His Eminence Timothy Cardinal Dolan, archbishop of New York, will deliver the 30th Rev. Thomas J. Furphy Lecture at 7:30 p.m., on Wednesday, November 11, in Billera Hall at DeSales University. The public talk will be followed by an audience question-and-answer session.
The event is open to the public free of charge, but tickets are required. For ticket reservations, please call 610-282-1100, ext. 1364.
Timothy Dolan was named Archbishop of New York by Pope Benedict XVI on February 23, 2009.
He had served as Archbishop of Milwaukee, appointed there by Pope Saint John Paul II on June 25, 2002.
Born February 6, 1950, Cardinal Dolan was the first of five children born to Shirley and Robert Dolan. His education began at Holy Infant Parish School in Ballwin, Missouri, and continued through the high school and college seminaries in Saint Louis. He then completed his priestly formation at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, where he earned a License in Sacred Theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas.
Ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Saint Louis on June 19, 1976, he served as associate pastor at Immacolata Parish in Richmond Heights, Mo., until 1979 when he began studies for a doctorate in American Church History at The Catholic University of America.
On his return to Saint Louis, Cardinal Dolan again served in parish ministry from 1983-87, and then was appointed to a five-year term as secretary to the Apostolic Nunciature in Washington, D.C. When he returned to St. Louis in 1992, he was appointed vice-rector and professor of Church History at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary, as well as an adjunct professor of theology at Saint Louis University.
In 1994, he was appointed rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome, where he remained until June 2001. While in Rome, he also served as a visiting professor of Church History both at the Pontifical Gregorian University and the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas.
On June 19, 2001—the 25th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood—then Monsignor Dolan was named the Auxiliary Bishop of St. Louis by Pope Saint John Paul II
Cardinal Dolan served as chairman of Catholic Relief Services, and is a member of the Board of Trustees of The Catholic University of America. He is also a member of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization, the Pontifical Council for Social Communications; and, at the Vatican, the Congregation for Eastern Churches, and the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
Cardinal Dolan was elected to a three year term as president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, in November, 2010. He now serves as chair of the Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life activities.
On January 6, 2012, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI announced that Timothy Dolan was to be appointed to the College of Cardinals.
Following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Dolan participated in the Conclave that elected Pope Francis in March, 2013.
Established in 1983, the Furphy Lecture Series is named in memory of Fr. Thomas J. Furphy, O.S.F.S. (1912-1982). Fr. Furphy distinguished himself as a teacher of “National Problems,” during a career in education that spanned 38 years, and included schools in the Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Allentown areas. The theme of the series is “National and International Problems.”
Cardinal Dolan joins an illustrious group of previous speakers including John Cardinal O’Connor, Jeanne Kirkpatrick, William Colby, Abba Eban, Lee Iacocca, Antonin Scalia, George F. Will, Vladmir Posner, William J. Bennett, Shimon Peres, Zbiniew Brzezinski, George Mitchell, Louis Freeh, Benazir Bhutto, Gen. Barry McCaffrey, William S. Cohen, Richard Armitage, John Ashcroft, Trent Lott, Dr. William Poole, Tom Ridge, J.C. Watts, and Jon Huntsman
For more information, please contact Tom McNamara, executive director of communications at DeSales University, at 610-282-1100, ext. 1219 or at tom.mcnamara@desales.edu.