How do we evangelize to a culture closed off to objective truth and morality? This question has been troubling faithful Catholics for decades now. Objective truth and morality, once seen as pillars of the culture, have been cast aside and replaced with secularism and relativism. And yet, hope is not lost. The answer to how to evangelize to such a culture may, in fact, be a simple one. Alumnus Brad Torline ’16 discovered it during his time at Christendom and has been working to bring that answer to the broader culture ever since. The answer: beauty—and using it to provide people with a powerful and personal experience of Christ.
Torline serves as the executive director of the Angelico Project, a nonprofit organization that brings Catholic cultural events to the greater Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio, area. The project’s mission, according to Torline, is to “transform the culture through beauty,” aiming to draw people to Christ through dynamic encounters with truth and goodness.
Torline is the Executive Director of he Angelico Project, a nonprofit organization that brings Catholic cultural events to the greater Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio, area.
The seeds for Torline’s desire to transform the culture were planted in his childhood and his initial introduction to Christ.
“I have always been interested in religion and in the Faith,” recalls Torline. “I’m not sure where this came from. My mom prayed with us every night before bed, but, other than that, my parents were not particularly religious. But I was always deeply fascinated by the person of Jesus Christ. Despite this, I also always struggled with doubts. Like most people my age, I had lost my faith by the time I was in middle school. I had been very interested in God and I wanted the Faith to be true. But my experience of religion was just not compelling. It failed to engage me or satisfy me on the level of the head or the heart. The liturgies were not particularly engaging or inspiring. The music was bad. Though I desperately wanted religion to be true, I just didn’t find it compelling.”
The spark of Torline’s calling began to ignite during this dark time in his life, as he struggled with meaninglessness, anxiety, and depression. Then, something happened, and everything changed. Torline was exposed to the rich intellectual heritage of the Church through a friend, followed quickly by a retreat focused on adoring Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and encountering Him in confession. In short, he experienced the fullness of the Faith for the first time in his life.
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“I experienced just how beautiful and good and true Catholicism could be,” says Torline. “And it set my heart on fire. Jesus gives me hope. Hope that life does not end in nothingness. Hope that life has meaning and purpose. This changed the course of my life.”
Torline’s faith journey next took him to the Shenandoah Valley, where he attended Christendom for four years. During that time, he was immersed in a vibrant Catholic culture that he quickly wanted to take everywhere. From the way people ate together, to how they studied, to how they celebrated at parties, everything was impactful to Torline. It was here, near the Blue Ridge Mountains, that a dream began to formulate for him.
“I always knew God was calling me back home to the Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati area to help build up and strengthen my local Church,” says Torline. “At Christendom, I began to get a notion of how God might be calling me to do that. I realized that every parish should be like Christendom. Every school. Every family and household—in the sense that every parish, school, and household should strive to be an immersive experience in Catholic culture, in a life totally devoted to Christ.”
It was during his Junior Semester in Rome with Christendom — where he famously swapped zucchettos with Pope Francis — that Torline’s dreams were solidified.
His dream was solidified for Torline during his junior semester in Rome with Christendom, followed quickly after with a trip to the Holy Land that was made possible thanks to a scholarship offered to Christendom students. In Rome, Torline became convinced that he was being called to create a Catholic cultural center that would help people encounter God by creating opportunities for them to be immersed in Catholic culture. His time in the Holy Land, meanwhile, confirmed for him that God was calling him to do this in his home of Northern Kentucky and the Cincinnati region.
Following graduation, Torline moved back home, got married, and began working at the Dynamic Catholic Institute for a time, before eventually joining the Young Adult Ministry at the Diocese of Covington, where he used ideas of events at Christendom to help draw people back to the Faith.
“I used Catholic cultural events, largely inspired by my time at Christendom, to build a thriving young adult ministry,” recalls Torline. “Irish Pub Nights. Swing Dances. Candlelight Masses with Sacred Polyphony. And it worked! Catholic young adults were encouraged in their Faith. Non-Catholics were attending. People returned to the sacraments. Community was built among young people seeking God. Marriages were sparked. Vocations were encouraged.”
