Ecumenical Ceremony Honoring Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman

Good afternoon. It’s wonderful to be here with all of you.

I wish to begin in gratitude for this opportunity to be together.

Thank you, Fr. Bosco, for your leadership as our Vice President for Mission and Ministry, and your many efforts to make this ceremony possible.

I’d like to offer my special gratitude to His Eminence Cardinal Wilton Gregory. We’re deeply honored to have you here with us as we mark this important moment.

Thank you, Minister Felder, for leading us in our opening hymn, and to our GU Gospel Choir for such a beautiful performance. Sister Thea Bowman sang to us when she visited Georgetown’s campus in the months before her death to accept an honorary degree.

Today, we celebrate her life. You will hear about the events that shaped her … the community she cultivated … the brave and faith-filled leadership she displayed throughout her life.

You will hear her own words, read aloud in this sacred room, as we remember her, together. We’re honored, too, to be joined by members of her order, the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration.

Thirty-three years ago, we welcomed Sister Thea Bowman to our Georgetown campus. She accepted an honorary degree and spoke at our University’s convocation ceremony for first year undergraduate students – addressing the Class of 1993 only days after they arrived on the Hilltop. She called on them to use their time as students, and all that they gained from their education, the advance the common good. The strength of her conviction… and the impact of her words and example… are just as vital to us today as they were three decades ago.

This afternoon, we name this Chapel in honor of Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman. The title Servant of God refers to an individual who is a candidate for sainthood, whose cause for sainthood is currently be investigated. This distinction reflects a life of profound faith and service.

She left an extraordinary legacy: her rigorous engagement with the intellectual and spiritual questions facing the Church … her calls to action and to the work of racial justice both within and outside of the Catholic Church … her writings and teachings, her lectures and performances … her efforts to make accessible Black sacred music for the Catholic community.

In her Hymnal, which I referred to a moment ago, she wrote a beautiful introduction, in which she said, and I quote, “Black sacred song has been at once a source and an expression of Black faith, spirituality, and devotion. By song, our people have called the Spirit into our hearts, homes, churches, and communities. Seeking to enrich our liturgies and lives with the gift of sacred song, we pray:

‘Spirit, Sweet Holy Spirit, fall afresh on me.
Everytime I hear the Spirit
Moving in my heart
I will pray.'”

It is an honor to be here with all of you today. To lift our voices in song together. To celebrate Sister Thea Bowman’s legacy and impact throughout this ceremony, and the naming of this chapel. It is with profound gratitude that we can share this moment with all of you.