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Published: May 8, 2009
“Exemplary loyalty and devotion to the Holy Father and the magisterium”
Cardinal Marc Ouellet selected as commencement speaker at Thomas Aquinas College
Press Release from Thomas Aquinas College
May 5, 2009
SANTA PAULA -- His Eminence Marc Cardinal Ouellet will preside over commencement ceremonies at Thomas Aquinas College on Saturday May 16, 2009. The Archbishop of Quebec, Canada, Cardinal Ouellet will serve as principal celebrant and homilist of the Baccalaureate Mass, and he will deliver the commencement address.
By resolution of Thomas Aquinas College’s Board of Governors, Cardinal Ouellet will also be awarded the Saint Thomas Aquinas Medallion, the college’s highest honor, established by its Board of Governors in 1975. The resolution is given in recognition that “His Eminence Marc Cardinal Ouellet has shown an exemplary loyalty and devotion to the Holy Father and the magisterium of the Church and has worked tirelessly to proclaim, support, and defend the teachings of the Church, and to advance the mission of Christ on earth.”
 The college has a newly appointed interim president following the tragic death of Dr. Thomas E. Dillon in an automobile accident in Ireland last month. Says President Peter DeLuca, “We very much look forward to welcoming His Eminence Cardinal Ouellet to our campus for this joyful occasion. Our graduating seniors, their families, and all our guests will be blessed by his priestly presence and edified by the words of wisdom he will share with us. We will also be greatly honored to have His Eminence offer, on the morning of commencement, what will be the first Baccalaureate Mass on the new altar of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel.”
The Chapel was dedicated by the Archbishop of Los Angeles, Cardinal Roger Mahony, on March 7, 2009.
Thomas Aquinas College expects each of its 71 seniors, who hail from 22 states and three foreign countries, to receive a bachelor of arts degree in liberal arts this year. The Baccalaureate Mass will begin at 9 a.m., and will be followed by commencement exercises at 11 a.m.
ABOUT CARDINAL OUELLET
His Eminence Cardinal Marc Ouellet holds a bachelor of arts in education from Université Laval, a licence in theology from the Université de Montréal, a licence in philosophy at St. Thomas Aquinas Pontifical University, and a doctorate in dogmatic theology from the Gregorian University. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1968, and in 2001 His Holiness Pope John Paul II ordained him a bishop and appointed him secretary to the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity.
Cardinal Ouellet has served as consultor to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and to the Congregation for the Clergy. He is currently consultor to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, a member of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses, and an advisor to the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. He is also a member of the Pontifical Academy of Theology, the Congregation for Catholic Education, and the Pontifical Council of Cardinals for the study of the organizational and economic affairs of the Holy See.
Cardinal Ouellet was appointed Metropolitan Archbishop of Quebec in 2002, and Pope John Paul II elevated him to the Sacred College of Cardinals in 2003. In 2008, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him as General Relator to the 12th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the word of God in the life and mission of the Church.
Posted Friday, May 08, 2009 4:00 AM By Ken
Are you listening Notre Dame, Georgetown, U.of San Fancisco, Boston College, etc.? St. Thomas Aquinas College and it's commencement ceremony are all about what authentic Catholic colleges and universities were intended to be! One prays that someday you will "get it" and cease your infidelity to the Church.
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Posted Friday, May 08, 2009 5:10 AM By Fr. M.P.
You won't find dissenting speakers being invited to Thomas Aquinas College.
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Posted Friday, May 08, 2009 6:41 AM By Maryanne Leonard
Cardinal Ouellet is an appropriate choice to preside over the forthcoming commencement ceremonies at Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, contrasting in the extreme with the disturbing choice of President Obama to speak and be honored at Notre Dame. Respected intellectually for its approach to higher education based on the Great Books, Thomas Aquinas College is also admired for the culture it has created on campus. The college has attracted a wide variety of enthusiastic admirers, among them, a fine Lutheran student who plans to become a pastor in the faith of his childhood. Although the irony of such a choice of college is not lost on him, he too was attracted by the superb educational opportunities Thomas Aquinas College offers, its unique approach to learning to think through studying the classics, its exceptional teachers, and the quiet, bucolic setting of this beautiful part of God's creation. There is no other college quite like Thomas Aquinas College, just as there has never been anyone quite like Thomas Aquinas himself, Cardinal Ouellet, or the many and diverse people who love, appreciate and respect this college for so many and varied reasons. Thomas Aquinas College is one of great truly Catholic colleges in the nation, and Cardinal Ouellet is one of the great Catholic cardinals in the world. Ventura County, with its still functioning mission, established by Padre Junipero Serra, its seaside location, its vibrant Catholic intellectual community, and wonderful Thomas Aquinas College, is one of the best places in California for a Catholic to live.
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Posted Friday, May 08, 2009 10:21 AM By pete
Evident signs of a new spring!
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Posted Friday, May 08, 2009 8:21 PM By Jim
We thank God that there are still a few real Catholic colleges.
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Posted Saturday, May 09, 2009 1:19 AM By WOODY GUIDRY
I left Santa Paula in 1961, never dreaming that such fantastic progress would be made there. Believe it or not, there was a bevy of competing churches for a population that sincerely looked for Christ -- -but it sort of got cheapened when one church offered GREEN STAMPS to anyone who came to their particular church. HONEST!
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Posted Saturday, May 09, 2009 9:44 PM By Rick Flores
I pray that parents with the means will consider this as an alternative to the previously Catholic colleges when their children are considering their options for colleges AND when they are fortunate enough to have the resources to donate to a college! Given recent events, I am going to change my direction for giving!
I appreciate you publishing this most welcomed piece! There still are some Catholics left in this country!
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Posted Monday, May 11, 2009 4:10 PM By Pax Christi
Amen to that, Rick. I have stated a few times on this site that I have my sights set on sending my two young sons to Thomas Aquinas College, which is on the other side of the Grapevine from my hometown of Bakersfield. Indeed, Notre Dame and the others could learn a lesson from "pipsqueak" colleges like TAC and Ave Maria U. in Florida, which recently honored the pro-life warrior Fr. Frank Pavone and Thomas Hilgers, the founder of the Creighton Method natural family planning method.
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