Joint School Boards Lecture
Dorothy Day, founder of the Catholic Worker movement, has been described as the radical conscience of the church in North America and recently the Vatican has accepted her cause for canonization. Through the houses of hospitality that she established, she lived her life among the poor, practicing the works of mercy, protesting on behalf of peace and social justice, and giving an example of the gospel in action. But behind the public face, what was she really like? Her diaries and letters, recently edited by Robert Ellsberg, reveal new dimensions of her personality and spirituality. In this lecture, Mr. Ellsberg explores what her life tells us about the meaning of holiness in our time, how her canonization would enlarge our understanding of sainthood, and how her witness challenges all Christians to live out their faith in response to the needs of today.
Robert Ellsberg
Robert Ellsberg is the Editor-in-Chief of Orbis Books, the publishing arm of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers. He was a member of the Catholic Worker community in New York in the 1970s and served for two years as the managing editor of "The Catholic Worker". He has edited a number of works on Dorothy Day including Dorothy Day: Selected Writings" (2005) and "All the Way to Heaven: The Selected Letters of Dorothy Day" (2010)."
The 2010-2011 Joint School Boards Lecture