Father Daniel Hennessy of the Boston archdiocese vocations office asked me to post the following announcement. The office is beginning a yearlong series of monthly lectures aimed at professionals and students in downtown Boston. Cardinal Sean O’Malley will speak next Wednesday, September 13, at the Old State House from noon-1pm. The title of his talk is “Rebuild My Church: Witnessing to Christ.” Lunch will be provided. (And who says there’s no such thing as a free lunch?)
Future talks include:
- October 11: Andreas Widmer, CEO of OTF Group and former Pontifical Swiss Guard under Pope John Paul II, speaking on “My Faith in Capitalism: Reflections of a bodyguard to Pope John Paul II.”
- November 8: Sr. Olga Yabob, MVM, Diocesan hermit and campus minister at Boston University, born and raised in Iraq, she has served college students, youth, prisoners, homeless, & handicapped of war; speaking on “the Joys of Serving God’s People in Iraq and America”
- December 13: Fr. Darin Colarusso, newly ordained priest of the Archdiocese of Boston and former US Air Force officer and aviator, speaking on “Drawn by Truth: How the Search for Adventure led me to Christ.”
My brother has met Widmer and told me that he had great stories of JP2, especially his personal encounters with him while acting as his guard. A friend of mine also knows Sr. Olga and has had great things to say about her. And I met Fr. Colarusso when he was a seminarian staying at our parish during his summer pastoral work a few years ago, and I was very impressed. This looks like it will be a great lecture series.
For more information, contact the Vocations Office. their number is 617-746-5949. I’m pretty sure you don’t have to be considering the priesthood in order to go to the talks, but if you are single guy or single gal, I’m sure they’d love to see you there.
I have met both Sr. Olga and know Fr. Colarusso and have the same wonderful impressions of both. Even more interesting is that Fr. Hennessy and Fr. Harrington will be handing flyers in downtown Boston.
The Old State House is a good location for the folks in the financial-services companies: practically on their doorstep. And it’s interesting that they set the event in a secular building and not in, e.g., St. Anthony Shrine.
I wonder whether the Vocations Office might be interested in arranging something like this as an after-work event, out near Rt. 128 where the IT workers are.
“My Faith in Capitalism: Reflections of a bodyguard to Pope John Paul II.”
That title looks like a total nonsequitur. What does being a papal bodyguard have to do with capitalism?
If you could attend the speech, I think you’d find out.