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College to Honor the Archdiocese, Bishop McFadden
and the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia

Neumann College will mark its 43rd anniversary on March 12 by celebrating the bicentennial of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the contributions of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia. Bishop Joseph P. McFadden, auxiliary to the Archbishop of Philadelphia, will receive an honorary degree and deliver the fifth annual Dr. Dorothy A. P. Leunissen Lecture in the Fred P. Meagher Theatre at 2 p.m.

Bishop McFadden's previous appointments include pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Downingtown, president of Cardinal O'Hara High School in Springfield, administrative secretary to John Cardinal Krol, and parochial vicar at St. Laurence Parish in Highland Park. He also taught at West Catholic Boys High School, where he became director of athletics and served on the board of directors for the Philadelphia Catholic League.

A recipient of the St. Thomas More Alumni Association Golden Bear Award and the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick of Delaware County Man of the Year Award, he has also been inducted into The Roman Catholic High School and The Cardinal O'Hara High School Halls of Fame.

Bishop McFadden received his Master of Divinity degree from St. Charles Seminary and a B.S. in politics from St. Joseph University. Born and raised in Philadelphia, he attended Our Lady of Lourdes elementary school and St. Thomas More High School for Boys.

The lecture is named after Dr. Dorothy A. Piatnek-Leunissen, Ph.D., M.D., who died in 2003 after a long illness. She held degrees from Seton Hill College, Mount Holyoke College, the University of Pittsburgh, and the Medical College of Pennsylvania. She worked at Bryn Mawr Hospital and in private practice with her husband, R.L. Abraham Leunissen, M.D. at Riddle Memorial Hospital.

The College will also acknowledge the sponsorship of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, who founded Neumann College in 1965. The total enrollment then was 115 students. Today there are 3,084 students, including more than 770 who live on campus.

The Sisters are a community of more than 700 Catholic women religious who choose a Gospel way of life, lived in community. They are committed to the needs of others, especially the economically poor, the marginal, and the oppressed. 

Today Sisters minister in the United States in approximately 29 states, as well as in the Caribbean, Central America, Europe, and Africa. They serve in a variety of ways, including health care; education at all levels; parish and diocesan ministry; spiritual and pastoral care; and service to the elderly, the homeless, the poor, persons with AIDS, immigrants and refugees.

2/27/08