October 02, 2008
In response to the invitation of Pope Benedict XVI to Catholics
everywhere, St. John’s University will celebrate The Year of St.
Paul to mark the 2000th anniversary of the birth of the Apostle to
the Gentiles. The announcement was made by Rev. Patrick Griffin,
C.M. during his homily at the Mass of the Holy Spirit, celebrated
to mark the opening of the University’s 2008-2009 academic
year.
Rev. Griffin, who was recently named Executive Vice President
for Mission and Branch Campuses, has now elaborated further on why
the University is joining in this celebration.
“We’re a Catholic university. It’s part of who we are and it’s
part of our mission. In joining with the worldwide Church for
this celebration, we recognize our heritage and share it with our
future. The description of our University as Catholic,
Metropolitan and Vincentian fits well with the way in which one
could describe Paul. He had met the Risen Jesus; he had a
deep love for the people whom he served; he was especially
attracted to carrying out his ministry in cities. St. Vincent
learned some of his pastoral skills from his reading of St.
Paul.”
The new Executive Vice President stresses that the Year of St.
Paul is for all those on a St. John’s campus. “We’re a university,
it’s our job to educate and that’s what we wish to do regarding St.
Paul. During this special Year, we’ll educate our campus community
about this man, a missionary in the early Church who made a
tremendous impact during his time and whose letters continue to
evangelize up until the present day. We will come to
appreciate why he is so important.”
Just as the Holy Father will do in Rome, Fr. Griffin intends to
include a variety of liturgical and cultural events as well as
pastoral and social initiatives in the St. John’s celebration.
Already, images of St. Paul have been placed on every St. John’s
campus.
In addition, each month a billboard will be created presenting a
different, notable quotation from the saint as found in scripture.
These will be placed in high-traffic areas on all St. John’s
campuses and a companion Mass card will be available at St. Thomas
More Church and through Campus Ministers. For the month of
September, the billboards and Mass cards carried the quote, “By the
grace of God, I am what I am,” on the front, while the card also
carried the Catholic prayer, “Come Holy Spirit” on the back.
Living Vincentian, St. John’s quarterly Vincentian brochure,
will continue to hold out the Vincentian mission as lived out on
campus to readers, but during this Jubilee year, a brief connection
to Paul will be made, Fr. Griffin says. He also plans to deliver
three lectures/talks about the saint in both the fall and spring
semesters.
In the spring, a special exhibition dedicated to the saint will
debut at the University’s main library on the Queens campus.
Queens Campus
St. Thomas More Church
Tuesday, February 3 from 1:30-2:30
p.m.
Paul and the Challenge for Community
Thursday, March 5 from 1:30-2:30
p.m.
Paul and the Question of Conscience
Thursday, March 12, 2009 from 7 - 9
p.m.
Paul: Hope and Resurrection
Tuesday, March 31 from 1:30-2:30
p.m.
Paul and the Resurrection
Staten Island Campus
Kiernan Center
Friday, February 6 from 1:25-2:20
p.m.
Paul and the Challenge for Community
Monday, March 9 from 1:25-2:20 p.m.
Paul and the Question of Conscience
Wednesday, April 8 from 1:25-2:20
p.m.
Paul and the Resurrection
To RSVP to any of these sessions, kindly contact Sue Scacalossi at
scacalos@stjohns.edu
For more information about The Year of St. Paul, click
here.