Arlington, Va. - Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans will receive the 2011 Pope John Paul II Seminary Leadership Award on Monday, April 25, 2011, at the President’s Dinner, just before the annual convention of the National Catholic Educational Association. The NCEA Seminary Department is presenting the award.The Pope John Paul II Seminary Leadership Award honors the legacy of Pope John Paul II by celebrating the holistic vision of priestly training that he championed in his encyclical, Pastores Dabo Vobis. The award is given for outstanding service on behalf of priestly formation in the United States.
Archbishop Gregory Aymond has a distinguished record of leadership in priestly formation demonstrated throughout his ministry. From 1973 to 1981, he was a professor, business administrator and then rector of St. John Vianney Preparatory Seminary in New Orleans. From 1981 to 1986 he was professor of pastoral theology and homiletics and director of education at Notre Dame Seminary. He then served as president-rector of the seminary from 1986 until 2000, longer than any rector in the seminary’s history. During his tenure, Notre Dame Seminary grew to become the third-largest seminary in the country.
While serving as bishop of the Diocese of Austin from 2000 to 2009, that diocese experienced a threefold increase in the number of seminarians.
Past recipients of the award include three bishops – Most Rev. Michael J. Murphy of Erie (1984), Most Rev. Thomas J. Murphy of Seattle (1988), and Most Rev. John A. Marshall of Springfield, Mass. (1995).
Msgr. Jeremiah McCarthy, executive director of the NCEA Seminary Department will make the presentation of the award
About the Convention
NCEA's annual convention and expo, which draws educators, administrators, pastors and parents from throughout the nation, will offer general sessions, liturgies, departmental meetings, and development and technology sessions. The event at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center will also feature an exhibition of the latest in educational products.
Keynote speakers will include Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking and noted death penalty opponent, and Father Michael Himes, professor of theology at Boston College and frequent speaker on Christian theology, sacramental principles and ethics.
The 35th anniversary convocation of the National Association of Parish Catechetical Directors and the annual meeting of the Catholic Library Association will take place concurrently with the NCEA convention.
NCEA, founded in 1904, is a professional membership organization that provides leadership, direction and service to fulfill the evangelizing, catechizing and teaching mission of the church. NCEA's members include elementary schools, high schools, parish religious education programs and seminaries.
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