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April 20, 2009 |
Fifteen Jesuits will be ordained in the United States this June, but in other parts of the world ordinations have already begun.
On March 28, Fr. Imran John SJ, 33, became the first Pakistani Jesuit to be ordained. About 40 priests participated in the ceremony at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Lahore, Pakistan.
Six Filipino priests were ordained on April 4 at Ateneo de Manila University’s Church of the Gesu in Manila: Xavier Alpasa, Francis Alvarez, Jason Dy, Oliver Dy, Frank Dennis Savadera, and Antonio Roberto Sian.
Other April ordinations include Ladislav Nosek in Brno, Czech Republic (April 18), Nocola Gobbi and Iuri Sandrin in Venice (April 18), and Alexis Doucet in Paris (April 25). [AsiaNews, Jesuits in Europe]
Fr. William Murphy SJ will become president of St. Ignatius High on July 1. He will succeed Fr. Timothy Kesiki SJ, who became provincial of the Detroit Province in 2008. Fr. Jon Libens SJ served as interim president and will continue at St. Ignatius as dean of teachers.
Murphy moves to St. Ignatius from St. Xavier in Cincinnati, where he served as special assistant to the president and taught math. He was ordained in June 2008. [St. Ignatius]
Gonzaga College High School has appointed Fr. Vincent Conti SJ its new headmaster. Conti, who is currently assistant principal at Scranton Prep in Pennsylvania, will take over as headmaster on July 1.
“My introduction to the Jesuit secondary education apostolate was as a teacher at Gonzaga in the spring semester of 1992, so I am very excited about the opportunity to come full circle and return there as headmaster,” said Fr. Conti. [Gonzaga College Prep]
The new Cristo Rey Jesuit College Prep in Houston received a donation of five SMART Board interactive whiteboards from Texas-based Data Projections. The boards combine a whiteboard with a computer, allowing teachers and students to write and erase notes, use the touch screen to control computer applications, and save information for later review.
“Data Projections is pleased to support Cristo Rey’s mission of providing educational opportunities to low-income students. As a leading audio/visual solutions provider for educators, we’ve seen how interactive whiteboards transform the classroom experience for students and teachers,” said Data Projections Vice President of Sales and Marketing Matthew Zaleski. Studies have shown that the SMART Boards increase student understanding by engaging visual and tactile learning systems.
Houston’s Cristo Rey Jesuit will open in August with approximately 100 students. More than 30 corporations have so far signed up to hire students for the school’s work-study program, in which students work one day a week. The pay alleviates most of the tuition costs for students. [Yahoo! Finance]
Michael Czerny SJ defended the Pope’s recent statement about condom use and AIDS in Africa in an article he wrote for Thinking Faith, the online journal of the British Jesuits. Jesuit priest and AIDS activist Michael Kelly also defended the Pope, though he disagreed with the pope’s comment that condoms risk aggravating the AIDS crisis. For a summary of the Pope’s comments and the current situation in Africa, visit www.msnbc.com. For more about Kelly’s comments, visit www.irishcatholic.ie. You can read Czerny’s article at www.thinkingfaith.org.
President Barack Obama spoke at Georgetown University on April 14. His invited speech, which focused on the economy, drew a handful of pro-life protesters as well as pro-choice counter-protesters. Georgetown’s student newspaper writes about Obama’s visit and the protests at www.thehoya.com. Photos and video are also available at www.georgetown.edu. [The Hoya]
Photo Credit: Georgetown University
The University of Detroit Mercy hosted this year’s NCAA men’s basketball Final Four April 4–6. Hundreds of UDM students, faculty, staff, and alumni volunteered their time to staff the events surrounding the semifinal and championship games, which included a Sports Career & College Expo featuring talks by UDM student-athletes, a sports writing seminar for college and high school journalists, and several charity events and basketball clinics.
Four Jesuit schools were represented at this year’s tournament: Xavier University (Cincinnati), Gonzaga University (Spokane), Boston College, and Marquette University (Milwaukee). Boston College and Marquette made early departures; Xavier and Gonzaga made it to the Sweet Sixteen before losing to Pittsburgh and North Carolina, respectively.
The UDM basketball team made a special appearance in the Final Four: ESPN analyst Jay Bilas had players illustrate the Final Four teams’ plays for segments to air throughout the weekend. [UDM]
Photo by Daniel Mears/The Detroit News
Canisius College will host its third annual “Going Bald for Bucks” and Locks of Love fundraiser on April 20. Participants collect pledges in return for shaving their heads or cutting off at least ten inches of hair, which is donated to Locks of Love.
The Bald for Bucks campaign was founded as a tribute to a 1990 Canisius alumna who died of cancer in 2004. All proceeds from Bald for Bucks benefit cancer research and patient care at a local cancer institute, and hair donated to Locks of Love is made into hairpieces for financially disadvantaged children with medical hair loss.
In its first two years, Bald for Bucks raised almost $10,000. [Canisius College]
Loyola University New Orleans’s Asian Student Organization hosted an inter-campus Iron Chef competition on April 2. The competition, based on the Food Network’s popular show of the same name, drew teams from the Loyola Black Student Union, Loyola Muslim Student Association, and Asian organizations from Tulane University, Xavier University of Louisiana, and Louisiana State University.
Celebrity chef John Besh was a guest judge for the event, which also featured a silent auction to benefit VietHope, an organization that supports programs and projects to promote the education of Vietnamese children. [Loyola New Orleans]
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