CSE President Sr. Francis Raftery and Television Host Benedict Groeschel Honored by SOAR!

Sister Francis Raftery SC, EdD, LHD, president of the College of Saint Elizabeth (CSE), and Father Benedict J. Groeschel, a well known author and television talk host, will be the honorees at the 24th annual benefit dinner for Support Our Aging Religious (SOAR!) at the Union League Club in Manhattan on Wednesday, October 6, 2010, beginning at 6 p.m.

The proceeds from the $275 dinner tickets help SOAR! make grants that assist religious congregations in need of very basic help, such as the purchase of therapeutic equipment, the renovation of space for handicapped accessibility and structural safety, and the installation of fire alarm and wander guard systems. Through this fundamental assistance many more women and men religious live out the last years of their lives in dignity, safety, and with modest care. For information and reservations, contact Peg Zukowski at 732-564-9975 or bpzuk@aol.com . The deadline for journal advertisements is September 3, 2010. For more information about SOAR! visit http://www.soar-usa.org/ or call 202-529-7627 or 800-403-7627.

SOAR! was founded in 1986 as the direct result of a Wall Street Journal article that brought attention to the retirement needs of women and men religious in the United States. The organization raises national public awareness of the religious retirement crisis and provides financial resources to Catholic religious congregations to care for their elderly and infirm members.

Sister Raftery will be presented the Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Award for her distinguished service to the Catholic community where she inspires and empowers others through education. Sister Raftery has been a recipient of the National Catholic Education Association’s Outstanding Educator Award and she has served as the chairperson of the department of Education at CSE from 1972 to 1986 and as a faculty member from 1964 to 1986. Sister Francis served as Provincial of the Sisters of Charity of the Western Provence and as a member of the General Council of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth.

Sister Raftery is the past president of the New Jersey Association of Colleges for Teacher Education and has been active in the Teacher Education Roundtable, the National Association of State Directors for Teacher Education Certification, the National Catholic Education Association, the New Jersey Education Association, the Morris County Chamber of Commerce, and the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities.

Father Groeschel will be presented the Father Victor Yanitelli, SJ, Award for his love of God, that is reflected in his giving of himself to those in need.

Father Groeschel is recognized for a number of accomplishments since becoming a priest in 1959. He was the chaplain of the Children’s Village, a facility for emotionally disturbed children in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. He has taught classes at Fordham University, Iona College and Maryknoll Seminary. He founded the St. Francis House in Brooklyn that is a safe haven for young men looking for a new start. He was requested to direct a program for spiritual development for the Archdiocese of New York where he continues to serve today.

In 1985 he co-founded the Good Counsel Homes, located in several New York sites, for homeless pregnant women and children. He is the author of more than 30 books and currently hosts a weekly EWTN television program, “Sunday Night Live with Father Benedict Groeschel.”

Sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, Convent Station, New Jersey, the College of Saint Elizabeth enrolls more than 2,100 full- and part-time students in 25 undergraduate, 10 graduate and one doctoral degree programs. For information on other activities or programs, visit the College of Saint Elizabeth web site at www.cse.edu.