Regis Martin, S.T.D., a longtime professor of systematic theology at Franciscan University (25 years and counting), is the author of a half-dozen books (The Beggar’s Banquet, most recently). He has been a theological consultant to religious organizations and dioceses, and written for numerous scholarly publications and popular Catholic magazines and newspapers. Along with other Franciscan University professors, in 2006 Dr. Martin contributed to a preparatory paper on the Franciscan perspective of beauty for the Pontifical Council for Culture, which was warmly received by Vatican officials.