Robert Barron, bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, has launched Wonder Conference, a new conference hosted by the Word on Fire Institute.

The inaugural gathering was held Jan. 13-14 at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center in Dallas, a recent report from Our Sunday Visitor said. 

“Friends, Word on Fire’s inaugural Wonder Conference was terrific!” Barron tweeted recently. “My thanks to all who attended, our brilliant speakers, the Word on Fire Institute Fellows and the entire Word on Fire staff. I’m already looking forward to Wonder Conference 2024.” 

The Wonder Conference was attended by more than 1,000 clergy, religious- and lay people. The purpose behind the conference was to address the often brought up disconnect between religious belief and science and to discuss how the Catholic Church represents the unity of faith and reason, the Our Sunday Visitor report said. A Pew Research study shows that nearly six out of 10 U.S. adults, or 59%, believe that science and religion often conflict with one another.

Numerous specialists in physics, philosophy, technology, theology and history were present at the conference. Jesuit Father Robert J. Spitzer, president of the Magis Center of Reason and Faith and the Spitzer Center; Jennifer Wiseman, senior astrophysicist at the Goddard Space Flight Center; Karin Oberg, professor of astronomy at Harvard University; and others were among the experts who attended the conference. 

The Word on Fire Institute is part of the nonprofit organization Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, which was also founded by Barron.