The Catholic Voice - an online publication of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland

October 9, 2006VOL. 44, NO. 17Oakland, CA

Students avert food crisis at Monument Crisis Center

Diocese’s oldest active pastor steps down at 88

Border fence ok'd; religious leaders lament

Church in Cuba
has no political role at present

U.S. anti-terrorism focus said to hinder work of Catholic groups aiding poor

Chaplains help troops make decisions in moral no man’s land

Just-war thinkers address
postwar obligations for U.S.

Proposal on chaplains’ prayers could hurt U.S. military, archbishop says

Vatican aims to put Christian values back in sports

Diocese offers formation programs
for catechists and lay ministers

National conference in S.F. to focus
on Catholic response to global poverty

International Day to Eradicate Poverty

Regional youth rally to take place Oct. 28 in Hayward

Jesuit School in Berkeley dedicates
new chapel and academic center

Salesian High to retire Chieftain mascot
seen as offensive to native peoples

Local groups awarded
CCHD self-help grants

Independent film explores emotion and trauma of military moms

Groups provide faith-based political guidance

COMMENTARY
•Proposition 1C
Let California be known as a place where all have a home of their own

•Proposition 85
Parental notification can help stop statutory rape, child molestation

•Surviving sex abuse: A day-to-day struggle to keep going

OBITUARIES
•Sister Estelle Meiers, PBVM
•Brother Robert Smith, FSC
•Katherine (Kay) Fleischer

Jesuit School in Berkeley dedicates
new chapel and academic center

By Voice staff

Bishop Emeritus John Cummins presided at the Sept. 29 Mass dedicating the new Gesu chapel at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley.

As part of the ceremony the school’s renovated academic center, which houses the chapel, was also blessed.

The center contains offices, student lounge, meeting rooms and classrooms equipped with state-of-the-art instructional technology.

The chapel, the school’s first dedicated worship space since moving to the Graduate Theological Union in 1969, includes a handcrafted mahogany altar that contains a reliquary of three North American martyrs.

Jesuit Father Tom Lucas, professor of art and design at the University of San Francisco, created stained glass windows etched with the name of Jesus in 31 languages, reflecting the diversity of the students and the global mission of the school.

Another set of windows are etched with the names of 72 witnesses to faith and justice around the Pacific Rim.

The chapel faces on to a plaza at the school’s entrance at 1735 LeRoy Avenue.

JSTB is one of two Jesuit theological centers in the United States. Its students include Jesuits, other religious and lay students pursuing advanced theological degrees. Students come from more than 40 countries.

The new academic center and chapel cost $7 million, which was raised through the school’s Partners for Tomorrow’s Church campaign launched in 2003 for endowed scholarships, endowed faculty chairs and capital
improvements.

Two other Catholic theological schools – Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology and the Franciscan School of Theology -- are also part of the Graduate Theological Union. There are nine member schools, representing Catholic, Protestant, Unitarian and Jewish communities.

Jesuit Father Joseph Daoust, president of the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, blesses the south wall of the school’s new chapel during dedication ceremonies, Sept. 29.
JSTB PHOTO

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