Honorary degrees

Marie Kenyon, director of the Peace and Justice Commission of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, is one of three people to receive honorary degrees at the Aquinas Institute of Theology 2019 commencement ceremony at 7 p.m. Friday, May 10, at St. Francis Xavier (College) Church on the campus of Saint Louis University. The commission addresses societal issues such as poverty, racial tension, and the lack of educational opportunities from a Catholic perspective. Previously, Kenyon served as the founder/director for the Catholic Legal Assistance Ministry, which provides free family and immigration legal representation to low-income clients. Kenyon is a past president of the St. Louis Bar Foundation and Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, and has served on the Missouri Bar’s Gender and Justice Task Force, the Women’s Place board and the Economic Justice Task Force of the Missouri Catholic Conference. The other honorees are Philip Barnes, director of the St. Louis Chamber Chorus, and Peter C. Phan, Ellacuria Chair of Catholic Social Thought at Georgetown University.

With merit

Matthew J. Billings and Owen A. Thomasson of Chaminade College Preparatory High School and Jeremy T. Sutterer of St. Dominic High School in O’Fallon are among 21 students from Missouri chosen as 2019 corporate sponsored merit scholarship winners by the National Merit Scholarship Corp. They are in the first group of National Merit Scholars. Most of these awards are renewable for up to four years of college undergraduate study and provide annual stipends that range from $500 to $10,000 per year. Some provide a single payment between $2,500 and $5,000. Recipients can use their awards at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university of their choice.

Volunteer impact

St. Patrick Center recently celebrated National Volunteer Week. In the last year, approximately 1,400 volunteers donated more than 40,600 hours of their time and talent to help St. Patrick Center end homelessness. The time they dedicated saved the Catholic Charities agency $1,002,414.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Survivor group

As part of our promise to protect and pledge to heal, the Archdiocese of St. Louis invites adult survivors of child sexual abuse to participate in a support group program to begin Wednesday, April 24. This expanded ministry will be offered at the Watson Road location of Saint Louis Counseling in Crestwood and is available to adult survivors at no cost. The closed groups will meet for six consecutive Wednesday evenings from 5:30 p.m. until 7 p.m. Adult survivors of child sexual abuse may inquire by calling (314) 544-3800. Registration is required and space is limited.

Jesuits and culture

Saint Louis University and the Jesuits Archives & Research Center will host “Jesuits and American Culture” from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, April 26, at the Jesuit Archives and Research Center, 3920 West Pine Blvd. The event is free and open to the public. The keynote speaker will be Jesuit Father Sean Dempsey, associate professor of history at Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts. Father Dempsey’s address will focus on race and human rights. Morning sessions focus on Jesuits and higher education and Jesuits and American politics. The symposium is hosted jointly by the Jesuits Archives and Research Center, the University’s Office for Mission and Identity and SLU’s Department of History. For more information, contact Silvana Siddali at (314) 977-2010 or [email protected].

A Catholic Perspective

The Roman Catholic Foundation will present The Conversation: A Catholic Perspective on End-of-Life Issues on Saturday, April 27, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary, 5200 Glennon Drive in Shrewsbury. Father Peter Fonseca will discuss principles of Catholic bioethics, a topic of interest for many Catholics making health care plans for themselves or caring for ill or aging loved ones. The free seminar will also include presentations on Catholic funeral and cemetery planning, estate planning and advance directives and charitable gift planning. To register, visit rcfstl.org/the-conversation.

Trafficking toll

A program on “Human Trafficking/Human Toll” will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April, 30, in the St. Margaret of Scotland School cafeteria, 3964 Castleman Ave. in south St. Louis. Included is a short video, “Dreams Die Hard,” a panel of speakers, discussion and list of opportunities to for action on the issue. Child care available. For information, contact Pat Dougherty [email protected].

Serra Club dinner

The Serra Club of St. Charles is hosting its 16th annual appreciation dinner to honor priests and religious on Tuesday, April 30. The evening will begin with a 6 p.m. Mass for vocations at St. Joseph Parish, 1355 Motherhead Road in Cottleville, followed by dinner, catered by Walnut Grill, in the parish hall. The keynote speaker for the dinner is Father Edward Voltz, associate director for vocations for the St. Charles Deanery, who will talk about “Fostering Religious Vocations in a Secular World.” All are welcome at the Mass. Tickets for the dinner and talk are $50 per person. Proceeds from the dinner help support the educational needs of the 16 seminarians from the St. Charles Deanery who are studying for the priesthood at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary. For tickets or more information, contact Geoff Waldron at (636) 578-7011) or Gerry Deken (636) 926-8445.