ANDOVER -- When he was growing up, Kevin Greenman believed that science and religion were incompatible.

That was, until he was "blessed to have some great teachers" who introduced him to the work of great Catholic scholars like St. Thomas Aquinas. Now, Greenman is a Ph.D. research fellow at MIT who is dedicated to living his faith alongside pursuing scientific endeavors. This fall, he will join the faculty at the Catholic Institute of Technology, which describes itself as "the first-ever Catholic institution created exclusively for research advancements in the fields of the sciences, engineering, technology, and mathematics."

"This was such a great gift from God," Greenman told those at an informational gathering for CatholicTech at the Andover Inn on May 15, "such providence for this to happen in the year that I was about to graduate... And I'm just very excited to be a part of this endeavor and to be able to give mentorship to the next generation of students who maybe are coming from a similar path as me, that are struggling with this intersection of faith and science."

Founded by Bill and Alexis Haughey of Cambridge, CatholicTech will open its doors to students this fall. According to its motto, the school aims to teach "a new generation of Catholic saints, scholars, and scientists." The three-building, 250-bedroom campus is located in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, where the pope spends his summers. The school currently offers degrees in civil engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and computer science, biomedical engineering, and biology. Its professors come from such elite universities as MIT, Stanford, and CalTech. Along with science, students will learn theology, philosophy, and leadership.

"I'm so glad that you are here because what we have here with this new project is something that is remarkably important for the Church," CatholicTech president and Bishop Arthur Kennedy said in his remarks. "It is important for the Church because it belongs to the Church, actually, because it's not new, but it's very old."

Bishop Kennedy, who is a former auxiliary bishop and vicar general of the Archdiocese of Boston, said that CatholicTech is continuing the Catholic Church's long-standing promotion of science and learning, which started with the early Church's study of Greek and Roman thought.

"This is a wonderful way in which we are going to contribute to bringing together once again the relationship between all forms of human knowledge and theology," he said, "mediated by the work of the philosophical tradition which the Church both inherited and contributed to."

At CatholicTech, Mass will be celebrated daily, and there will be time each day to pray the rosary. There will also be regular eucharistic adoration. Students will be able to celebrate Mass not just on campus, but in Rome's great basilicas.

"They will have a taste of the intimacy and intricacies of the way in which the Church's life comes into being and how it becomes a source of hope in the world," Bishop Kennedy said.

He added that in a society where people struggle to find meaning and purpose, the mission of CatholicTech is to create a place where students can "accomplish that which God calls them to" using faith and reason.

In her remarks, Alexis Haughey said that CatholicTech is not just "another Catholic college that happens to teach science and engineering," but "a catalyst for a new evangelization."

"We want all of our students, faculty, and the staff to know that every day when they go out to work, that they are doing God's work, that they are evangelizing, using the gifts and talents that God has given to them," she said.

Bill Haughey was unable to attend the informational gathering because he was on military service.

The Haugheys first met when Bill was studying history, theology, and computer science at Boston College and Alexis was studying mechanical engineering at MIT. They visited Castel Gandolfo in 2020 and met Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno, an MIT alum and director of the Vatican Observatory, the only scientific institution in the world that is directly funded by the Catholic Church. Seeing how Castel Gandolfo was home to some of the world's most prominent Catholic scientists and researchers, the Haugheys thought it would be a great place for a university. They made the down payment on the campus in 2023.

Alexis Haughey is currently a Ph.D. student in the Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurial Strategy group at MIT's Sloan School of Management. She often hears from Catholics who feel that they cannot have their faith and "believe in science" at the same time. Personally, she finds science and faith to be "indispensable together."

She described CatholicTech as having a multi-pronged mission. The plan is that once students graduate from CatholicTech, they will get jobs at secular tech companies, where they can "speak the truth of Christ into places where it was not otherwise spoken."

Greenman has used the curiosity of his MIT classmates to spark conversation and educate them about his faith.

"I've been able to do more evangelization in that way than I could... standing on the street on a pedestal," he said.

"We are living in a generation where you're no longer going to convert someone by hitting them with the Bible," said Aline Vargas-Greenman, Kevin's wife and an MIT alum. "We're going to be able to change them through that testament and that witness and that friendship, intentional friendship."

CatholicTech students will also be able to share Catholic moral teaching on the latest technological developments, including artificial intelligence and gene editing.

"It's incredibly important that CatholicTech train all kinds of people," Alexis said, "laypeople, clergy, religious, who are both well-versed in the teachings of the Church and the nuances of emerging technologies in a way that will allow them to speak authoritatively about the philosophical, theological, and ethical questions that arise."

She said that Catholic scholars must have a presence in tech companies and research labs and be open about their faith "so that we can help to guide scientific progress in a way that respects the dignity of all humans."

"New technologies are coming," she said, "and we as Catholics can't sit down and be afraid of new technologies anymore, or even try to stem the flow of progress."

She noted that, when used ethically, science and technology can get people out of poverty and improve quality of life.

"We can't be afraid of this kind of scientific progress," she said. "We need to be at the forefront of leading."