The University of Notre Dame’s Center for Social Concerns, Nanovic Institute for European Studies, and Rome Studies Program have collaborated to co-sponsor a weekend of service, prayer and learning for students, alumni, faculty and friends of the University in Rome.
More than 30 participants will take part in a full slate of events in celebration of the life and ministry and of Brother André Bessette, C.S.C., the first saint of the Congregation of Holy Cross. Bessette will be canonized, along with five others by Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday (Oct. 17).
Weekend events include:
- The premiere of a film produced by Salt and Light Television, Canada
- Service projects with the Missioners of Charity and the SAnt’Egidio Community in imitation of Brother André’s ministry
- Lecture by Professor Kathleen Cummings of Notre Dame’s Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism on “Canonization in the American Context”
- Celebration dinner in the Trattoria degli Amici, a restaurant ministry of the Sant’Egidio community with people with disabilities
- A prayer vigil with pilgrims from around the world at Sant’Andrea della Valle Church
- The Canonization Mass and ceremony at St. Peter’s Square on Sunday morning
Student participants currently studying abroad in Notre Dame programs in Europe will join faculty, staff and alumni based in both the United States and in Europe for these events. The weekend is planned in collaboration with the Congregation of Holy Cross, the ND Club of Europe, the ND Club of Rome, the Office of International Studies, the Department of American Studies, and the Cushwa Center.
Contact: Rosie McDowell, director of community-based learning outreach, Europe