Dale Ahlquist

Dale Ahlquist
Ahlquist in May 2012
Born	(1958-06-14) June 14, 1958 (age 66) St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Occupation	Author

Dale Ahlquist (born June 14, 1958) is an American author and advocate of the thought of G. K. Chesterton. Ahlquist is the president and a co-founder of the American Chesterton Society and the publisher of its magazine, Gilbert. He is also a co-founder of Chesterton Academy, a Catholic high school in Minneapolis. ^[1]

Background and education

Ahlquist received his B.A. from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, ^[2] and a M.A. from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota. Ahlquist received an honorary doctorate from the University of Mary in 2024. ^[3]

Conversion to Catholicism

Dale Ahlquist was raised in a Baptist household observing the developing fragmentation of Protestant denominations. Reading G. K. Chesterton’s The Everlasting Man during his honeymoon in Rome led to research into the Early Church Fathers and the history of the Catholic Church. Ahlquist saw his objections to Catholicism on matters of the papacy, the sacraments of the Catholic Church, and the Blessed Virgin Mary be refuted. ^[4] In 1996 he founded the American Chesterton Society. He converted to Catholicism in 1997, along with his two oldest children Julian and Ashley. His wife, Laura, who had not been a practicing Catholic when they met, also returned to the church.

American Chesterton Society

The American Chesterton Society (ACS) is a non-profit organization co-founded by Dale Ahlquist in 1996 with the mission of promoting interest in English author, G. K. Chesterton. ^[5] The ACS supports scholarly research on Chesterton, hosts annual conferences across the United States and abroad, international pilgrimages, and offers guidance to more than 60 local societies dedicated to Chesterton around the world. ^[6] In 2000, Ahlquist quit his job as a political lobbyist to run the American Chesterton Society full-time. ^[7]

Chesterton Academy

In 2008, Dale Ahlquist and Tom Bengtson founded the Chesterton Academy, a high school in Hopkins, Minnesota, based on G. K. Chesterton’s ideas of integrated learning. ^[8]

References

1. "2012 Catholic High School Honor Roll Top 50". Catholichonorroll.org. Archived from the original on 2012-09-23. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
2. Carleton College, Dale Ahlquist '80 interviewed in Star Tribune
3. University of Mary. "History of Honorary Degrees". University of Mary. Retrieved 24 March 2025.
4. "Upon This Rock — That Doesn't Roll – Conversion Story of Dale Ahlquist | The Coming Home Network". Chnetwork.org. 2012-10-31. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
5. "American Chesterton Society | G.K. Chesterton for the 21st Century". Chesterton.org. 2013-08-06. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
6. "Local Societies". Chesterton.org. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
7. Katherine Kersten At home with British mastermind's legacy. Minneapolis Star-Tribune, June 6, 2005
8. "Board of Directors". Chesterton Academy. Retrieved 2013-09-05.