Presented at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts by the Office of Mission and Ministry, the evening kicked off with a welcome by Phil Klay, associate professor of English in the John Charles Meditz College of Arts and Sciences, a prayer led by Rev. Paul Rourke, S.J., vice president for Mission and Ministry, and an introduction of Cardinal Dolan by Fairfield University President Mark R. Nemec, PhD.
Cardinal Dolan was greeted with energetic applause from the packed house—the event was sold out well in advance and had accumulated a lengthy wait list.
With humor and a deep understanding of the historical context that brought us to this moment in the life of the Church, His Eminence recounted the road that led to the election of Robert Prevost, the first American to ever ascend to the papacy.
"The Cardinal put his unsurpassed talent as a natural entertainer in service of the Church’s supernatural mission," said Fr. Rourke. "The audience oscillated between being on the edge of their seats and rolling in the aisles with laughter. We couldn’t have asked for more.”
Cardinal Dolan highlighted the pedagogical styles of the three most recent popes, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis—the first Jesuit pope, describing them as the soul, mind, and heart of the Church, respectively. In the Cardinal’s eyes, Pope Leo XIV is a “successor, not a continuator” of the works of his predecessors.
