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Mercy Week Keynote Speaker, Sr. Ilia Delio, OSF, PhD

ALBANY, NY, August 31, 2020 – Maria College announced that Sister Ilia Delio, OSF, PhD, will be the keynote speaker to kick-off Maria’s Mercy Week Celebration, though a collaboration with Siena College. Sr. Ilia is a world-renowned speaker and writer who holds the Josephine C. Connelly Chair in Christian Theology at Villanova University and has authored over twenty books. Maria’s Mission Office will be co-hosting this event with Siena on September 21 at 6:00pm EST via a remote Zoom presentation.

“We are thrilled to co-host Sr. Ilia Delio as our keynote Mercy Week speaker this year,” said Victoria Battell, senior vice president and chief mission officer at Maria College. “Sr. Ilia brings a wealth of knowledge on cosmology, transformation, and theology – insights that our world needs at this time more than ever. She is a fantastic author and a world-class scholar, and this is a great opportunity for the Maria and Siena communities.”

Mercy Week is a celebration of Maria College’s heritage as a college founded by the Sisters of Mercy, with events and activities to highlight the Mercy charism that animates Maria. This year’s Mercy Week (September 21-29) theme will be “Care for the Earth” inspired by the 50th anniversary of Earth Day (April 22) and the 5th anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’ (May 24). Sr. Ilia will be speaking on the topic “A Hunger for Wholeness: Greening the Earth and the Fecundity of Life.” In her presentation, she will speaking about how finding the power of God’s love in a world of change is essential to renewal of the earth and our longing for wholeness. She will focus on the vision of Teilhard de Chardin and the way he saw Christianity at the heart of evolution.

This event is open to the public. Please register at http://mariacollege.edu/hunger-for-wholeness. There is a $20 suggested donation to cover the cost of the event and additional funds earned will be donated to the Maria Cares fund to help Maria students in need. Please note: students of Maria and Siena, and Sisters of Mercy, are not expected to make a donation.

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Founded in 1958, Maria College is one of 17 colleges and universities in the United States sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. The private, co-educational, Catholic college in Albany serves approximately 800 students in a variety of bachelor’s degree, associate degree, and certificate programs including liberal arts, healthcare management, nursing, psychology, occupational therapy assistant, and health and occupational sciences, and a master of science degree in occupational therapy. More information on Maria College is available at: www.mariacollege.edu