About the Centre
In May 2004, Rabbi Larry Lander and Father Murray Watson submitted a proposal for the creation of a centre for Jewish-Catholic education to the Principal Chaplain of King’s University College at Western University. The proposal grew out of a perceived need for a forum and resource centre for expanding the existing relationship between Jews and Catholics in London, Ontario. The Centre would bring together theologians, philosophers, historians, social workers, political scientists, chemists, students and members of the business community.
In December 2004, the Centre for Catholic-Jewish Learning was established at King’s University College to foster and nurture the relationship through education, scholarship and community outreach. At the time of its original inception, the Centre was tasked with the mandate of working toward the eventual establishment of a trilogue between all three Abrahamic faiths – Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
In late 2010, the board of the Centre voted unanimously to petition College Council for a new name—a name that would reflect the reality of its work and would fulfill the original mandate given by the Centre to College Council at its original inception. In April 2010, by unanimous approval, College Council officially mandated the creation of the new Centre for Jewish-Catholic-Muslim Learning (CJCML).
The Centre’s programs included an annual lecture that is part of the Office of Campus Ministry’s Religious Life Lecture Series, an annual Passover Seder Meal, an annual Abrahamic road trip to local places of Jewish, Christian and Muslim worship, and in January 2010, the Centre for Jewish-Catholic-Muslim Learning initiated the first-ever observance of Holocaust Education Week at King’s University College.
Since 2016, the Centre has expanded to work with initiatives within the Diocese of London. These initiatives are both ecumenical and interreligious in nature. We also sponsor the London Peace Camp and lectures to create bridges between the descendants of Abraham.
In February 2022, to reflect its dedication to fostering “interreligious learning” through dialogue, the Centre was renamed to the Centre for Interreligious Learning and Dialogue (CILD).
