September 28, 2016 // Uncategorized

Around the Diocese: October 2, 2016

Todays Catholic

McMahon Aquinas lecture brings D.C. Shindler

NOTRE DAME — Saint Mary’s College is pleased to announce that D.C. Schindler from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at The Catholic University of America will speak on “Love and Beauty, ‘The Forgotten Transcendental,’ in Aquinas” on Thursday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m. in Rice Commons, Student Center. The event is free and members of the public are welcome.

Theological discussion on prayer planned

NOTRE DAME — A colloquium on “Intercessory Prayer: Catholic and Mennonite Perspectives” will be Saturday, Oct. 1, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Andrews Auditorium, Geddes Hall. For information contact Dr. Margaret Pfeil at [email protected].

Gerontology conference at new location

SOUTH BEND — Michiana Gerontology Institute’s ninth annual Gerontology Conference will be Oct. 20 at a new location, The Kroc Center, 900 W. Western Ave., at 1:30 p.m. The keynote address will be given by Dr. Bill Thomas, author, entrepreneur, musician, teacher, farmer and physician whose wide-ranging work explores the terrain of human aging. Thomas will also present MGI’s first Changing Aging Award to a person who personifies what it means to age with grace, passion and service to others. An afternoon workshop, “Disrupt Dementia,” is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. The day includes a panel discussion and interactive lobby experience, as well as an evening nonfiction theater performance. This event is open to everyone. Register by Oct. 13 online at www.mgi-hcc.org; or contact Pat Adams at (574) 239-8364 or [email protected].

Holy Cross College reports enrollment increase and new programs

NOTRE DAME — For the second year in a row, Holy Cross College enrollment has grown to record numbers. This year, the college has a total of 647 students enrolled, 529 of those as traditional undergraduates. This represents a seven percent increase over last year’s total enrollment.

In its second year of implementing a two-year live-on-campus requirement for freshmen and sophomores, Holy Cross also reported a record number of over 350 students residing in college-sponsored housing this semester. The college has achieved a 100 percent occupancy rate in campus residence halls and the college-sponsored building at University Edge, due in large part to an increase in the size of the freshman class and the decision by more returning students to live on campus and continue experiencing the college’s close-knit dorm communities.

Faculty members and advisors were added this year to support the college’s expansion of academic programs, including four full-time faculty members, three advisors, and 17 visiting and adjunct professors. One- and two-year pre-engineering tracks were added to the Division of Science, and two new majors, biology and computer science, are being developed and are awaiting formal accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission this fall. Through enhanced collaboration with Saint Mary’s College, Holy Cross is also offering students new classes and tracks in music, theatre and dance.

In addition, Holy Cross College recently hired Steve Bender, previously a tennis coach at St. Joseph High School, to guide its new men’s and women’s tennis programs.

McGraths endow Institute for Church Life with $15 million gift

NOTRE DAME — University of Notre Dame alumnus Robert P. McGrath and his wife, Joan, have made a $15 million gift to his alma mater to endow the university’s Institute for Church Life.

“For more than 25 years, our Institute for Church Life has served as the cornerstone for Notre Dame’s service to the Church and society through outreach in theological education, research, faith formation and leadership development, and the McGraths have been integrally involved in its development and direction,” said Rev. John I. Jenkins, CSC, the university’s president. “Their transformative gift gives the institute the resources to teach, train and serve in even more powerful ways. We feel blessed and are eternally grateful to Bob and Joan.”

John Cavadini, the McGrath-Cavadini director of the newly christened McGrath Institute for Church Life, added: “Thanks to the exceptional generosity of Bob and Joan McGrath, the institute is poised to become the pre-eminent source of creative Catholic content and programming for the new evangelization. Building on our legacy of connecting the Catholic intellectual life at Notre Dame to the life of the Church, the McGrath Institute for Church Life will continue to be a collaborative partner with Church leaders at all levels by providing the theological tools they need to address pressing pastoral problems.”

A 1955 graduate of Notre Dame with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, Bob McGrath founded McGrath RentCorp in 1979.

McGrath serves on the board of directors with Catholic Charities CYO of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. He is also active in the Knights of Malta and serves on the Institute for Church Life-Center for Social Concerns Advisory Council (ICL-CSC).

Joan McGrath earned a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Marymount College and a master’s degree in theology from the University of San Francisco. She also completed doctoral coursework in theology at Fordham University.

The former executive vice president of McGrath RentCorp, she also serves on the ICL-CSC Advisory Council, as well as the board of directors for National Catholic Reporter. She is a trustee for the University of San Francisco and is a former trustee for Graduate Theological Union.

The McGraths have two children and three granddaughters and reside in San Francisco. Among their previous gifts to Notre Dame is an endowment for the directorship of the ICL.

The McGrath Institute for Church Life exists as an integral component of the university’s larger mission of teaching, research and service to society and to the Catholic Church. Through its resources, projects and affiliate centers, the institute reaches out to the whole spectrum of Church leaders — its bishops, clergy, religious and laity — to provide training and service as well as opportunities for spiritual rejuvenation and personal growth.

In this work, the McGrath Institute for Church Life seeks to embody the spirit and mandate of the Second Vatican Council, to implement a mission of transforming the Church and society in light of the Gospel, and to renew the theological, ministerial, pastoral, catechetical and liturgical traditions of the Church.

Distinguished Knight Award recipients announced

FORT WAYNE — Bishop Luers High School recently announced the recipients of the 2016 Distinguished Knight Awards after the celebration of the Mass for homecoming on Sept. 16. Mary Jane Bradley-Millikan was named the outstanding alumnus, and Jack Zern received the honorary alumnus.

When Mary Jane Bradley-Millikan entered the doors of Bishop Luers in 1958, a 58-year love affair with the school began. She is a proud member of the Class of 1962.

Millikan has been and continues to be a dedicated mother of five, a wife of 50-plus years, volunteer at St. John the Baptist Parish, Fort Wayne and volunteer in the Bishop Luers community.

Jack Zern has given time, talent, treasures, children and grandchildren to Bishop Luers High School. He has been part of the Bishop Luers community since 1976, when his oldest of five children began high school. Even though his youngest son graduated in 1985 and his oldest granddaughter did not enter Bishop Luers until 2007, he has faithfully served the Bishop Luers community that he so loves.

Zern truly embodies the Luers Spirit. He is devoted to his faith, his family and to Bishop Luers.