Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
January 30, 2002
Activist Sister Helen Prejean to speak at Arvada church
Best-selling author of `Dead Man Walking' to appear Feb. 15
Sister Helen Prejean, C.S.J., author of "Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the U.S.," will speak at Spirit of Christ Catholic Community in Arvada on Feb. 15 at 7 p.m.
In 1981 Sister Prejean worked at the St. Thomas Housing Project with poor inner-city residents and began counseling death row inmates at Louisiana State Penitentiary. Sister Prejean has accompanied five men to their death by execution.
Her book was on the New York Times best selling list for 31 weeks and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. It was made into a movie written and directed by Tim Robbins. Susan Sarandon received the 1995 Academy Award as best actress for her portrayal of Sister Prejean in the movie.
Sister Prejean's book also was made into an opera by the San Francisco Opera Company.
Sister Prejean was a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001, 2000, 1999 and 1998. She has received many awards including the Laetare Medal from Notre Dame University, the Champion of Liberty Award from the U.S. Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Sanctity of Life Award from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. She has received 25 honorary degrees from various universities. She is the honorary chairperson of Hands Off Cain, an international group based in Rome working for abolition of the death penalty; a member of Amnesty International and the U.S. National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, where she served as a board member for 10 years.
She is the honorary chairperson of Moratorium Campaign, a group gathering signatures for a worldwide moratorium on the death penalty. Presently Sister Prejean is working on a book for Random House Publishers on three possibly innocent men on death row. The book's title is "Innocence Betrayed."
Sister Prejean received a B.A. in English from St. Mary's Dominican College in New Orleans in 1962 and an M.A. in religious education from St. Paul's University in Ottawa, Canada, in 1973. She has taught junior and senior high school students, has been the religious education director of St. Francis Cabrini Catholic Parish in New Orleans and has been formation director for her community, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Medialle.
Spirit of Christ is at 7400 W. 80th Ave., Arvada.
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