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The main entrance of the new Center for Catholic and Dominican Studies is located on the south side of Aquinas Hall.
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Providence College realized a dream when the new Center for Catholic and Dominican Studies in Aquinas Hall was dedicated on September 13. “This building is spectacular!” College President Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P. '80 exclaimed upon emerging from the center after blessing the interior. “It’s truly a sacred space.”
Approximately 250 members of the College community gathered for the center dedication. They processed from St. Dominic Chapel following the academic year-opening Mass of the Holy Spirit. Father Shanley and Rev. Thomas D. McGonigle, O.P., associate professor of history, special lecturer in theology, and the director of the new center, presided over the ceremony.
Located in the former Aquinas Chapel, the Center for Catholic and Dominican Studies is intended to serve as a place of intellectual exploration and dialogue. Students, faculty, staff, and alumni are encouraged to use the center for study, discussion, reflection, and service.
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| College President Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P. '80, center, reads a prayer during the center’s dedication. With him are Rev. Thomas D. McGonigle, O.P., the center’s director, left, and Rev. Kevin D. Robb, O.P. ’71, associate vice president for mission and ministry and associate treasurer of the College. |
The center will host a variety of events and educational opportunities for the College community each semester, with a focus on the richness and diversity of PC’s Catholic and Dominican traditions. It features a large, main reading room that will double as a site for presentations that can accommodate up to 50 people.
The center retains many of the characteristics of the former chapel, including the main altar and two side altars, the crucifix, and the Stations of the Cross.
The restoration of the center was made possible through the generosity of approximately 100 members of the Class of 1955. Chester T. Nuttall, Jr. ’55 provided the lead gift for the center.
In addition, several benefactors made substantial donations more than a decade ago towards an endowment for the center. They were The Cavanagh Company, John F. Cavanagh ’35, Brian P. Cavanagh ’71, the late Paul Cavanagh ’46 and his wife, Helena, the late John W. Sormanti ’45, and Guyde A. Lombari, Jr. ’81G, current ticket manager in Alumni Hall for the Department of Athletics.
After the dedication, the audience walked across Grotto Lane to the newly relocated statue of St. Dominic near DiTraglia Hall. Father Shanley then blessed the statue in its new location.