“That love and dedication to Hispanic and Latino communities has remained an extraordinary example for the Church in America,” Kilpatrick wrote.
“We are confident that this chair, once fully funded and established, will have a lasting impact on the scholastic excellence of our School of Theology and Religious Studies,” he continued.
“We also believe it will generate greater evangelical fervor and pastoral expertise in the care of the Hispanic and Latino Catholic communities in the United States for generations to come,” he added.
The announcement comes on the heels of O’Malley’s milestone 80th birthday on June 29. O’Malley voted in the 2013 conclave that elected Pope Francis, but his 80th birthday now marks his loss of voting power in any future conclave.
Cardinals must be under 80 to vote in a conclave, meaning that the U.S. has lost one of its 10 cardinal-electors.
O’Malley attended CUA as a Capuchin seminarian in the late 1960s, where he earned a master’s degree in religious education and a doctorate in Spanish and Portuguese literature. O’Malley later taught at CUA for several years and is a former chairman of the university’s board of trustees.
Credit: Source link