About

Aristel SKRBIC

Dear Members of the American College Alumni Association,

I hope this letter finds you well in what is a difficult and rather surreal time.

My name is Aristel and I am the co-ordinator of the Saint Damien Community. With this letter I wanted to briefly introduce myself and my work. So, let me start at the beginning. I was born in Slovenia to a family of both mixed nationalities and denominations. My mother’s Slovenian side is Catholic, while my father’s Bosnian side is Serbian Orthodox. By the time I was born, however, both of my parents stopped practicing so I really came to Christianity on my own in my teens, at first intellectually through studying Aquinas and the Scriptures in my philosophy classes, and later in faith too. In my early teens I left Slovenia for the UK, where I first went to boarding school, then did a liberal arts bachelor degree specializing in music and philosophy, and proceeded onto a music conservatoire for a master’s degree. After many years of pursuing music very intensively, I decided it was time to pursue my long-held interest in philosophy more seriously, which is how I came across Leuven and its world-renowned Institute of Philosophy. In early 2016 I took a night-coach across the Channel and visited here for a day. I was lucky, for the class I was able to attend that day was Prof. William Desmond’s lecture on his God and the Between. I was immediately convinced this was the place for me and applied for an MA program.

Even more important for this story, however, is that I had to arrange accommodation for myself from the UK without being able to see different places in Leuven. So, I asked for recommendations at the Institute and they said that many philosophy students live in Leo XIII and the American College. I wrote to both, and as luck would have it there was one last tiny loft room still available in the American College. This is how I ended up here almost four years ago, by coincidence and without knowing almost anything about the history of the place. Upon arrival, I very quickly fell in love with the AC, it’s chapel, the garden, the people. During my first year here, I became friends with some of the people from the Saint Damien Community and put myself forward as a potential co-ordinator at the end of the year. This is now the third year running that I am co-ordinating the community. It has been a blessing to be able to be part of the community and even more so to be trusted to lead it. I am very grateful for the friendships, conversations, sharing of faith, and the opportunity to contribute towards the growing and flourishing of this community.

I started my PhD research last year in the field of legal and political philosophy. I am focusing on the philosophical issues surrounding EU law and especially the role of the European Court of Justice. Leuven is of course a perfect place to do anything in relation to the EU and I am very happy that I am able to combine my interest in research with my aspiration to contribute something which may have a practical impact. Having self-funded the first year of my doctoral research, I have managed to win the FWO funding this year, so I have almost four years of funding left. This is a situation I have dreamed of for years and am very excited about the prospect of continuing my research as well as staying involved with the Saint Damien Community for the years to come. The American College and the community have over these past few years become my home, so much so that it is hard to imagine the day I will have to leave.

I would like to thank you personally and on behalf of the Saint Damien Community for your continuous interest and support! The scholarships which you have provided and the support for our pilgrimage to Rome last year have been very much appreciated.

If you would like to get in touch please write to us at saintdamien@kuleuven.be

Sending warmest wishes from Leuven,

Yours in Christ,

Aristel Skrbic