08/21/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 08/21/2024 11:59
University of St. Thomas-Houston is set to host a momentous and joyful event Oct. 17, at 6:30 p.m., at the River Oaks Country Club: The Nesti Center for Faith & Culture's Annual Faithful Citizenship Dinner. This year's dinner marks the 30th anniversary of the Nesti Center and honors its founder, Fr. Donald S. Nesti, CSSp.
Under the theme, "Illuminating the Way," the gathering will celebrate three decades of unwavering service and commitment to the study of faith and culture. Thirty years of bringing the Catholic voice to the ongoing conversation about the meaning of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness held in common as Americans.
Event chairpersons Mary Frances Fabrizio and Mike and Lisa Waters, along with honorary chairs Lois Davis, His Eminence Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, and Larry Massey Jr., will preside over the evening.
Honoring the Center's Founder & Namesake
Honoring Fr. Nesti for his decades of faithful citizenship acknowledges his profound impact on the Center. UST Director of The Nesti Center Dr. Kevin Stuart described that impact.
"Fr. Nesti is not only the founder and namesake, but the exemplar of what the Center for Faith & Culture is all about," Dr. Stuart remarked. "A man of strong faith, learned scholarship, and a deep love of his country, Fr. Nesti gave the Center a sense of mission that we carry into our work every single day... and for many decades to come."
Reflecting on the Center's mission, Fr. Nesti said, "What the Center has done over the years and will be challenged to do in the future is to model what Catholic higher education is all about. And to offer a glimpse of how all branches of knowledge in academia can be touched by the views of the Gospel and, therefore, work to bring all cultures to a 'more perfect union.'"
About the Center
Among the Center's beliefs and values is the conviction that there is a profound relationship between faith and culture because the message of God's love builds on and is mediated by human culture in every age and place. The Center advocates for true human fulfillment found through loving relationship with others. It helps people to examine, discern, and live out the relationship between the Gospel's universal call to love and the worldview and values of the prevailing American culture.
To support its ongoing education of the laity, The Center offers a robust academic programwith a Master of Arts in Faith & Culture, a Master of Arts in Catholic Women's and Gender Studies, and several graduate certificates.
Don't Miss This Special Evening
The Faithful Citizenship Dinner benefits the Nesti Center for Faith & Culture. To learn more about the Center, go here.
Don't miss this very special evening, Oct. 17, at the River Oaks Country Club. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit this page.