After serving Dallas Catholics for the past decade, Bishop Kevin J. Farrell (also
chancellor of the University of Dallas) has been appointed by Pope Francis as the
highest-ranking American clergyman in the Vatican. Farrell will oversee the Dicastery
for Laity, Family and Life, a new department in which he will focus on the lives of
ordinary Catholics around the world.
University of Dallas President Thomas W. Keefe shared his remarks from the papal announcement:
“This morning’s announcement of Bishop Kevin J. Farrell’s appointment as prefect of the new Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life is bittersweet news for me personally and the greater University of Dallas community. While we are thankful that the church will have such a forgiving leader at this post, we will miss his ardent dedication to our institution and our mission.
“Not only has Bishop Farrell provided me with invaluable counsel, loyalty and friendship, but his unwavering support has been an integral part of the university’s transformation into one of the country’s elite Catholic universities. For this, we are eternally grateful.”
The Diocese of Dallas also shared Bishop Farrell’s remarks on his new appointment as prefect of the new Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life.
A flurry of headlines resulted from the news of Bishop Farrell’s appointment, which becomes effective Sept. 1.
"You bring me a letter of acceptance to a Catholic school for your child, and I promise your child will attend Catholic school." This is the promise Father Mark Hamlet, BA '68 MBA '70, makes to his congregation at every Mass. The pastor of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Austin, Hamlet has spent much of his ministry advocating for Catholic school education through his nonprofit foundation, Our Kids at Heart.
+ Read MoreThis past summer, Yeabkal Wubshit, BA '20, earned the internship that every computer science major dreams of: a position at Google -- and spent the summer working on infrastructures for Google Service Accounts at Google's office in Sunnyvale, California.
+ Read MoreThe University of Dallas will celebrate the extraordinary achievements of four alumni with its 2019 Distinguished Alumni Awards. Award recipients Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers, MTS '00, Laura Felis Quinn, BS '86 MBA '18, Judy Kelly, BA '63, and John Parker, BA '83 MBA '89, will be honored for their contributions to their professions, communities and the University of Dallas.
+ Read More
