OWENSBORO, KY (Oct. 6, 2021) – Brescia University and the Ursuline Education Network, UEN, held a conference Sept. 26-28, 2021 titled, “Love, Peace and Ursuline Education in the Twenty-first Century.” This event was grounded in the caritas theology and Ursuline identity. People from around the country who are involved in Ursuline education gathered in the C.E. Field Center for Professional Studies to craft partnerships and build capacity for Catholic education.

The Keynote Speaker, Mary-Cabrini Durkin, spoke on Ursuline Identity. Durkin a secular Ursuline belonging to the Company of St. Ursula, was founded by St. Angela Merici in 1535 as a spiritual companionship of single lay women consecrated to Christ. She is the author of “Leadership from the Heart: Guidance from Angela Merici, Angela’s Story, Angela Merici’s Journey of the Heart,” to name a few. Mary-Cabrini has retired from her work at a Catholic publishing company, where she was a writer and editor, specializing in works of spirituality, history, and biography.

Dr. Emily DeMoor, the Brescia University Director of the Caritas Center and Theology Area Coordinator stated, “Our hope is to create a partnership whereby we work together to keep the Ursuline vision and charism alive in our schools so that our students may theologically reflect upon their vocation to love and to actively bring this love into the world, in the spirit of St. Angela Merici, in the service of Christ.”

“The partnership between Brescia University and Ursuline Education Network provided Catholic school educators from all levels to come together to pray, learn and internalize the profound relevance of St. Angela’s words to the work we are called to do in the 21st Century,” said Director of the Ursuline Education Network, Rosann Whiting.  “As educators, we are charged with many responsibilities, including encouraging our students to consider the meaning of vocation in their lives. The participants identified how each of us can put into action the ‘call to love’ challenge of Caritas.”

The conference themes were caritas, our universal call to love, and peace within, with each other, and with creation. Conference participants were able to learn more about the themes and work with small groups on best ways to take what they learned back to their respective schools.

Brescia University Vice President for Executive Affairs and Chief of Staff, Dr. Lauren McCrary, said of the event “The Brescia University and (UEN) Conference brought together administration, faculty, campus ministers, presidents, and principals, both at the K-12 level and in higher education, across the nation with the unified vision of supporting students on their path towards leading the life they are called to lead based on the values demonstrated to us by the Ursuline Sisters. Among those values are the power of education to transform each person and thus society, the importance of service, and concern for diverse populations and the marginalized. This collaborative effort concluded with the call to continue on this journey to creating pathways for students to live out these values both in their education and in society.”

For more information on this conference, please contact Rachel Whelan, Brescia University Director of Public Relations and Marketing at [email protected]

Originally printed in the November 2021 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.