Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
August 7, 2002
Serra Salute to honor two Denver priests
Capuchin and Jesuit priests to be recognized at fund-raising benefit
Father Edward Judy, O.F.M. Cap., former director of Samaritan House, the Denver archdiocese's homeless shelter, and Regis University president Father Michael J. Sheeran, S.J., will be honored at the 2002 Serra Salute Dinner Sept. 6.
Their selection was announced by William Eck of Boulder, chairman of the Serra Trust Fund for Vocations, sponsor of the annual event.
"We have two outstanding honorees, who represent the extremes in religious devotion," Eck said.
Honorees are selected for their outstanding contributions to the Archdiocese of Denver and their dedicated service to the Church. Including this year's recipients, 32 religious of the archdiocese will have been honored since the Serra Salute was initiated in 1986.
"These men and women have given decades of dedicated service to the Church, which the Serra Trust Fund wishes to recognize," Eck said.
Founded through the efforts of the seven Serra Clubs in the archdiocese, the purpose of the Serra Trust Fund for Vocations is to foster and promote vocations to the Catholic Church by providing financial assistance to those in formation and discernment for the priesthood or religious life, assuring that vocations will not be discouraged or discontinued because of financial hardship. The Serra Salute Dinner serves as one of the trust's major sources of funds.
The 16th annual Serra Salute will be at the Denver Hyatt Regency Downtown. Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., is among Church and community leaders expected to attend.
Tickets for this public event are $75 per person. Tickets and information are available from co-chairman Arthur Alarcon, 33 W. Hampden Ave., Suite 610, Englewood, CO 80110. Telephone 303-789-1515.
Father Judy entered the seminary at 16 and was ordained in 1968. He was serving in St. Louis as a parish priest and had no experience with or special knowledge of homelessness when he was offered the Samaritan House position.
During his 11-year term as director of Samaritan House, which is staffed by Capuchin Friars, Father Judy was totally dedicated to the homeless population, "extending and sacrificing himself to advance the needs of these children of God," as described by a co-worker.
Father Judy retired last August after doctors discovered he had a brain tumor. He has been undergoing treatment and is recovering from recent surgery.
Father Sheeran has served as Regis' 23rd president since Jan. 1, 1993. He has been a member of the Regis community since 1975, first teaching history and political science. In 1977 he was appointed academic dean and in 1982, academic vice president.
Regis, with more than 13,000 students, continues to flourish under Father Sheeran's leadership. He has served as past chairman of the board of Mile High United Way. He is a trustee of Regis Jesuit High School in Aurora and the University of San Francisco and is a former trustee of Jesuit universities in Kansas City, Omaha and New Orleans. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1957 and was ordained in 1970.
One of Regis' premier programs of particular pride to Father Sheeran is the school's Institute on the Common Good. Rooted in the tradition of Catholic social teaching, the institute seeks to facilitate dialogue aimed at developing strategies to resolve important community issues. The institute sponsors public and private forums on these issues.
Regis University will observe the 125th anniversary of its founding with a program of special activities during the 2002-2003 academic year.
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