Its mission is not to advance study of the church or Catholic theology as such, but rather to bring resources from Catholic thought of any period to bear on current problems in the humanities and social sciences. Though concerned primarily with the Catholic intellectual heritage, the institute will support complementary research deriving from other Christian intellectual traditions as well as from Jewish and Islamic ones. It invites the participation of scholars without regard to religious belief. All fellowships are tenable for a semester or a full academic year, and fellows are expected to remain in residence for the term of appointment. The fellowships provide a private office, telephone, access to the Notre Dame computer network, limited photocopying and fax facilities, and library privileges.
Fellowships are both stipendiary and nonstipendiary.