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Sr. Mary Lou Kownacki will accept the award in Pittsburgh on Sunday, July 30, during Pax Christi USA’s 2006 national conference, “God’s People Can Wait No Longer: Twenty Years Since Economic Justice For All”
Erie, Pa. - Pax Christi USA, the national Catholic peace movement, has announced that it will honor Sr. Mary Lou Kownacki, OSB, former national coordinator of Pax Christi USA and a Sister with the Erie Benedictine Community, as its 2006 “Pope Paul VI Teacher of Peace.” The Pax Christi USA National Council unanimously voted to honor Sr. Mary Lou, citing her deep commitment to peacemaking and fostering a spirituality of nonviolence, and her dedicated leadership that for decades has inspired individuals to live gospel nonviolence with intention and integrity.
Pax Christi USA will present this award to Sr. Mary Lou at its 2006 national conference, “God’s People Can Wait No Longer: Twenty Years Since Economic Justice For All,” which will be held from July 28-30, 2006, at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Dave Robinson, executive director of Pax Christi USA, said that Sr. Mary Lou has played a monumental role in shaping the spiritual foundation that has guided Pax Christi’s work for the past three decades.
“In her leadership of Pax Christi, Sr. Mary Lou offered our movement a rich spirituality that taught us that the vocation of the peacemaker is to keep the vision of oneness, of God’s unconditional love for all, alive in the marketplace,” said Robinson. “Sr. Mary Lou has continued to be an inspiration to those working for peace, through her writings and reflection, and through her investment in grassroots neighborhood renewal and building right relationships throughout her community.”
As national coordinator of Pax Christi USA from 1984 to 1991, Sr. Mary Lou helped solidify relationships between Pax Christi USA and religious communities, parishes, bishops, and young adults, and educate our movement and the Church on the imperative of gospel nonviolence. Her books, including “The Fire of Peace,” “The Nonviolent Moment: Spirituality for the 21st Century,” “Love Beyond Measure: A Spirituality of Nonviolence,” and most recently “Between Two Souls: Conversations with Ryokan,” have continued to challenge readers to grow in their identity as peacemakers and in their commitment to Catholic Social Teaching. “Between Two Souls,” was honored by Spirituality and Health magazine as one of the most inspiring books of 2004.
After completing her term as national coordinator of Pax Christi USA in 1991, Sr. Mary Lou served as the executive director of the Alliance for International Monasticism USA, an organization that supports 300 Benedictine missions and their programs for the poor in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Sr. Mary Lou also initiated the Women’s Commission for Africa, enabling the high school education of young Benedictine Sisters, who then in turn opened grade schools for girls throughout Africa.
In 1994, Sr. Mary Lou founded the Inner-City Neighborhood Art House in Erie, Pa., where today more than 600 children receive free classes in the visual, performing and literary arts. Sr. Mary Lou directed the center for 10 years, and served as the center’s poetry teacher. More recently, Sr. Mary Lou has steered neighborhood renewal projects in one of Erie’s most vulnerable neighborhoods, facilitating a fledgling program called “One Block at a Time,” where neighborhood children receive incentives – including “store dollars” from a local family-owned grocery store – for doing chores and cleaning up the neighborhood.
“We are honored and humbled to share the Pax Christi USA 2006 Pope Paul VI Teacher of Peace Award with Sr. Mary Lou Kownacki, and commemorate her important witness for peace. Sr. Mary Lou follows in a long line of exemplary prophets, including Dorothy Day, Cesar Chavez, Sr. Thea Bowman, and many others whose intentional and sustained efforts at fostering a spirituality of nonviolence made a rich impact locally, nationally, and globally,” said Robinson.
The “Pope Paul VI Teacher of Peace Award” has been given annually by Pax Christi USA since 1978. Past award recipients include Martin Sheen, Sr. Helen Prejean, Sr. Dianna Ortiz, Msgr. Ray East, Sr. Joan Chittister and Fr. Roy Bourgeois. Sr. Mary Lou’s award presentation will take place on Sunday, July 30, during Pax Christi USA’s 2006 national conference. For more information about this award, or about the national conference, visit www.paxchristiusa.org.
For media interviews or more information, please contact Johnny Zokovitch at 352-271-6941 or email johnnypcusa@yahoo.com.
Pax Christi USA is the national Catholic peace movement, reaching more than half a million Catholics in the United States. Our membership includes more than 130 U.S. bishops, 800 parish sponsors, 650 religious communities, and 300 local groups. Pax Christi USA is a section of Pax Christi International, the international Catholic peace movement, with consultative status at the United Nations.
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