Fr. Rosica's Keynote Address to Windsor Essex Catholic DSB - Faith Day

To All: 

On Friday morning, September 21, 2012, Fr. Thomas Rosica, C.S.B., President and Vice Chancellor of Assumption University delivered the keynote address to nearly 2000 Catholic educators, administrators, support staff, trustees and pastoral ministers who gathered together in the St. Denis Centre of the University of Windsor for the "Together in Faith Day."

Fr. Rosica was introduced with these words:

Rev. Thomas Rosica, C.S.B. is a priest of the Congregation of St. Basil since 1986.  Born in Rochester, New York, he received his Bachelor's of Arts in Italian and French Language and Literature from St. John Fisher College in May 1980.  From 1985 - 1987, he served as deacon and priest at St. John the Baptist Church in Amherstburg and was instrumental in the establishment of St. Thomas of Villanova High School.  His Basilian superiors then assigned him to graduate studies in Sacred Scripture at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome and the Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem from 1987-1994.

Upon completion of his graduate studies, he served from 1994 - 2000 as Executive Director and Pastor of the Newman Centre Catholic Mission at the University of Toronto and lectured in Scripture at the University of Toronto, St. Peter's Seminary and King's College in London, and here at Assumption University.

In 1999, Fr. Rosica was appointed by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops as the CEO and National Director of World Youth Day 2002 and the Papal visit of Pope John Paul II to Toronto.  In July 2003, he became the founding chief executive officer of Canada's first national Catholic television network Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation.  In February 2009, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Fr. Rosica consultor to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications at the Vatican.  For the October 2012 Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization that begins in two weeks, the Vatican has named Fr. Rosica as the English language Press Secretary.  He will be the voice of the Synod to the English speaking world.

On December 1, 2011, Fr. Rosica was appointed president of Assumption University in Windsor, Ontario while still holding his position at Salt + Light in Toronto.  He is working very closely with our school board.  Fluent in several languages, Fr. Rosica is a published author and well known lecturer around the world.   He has received significant awards from Pope John Paul II, the Government of Italy, and the State of Israel, and has been honored twice by Queen Elizabeth for his work with young people.

Attached please find the text of his address as well as a jpeg file of Caravaggio's "The Call of St. Matthew" that was referred to in the presentation.

Fr. Thomas Rosica, C.S.B.