The Angelico Project seeks to strengthen local Catholic culture and draw people back to the faith through dynamic encounters with truth, goodness, and beauty — including through sacred architecture tours.
During this time, Torline expressed to the Bishop of Covington his dream to start a nonprofit dedicated to strengthening local Catholic culture and drawing people back to the faith through dynamic encounters with truth, goodness, and beauty. The bishop was supportive but suggested that Torline continue working in young adult ministry while he developed his idea further.
He put aside the dreams of the Catholic cultural center—for a few weeks. Then, out of the blue, Maureen Teller, a local Catholic, called Torline after hearing an interview he gave on local Catholic radio. She invited him to join her and a team of fellow Catholics in building a Catholic cultural center. When he asked what her organization was called, he was floored.
“She said, ‘The Angelico Project,’ and I almost fell out of my chair,” says Torline. “That was exactly one of the names I had considered when dreaming of my Catholic cultural center. During my semester in Rome, where the dream of the Catholic cultural center was born, I had thought of the name while standing in front of Fra Angelico’s frescoes in the San Marco Monastery of Florence.”
Torline began helping with the Angelico Project on the side, assisting with events and helping it grow. After a couple of years, however, he realized that God was calling him to go all in. A short time after, Torline was named the Executive Director of the Angelico Project, where he now leads a small but growing organization dedicated to launching a new renaissance of Catholic art, thought, and culture.
Multiple times a month, the Angelico Project hosts events across the Cincinnati region, inspired, once again, by similar events Torline experienced at Christendom. Just this fall, the project hosted a sacred art exhibition.
Multiple times a month, the Angelico Project hosts events across the Cincinnati region, inspired, once again, by similar events Torline experienced at Christendom. Just this fall, the project hosted a sacred art exhibition, a Catholic theater group, a Dante reading group, sacred architecture tours, and candlelight Masses at parishes across the region. In the past, it has hosted film screenings as well, including with filmmaker—and fellow Christendom alumnus—Joe Duca ’14.
Truly, Torline and his team are living out the vision outlined by Pope St. John Paul II in his famous Letter to Artists, penned in 1999. In the letter, St. John Paul II calls on artists to be integral in evangelization—a belief that has echoed throughout Torline’s life.
“Even beyond its typically religious expressions, true art has a close affinity with the world of faith, so that, even in situations where culture and the Church are far apart, art remains a kind of bridge to religious experience,” writes St. John Paul II. “Insofar as it seeks the beautiful … art is by its nature a kind of appeal to the mystery.”
The Angelico Project has hosted film screenings as well, including with filmmaker—and fellow Christendom alumnus—Joe Duca ’14.
These words are at the core of the Angelico Project’s mission. Torline hopes, in time, that the Angelico Project can spread beyond the Cincinnati area, with similar Catholic cultural centers appearing throughout the United States, truly bringing about a renaissance of beauty in the culture.
When Torline looks back at his time at Christendom and how it led him to where he is today, he sees the college’s vibrant Catholic culture as integral to his formation—but the impact of the college’s faculty and staff even more so. They believed in him and his dream, giving him the confidence to see his Catholic cultural center into fruition. The result? Countless souls encountering Christ through beauty and gaining a foretaste of eternity.
“All of my classes impacted me deeply, immersing me in the Catholic thought that solidified and strengthened my Faith. But to be honest, I have realized that the greatest impact Christendom had on me was through the mentorship of great men like Dr. Brendan McGuire, Dr. John Cuddeback, Dr. Bracy Bersnak, Professor Mike Brown, Fr. Donald Planty, Mr. Tom McFadden, and many more. These men—men whom I admired so much—believed in me. And that has made all the difference in my life. It’s given me the confidence to go out and try to answer the call I feel God has given me. After all—one man can make a difference, can’t he? Even someone as broken and sinful as me.”
To learn more about Torline’s work with the Angelico Project and how to get involved, visit angelicoproject.org.
Written by Zach Smith, Director of Communications
Read more from Instaurare Magazine here.