May 8, 2013
The United States Cardinals will gather in Washington, D.C., Friday, May 10, for the traditional fundraiser for scholarships for The Catholic University of America, the university founded by the U.S. bishops over 125 years ago. The 24th American Cardinals Dinner will be held at the Washington Hilton.
Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, and John Garvey, President of The Catholic University of America, will serve as co-hosts for the dinner.
Prior to the dinner, Cardinal Wuerl will serve as the principal celebrant and homilist at a 4 p.m. Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, 1725 Rhode Island Avenue, N.W. Visiting cardinals, bishops, and clergy will concelebrate the Mass, which will be open to the public. The reception at the Washington Hilton will begin at 6:15 p.m., followed by dinner at 7:30 p.m.
"I am especially honored this year to cohost the dinner here in our home town with Cardinal Wuerl, the University's chancellor," says President Garvey. "Cardinal Wuerl has been a staunch supporter of The Catholic University of America, his alma mater, and a champion in its mission as the national university of the Catholic Church. His co-sponsorship of this fundraising dinner to help deserving students is but one example among many of his efforts to build up the University."
"The Catholic University of America stands in the midst of the community as a voice of faith seeking understanding, of wisdom serene enough to include God, and knowledge confident enough to respond to the question, 'How shall I live?,' " said Cardinal Wuerl. "The students who come here do not make their way alone; they are accompanied on their journey by family, not only those at home, but their larger family, the Church. We can look to the future with confidence because as we make our journey together as a family, we have in President John Garvey a leader who realizes the worth and contribution of each one of us, the identity and heritage of this institution."
The dinner is expected to feature most of the cardinals who currently serve or have served as archbishops of U.S. dioceses and as members of the CUA Board of Trustees. To read the biographies of the cardinals who will attend, click here .
Also expected to attend the dinner is Most Rev. Carlo Maria Viganò, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States.
Each year a different diocese or archdiocese hosts the black-tie event; this is the fourth time the dinner has been held in Washington (the first dinner in 1989, the fifth dinner in 1994, and the 17th dinner in 2006). In recent years the dinner has been held in such cities as Phoenix, Atlanta, Houston, Boston, Las Vegas, Miami, Minneapolis-St. Paul, San Francisco, and Chicago. Since its inauguration, the annual event has raised $28 million to support scholarships for Catholic University students.
MEDIA: For more information about the event, contact Katie Lee or Mary McCarthy Hines in the CUA Office of Public Affairs at 202-319-5600 or cua-public-affairs@cua.edu , or Chieko Noguchi, Director, Media and Public Relations, Archdiocese of Washington, at 301-853-4516 or communications@adw.org .