several chapels. Students can go out on a walk through forest paths, then return to use the school’s 3D printers and virtual reality lab, or work out in the gym. While the current facilities have a capacity of only two hundred, much of the land is undeveloped, and plans have already been made to build more dormitories, a library, and even a campus cafe.
The school’s first miracle was the campus, and the second came soon after. Within twenty-four hours of the Haugheys posting the call for professors for their new school, they had received eight hundred applications, four hundred of which were from tenure-track professors at other institutions.
It was then that they realized there was more interest and enthusiasm for this project than anyone could have dreamed. Not only that, but many of the applications to teach (as well as many applications to study there, which came a bit later) said that CatholicTech was an answer to prayers — the kind of institution which the applicants had been hoping for.
The professors who were hired are men and women at the top of their fields, and include Dr. Kevin Greenman, Dr. Victor Luchangco, Dr. Rodrigo Negreiros, and Dr. Lilian Santos, PhD, whose book Governance of Human Gene Editing and Transhumanism was just published.
CatholicTech had its pick of thinkers, and they picked some of the best. The school’s faculty also includes two priests, Fr. Maurice Agbaw-Ebai, a leading scholar on Ratzinger, and Fr. Michael Baggot, an expert in bioethics with a focus on human nature in science.
In addition to the faculty, CatholicTech boasts another, more unique, set of academics: the Research Ethics Committee. The only official institution of its kind in the world, CatholicTech’s Research Ethics Committee brings together philosophers and theologians from around the world to oversee the school’s research projects and guide the faculty through the ethical difficulties of modern science. This allows the faculty members to better focus on their research, magnifying their contributions to science and the world.
The CatholicTech currently has 15 students and interns in residence, all strong Catholics committed to the Faith, to science and to the school’s conception of an “Institute of Technology” that is truly “Catholic.” They’re an ideal first class for an institution with such a grand vision. Several of the students already have Bachelor’s degrees, and are coming to CatholicTech from Newman Guide schools (including Thomas Aquinas College and Christendom College). Their experience is put to good use at their new school, and they frequently discuss everything from philosophy to computer science not only in, but also outside of the classroom.
Students discuss theology, philosophy and techincal studies with the backdrop of Rome
One of the school’s Newman Fellows, Lauren Mitchell, saw CatholicTech as a perfect fit, bringing together her gifts and desires in a way that was truly an answer to her prayers. In an interview used on the school’s website, she pointed out that the school’s description of its desired applicants “felt like every point described me perfectly.” As a Newman Fellow, Lauren shoulders many responsibilities, from working on the school’s marketing team to establishing a thriving student culture.
CatholicTech’s students will graduate with Bachelor’s degrees in numerous fields, including biomedical engineering, computer science and bioethics. While there are no graduates yet, the institution looks forward to the transforming roles its graduates will play in fields of scientific inquiry and technological advancement.
When this first class graduates, CatholicTech will be a big step closer to accreditation, and to the school’s ambitious ten-year plan. Five years from now the school intends to have two hundred students and twenty doctoral students, and ten years from now, one thousand undergrads, two thousand doctoral students, forty professors, the new buildings that were mentioned above, and an “R1” rating for the institution, indicating the highest level of research activity at an educational institution — a lofty goal that the school’s founders have thought out with great care, and one suited to the energetic, driven atmosphere that pervades the institution.
Bill and Alexis have thrown themselves into this project, putting everything they have on the line for the glory of God. They are not, however, starting off without a plan.
One key connection for CatholicTech is Fidelis Ventures, soon to be the largest Catholic venture fund in the world. With $150 million pledged to them, they serve a fascinating dual role for CatholicTech’s mission.
Not only will money from the fund fully support the school’s operating costs, but the investment activity of the fund itself, putting money into authentically good projects which can advance human flourishing throughout the world guided by sound ethical and practical advice, is exactly the sort of activity CatholicTech is trying to promote.
It’s a win for both practicality and idealism, and it mirrors CatholicTech’s long-awaited reunion of the practical sciences with the Catholic faith.
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