Cabrini College has recently announced its speaker for the 56th annual commencement of both the undergraduate and graduate ceremonies to be Eboo Patel, founder and president of the Interfaith Youth Core.
This will not be Patel’s first time speaking on campus, or even his first time speaking to many of these graduating students. His book was used in 2013 as the reading assignment for incoming freshman and he spoke on it that following year.
“One of the things that Eboo says consistently, and what he said when he was here on campus, was that the college, in embracing its Catholic identity and living out the mission of Mother Cabrini, is really about being welcoming and inclusive of people of all faiths, cultures and backgrounds,” Dr. Nicholas Rademacher, associate professor of religious studies, said. “So that’s what we do, and that’s what the Interfaith Youth Core does.”
“I heard him speak here my sophomore year,” senior English major Gabby Glenning said. “He came and talked about his book that he wrote and he was a pretty engaging speaker. I think what he’ll have to say will be pretty interesting and it goes along with Mother Cabrini’s core values and our whole social justice theme.”
Brian Eury, vice president of community development and internal affairs, heads the commencement speaker committee and agreed that Patel was a good fit to go along with the college’s mission.
“We do try to keep it to what they [Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart] would be okay with because they ultimately also have to okay it too,” Eury said.
Brianna Ridgely, a senior who graduated this past December and will return for commencement ceremonies, also looks forward to hearing from Patel.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for us, as graduates with such strong faith backgrounds, to hear his advice to use about starting the real world and keeping our religious identity with us even after we graduate,” Ridgely said.
Patel speaking at commencement is not the only steps forward the college is taking to improve interfaith relations in the minds of the students. For the past few years, many steps have been taken to open the minds of students to all different religions and backgrounds.
In 2010, Rademacher along with Dr. Darryl Mace and Dr. Nancy Watterson, partnered with some students from the voices of justice living and learning community in order to attend a conference on religious diversity and the common good. Mace and Watterson are associate professors of history and political science.
The conference was hosted by the Interfaith Youth Core of Patel and has since grown the relationship with Patel and the Interfaith Youth Core with Cabrini.
“Over the years, we’ve progressively developed a closer relationship with him and his organization and tried to build in as much as possible interfaith learning and community-based learning opportunities,” Rademacher said.
Also in 2010, Cabrini showed its dedication to the practice of interfaith acceptance by being the first Pennsylvania college to host a prayer vigil for reform to immigration laws.
This continues to be a focus of the college, as this past April they hosted an interfaith conference on the topic of climate change for leaders in both religion in science fields to discuss the issue.
Throughout campus, a strong importance can be seen on the acceptance of all different religious. As it is said in the college’s mission, “the college welcomes learners of all faiths, cultures, and backgrounds and prepares them to become engaged citizens of the world.”
While there are many ways the college currently allows for students to grow in their interfaith knowledge, interfaith dialogue is an area of growing interest on campus with a number of committees at work on plans.
“Right now we’re in the process of developing an interfaith minor and an interfaith learning community that we’re developing in part with the Interfaith Youth Core and with Eboo Patel,” Rademacher said.
