The Roman Catholic Church is one of the world’s important institutions: powerful, wealthy and mysterious, says Alison Smith, a senior news correspondent with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

“To this day, religion shapes world history,” she says. “Whether or not we are believers, we are shaped by faith and the actions of the faithful.”

She will discuss the elements of what she terms a “fascinating and important news story” in a free public lecture entitled “Whose Story Is It? Telling the Church’s Story,” at 3 p.m. Sunday, February 9, in the Freed-Orman Centre, Assumption Hall.

Smith is host of CBC Radio’s flagship news program, The World at Six. Before assuming this position in the fall of 2009, she was the Washington correspondent for CBC Television. Her Windsor lecture is part of Assumption University’s Christian Culture Series.