"Marian Symposium inspires Mount seminarians, students"

From The Mountain Echo
By Eddie McCullough

The Marian Symposium, held at the Mount on Oct. 9 - 11, brought scholars from all over the country to discuss Mary's role in the life of the Church. Talks included her role her role in catholic education, scripture, and priestly formation.

Seminarian Brandon Granger from the Diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana said, "It was a time to reflect on the images of Our Lady. It was a great time to bring reflection of Mary to prayer and to learn how to be better witnesses of her example on campus."

Some of the most prominent speakers were religious sisters. Sister Mary Timothea Elliot and Sister Johanna Paruch are members of the Religious Sisters of Mercy, also known as "the Ph.D. nuns." Sr. Timothea holds a doctorate in sacred scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. There are less than ten people with that degree in the United States, and she was the first woman to ever hold one.

"All the talks were great, and after the Marian Symposium, I'm praying to Mary day by day," commented Freshman Reilly Gates. The organizers really wanted undergraduate participation and there was a good turnout among students at talks that were packed with seminarians.

On Friday, Archbishop Edwin O'Brien of Baltimore celebrated Mass and re-consecrated the Mount to Mary. Becca Mullan noted that the Symposium was "a great end to the bicentennial year. Especially the re-consecration words spoken by the Archbishop."

The Marian Symposium ended on Saturday evening, after Fall Break had already started. Some students chose to stay over that last day to hear the last of the talks and to watch the closing ceremonies. One of those students, Jonathan Benitez, said, "The Marian Symposium was a marvelous tribute of intellect and faith which delved into the true heart of the Mount."