Prep's annual Arrupe Lecture Series returns next Wednesday. This year will see a week-long summit on poverty in the United States that will feature, among others, nationally-known speaker Fr. Greg Boyle, S.J.  The program is set for March 24 – 31. 

Fr. Boyle is an anti-gang activist who spoke at the White House Conference on Youth in 2005 at the personal request of then-First Lady Laura Bush. He will discuss how dealing with issues related to poverty are central to his work in stemming violence in Los Angeles, which has about 1,100 known gangs.  He is the founder of Homeboy Industries, a nonprofit that offers job training and placement help to former gang members.  The organization’s motto, “Nothing Stops a Bullet like a Job,” sums up the guiding mission behind Boyle’s ministry as a priest.

Fr. Boyle's lecture will be the keynote of the annual Arrupe Lecture Series, named for Pedro Arrupe, S.J., the late superior general of the Jesuits.  Arrupe charged the Society with its modern mission of forming “men and women for others.” The summit also includes a presentation from a once homeless man who changed his life by attending college and later becoming a teacher, as well as discussions on rural poverty and poverty’s effects on women and families.

Other activities - including an opening prayer service and closing Mass, service opportunities and additional guest speakers, will make for a full week of study and reflection on the challenge of poverty in the U.S. On March 25, Reggie Miller, a member of the Coalition for the Homeless, will address freshmen and sophomores, while juniors and seniors will hear from Robert Johnson, a once-homeless man who now works as a teacher. A presentation on women and poverty will take place on Monday the 29th, and on Tuesday the 30th, Michelle Sparck, an Alaskan political consultant, will be on hand to discuss poverty in rural America. The week will close with Mass on the 31st, to be celebrated by Fr. Rocco Danzi, S.J.

For a full schedule of Arrupe Week events, click here.

“Our Catholic, Jesuit faith asks us to contemplate what kind of response our faith requires from us when it comes to matters of injustice,” said Ryan Heffernan, Prep’s Director of Campus Ministry.  “So, throughout the week, my hope is that this summit continuously encourages our school community to think about how we can work to put an end to the poverty in our area.  A focus throughout the series is to catalyze in us a ‘faith that does justice’.”  Students will complete acts of service after-school during the week, and will gather non-perishable food to distribute to a Jersey City food pantry.

Now in its 13th year, the Pedro Arrupe Lecture Series has hosted, among others, noted peace activist Dan Berrigan, S.J.; author Bernard Lefkowitz; death penalty activist Sr. Helen Prejean, CSJ; Fr. Roy Bourgiose, founder of the School of Americas Watch, and Marc Morial, former mayor of New Orleans and president of the National Urban League.