Winona-Rochester Bishop Robert Barron launched the Wonder Conference, a seminar hosted by the Word on Fire Institute.

The gathering was held Jan. 13-14 at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center in Dallas, according to Our Sunday Visitor.

“Friends, Word on Fire’s inaugural Wonder Conference was terrific!” Barron said in a tweet. “My thanks to all who attended, our brilliant speakers, the Word on Fire Institute Fellows and the entire Word on Fire staff. I’m already looking forward to Wonder Conference 2024.”

The inaugural Wonder Conference was attended by more than 1,000 clergy, religious and lay people. Its in-person tickets sold out, but it offered online access to reach more people.

The Wonder Conference aimed to address the often brought up disconnect between religious belief and science and discussed how the Catholic Church represents the unity of faith and reason, Our Sunday Visitor explains. Pew Research findings show that nearly six out of 10 U.S. adults, or 59%, believe that science and religion often conflict with one another, the report says.

Numerous scientists with specialties in physics, philosophy, technology, theology and history attended the conference. Jesuit Father Robert J. Spitzer, president of the Magis Center of Reason and Faith and the Spitzer Center; Jennifer Wiseman, senior astrophysicist at the Goddard Space Flight Center; and Karin Oberg, professor of astronomy at Harvard University; were among the experts who participated in the conference, according to Our Sunday Visitor.

The Word on Fire Institute is part of the non-profit organization Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, which Barron also founded.