Letter from DU, Trinity H.S. Delivered to Pope Leo by River Forest Village President
More correspondence from Dominican University has been personally shared with Pope Leo XIV in Rome.
A letter signed by DU President Dr. Glena G. Temple and Trinity High School President Dr. Tina Taylor-Ritzler was delivered to the pontiff by River Forest Village President Cathy Adduci during her recent visit to Rome. Adduci was a member of a delegation of mayors from Illinois who met with Pope Leo in Vatican City in early April.
The Dominican-Trinity letter addressed to Pope Leo shared background on the history of the institutions, their current mission and their shared commitment to “serving students who otherwise might not have access to educational opportunities.”
The letter begins:
“Your Holiness, we write to you on behalf of our respective institutions, Dominican University and Trinity High School, both founded over 100 years ago by the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa (founded by Venerable Fr. Samuel Mazzuchelli, OP) and rooted several blocks apart on Division Street in River Forest, Illinois. On this occasion of your Papal Audience with Mayors of Chicagoland, we seek to affirm our deep pride in our ministries representing the Roman Catholic Church in the Village of River Forest, guided by our respective missions, and committed to spreading Gospel values.”
Adduci also carried a Dominican University pennant flag, which Pope Leo blessed. Dr. Clodagh Weldon, vice president of Mission and Ministry, said she plans to frame and display the flag at Dominican with a message that it was blessed by the pope.
Adduci described the pontiff as a “genuinely warm person” who was well aware of River Forest and its Catholic academic institutions.
“It was so easy to talk with him because he knew,” Adduci said. “He acknowledged Dominican, he acknowledged Trinity, which is so good.”
Adduci said it was important to speak with the pontiff about Dominican University because of the university's mission to welcome and serve immigrants.
“Pope Leo’s message is to work toward the common good and work toward the best interest of all,” she said. “Certainly, Dominican is doing that.”
Read more about Adduci's audience with the pope in the Wednesday Journal.
In October, letters from several Dominican University students sharing personal stories and concerns about current immigration policies, were hand-delivered to Pope Leo by Andrew Mercado, director of University Ministry. The receipt of the letters was acknowledged by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, ambassador to the Holy See.
