Saint Vincent Seminary will honor two outstanding members of its Board of Regents at its forthcoming Alumni Day Mass and Banquet, scheduled for Monday, September 19, 2011. Tribute will be paid to His Eminence Donald Cardinal Wuerl, a member of the Board of Regents for 24 years, and Dr. John C. Marous, Jr., retired chairman of the Seminary’s Board of Regents and a member for 20 years. The Alumni Day Mass will begin at 4 p.m. in the Archabbey Basilica, with Cardinal Wuerl serving as Principal Celebrant and Homilist. The Mass is open to the general public. A banquet and dinner (by invitation only) will follow in the Fred M. Rogers Center.
His Eminence Donald Cardinal Wuerl
Archbishop of Washington
His Eminence Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, was elevated to the College of Cardinals in 2010 by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI.
Saint Vincent Seminary is pleased to recognize Cardinal Wuerl for his 24 years of outstanding service as a member of our Board of Regents. Cardinal Wuerl has been a faithful supporter of the Seminary. He was active in helping to recruit seminarians and was especially helpful in keeping the Seminary administration and faculty alert to expanding requirements for the priestly formation program. Cardinal Wuerl is well known for his catechetical and teaching ministry and for his efforts on behalf of Catholic education. He serves on numerous national and international boards and is chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, chancellor of The Catholic University of America, chairman of the board of the Pope John Paul II Cultural Foundation and also of The Papal Foundation. He is chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine and a member of the USCCB Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis.
Cardinal Wuerl has written numerous articles and books, including the best-selling catechisms The Teaching of Christ and The Catholic Way. His most recent book, The Mass, was published in January 2011.
In April 2008 Cardinal Wuerl hosted His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI in Washington, D.C., on the Holy Father’s historic journey to the United States.
The Cardinal is active in the community, joining with civic and business leaders to promote education, service to the poor, pastoral assistance to refugees and immigrants and interfaith understanding.
The Cardinal was born in Pittsburgh, and received graduate degrees from The Catholic University of America, the Gregorian University, and a doctorate in theology from the University of Saint Thomas in Rome. He was ordained to the priesthood on December 17, 1966, and ordained a bishop by Pope John Paul II on January 6, 1986 in Saint Peter’s Basilica, Rome. He served as Auxiliary Bishop in Seattle until 1987 and then as Bishop of Pittsburgh for 18 years until his appointment as the Archbishop of Washington. In recognition of his contributions to the local and Universal Church, Cardinal Wuerl received an honorary doctorate from Saint Vincent Seminary in 2007 and an honorary doctorate from Saint Vincent College in 1992.
Mr. John C. Marous, Jr.
Emeritus Chairman
Seminary Board of Regents
Mr. Marous served as chairman of the Board of Regents for 17 years and as a member of the board for 20 years. Significant advances were made in every aspect of the Seminary under the leadership of Mr. Marous. He led three major capital campaigns to provide the Seminary with additional space for worship with the Saint Gregory Chapel, administrative offices, additional housing, and academic programs, including the Pope Benedict XVI Chair of Biblical Theology and Homiletics for Excellence in Preaching, and the Pastoral Stewardship program. Those campaigns also helped provide state-of-the-art technology for the newly renovated classrooms in the John and Annette Brownfield Center.
Prior to being elected Chairman of the Board of Regents, Mr. Marous served as chairman and chief executive officer of Westinghouse, president of the corporation’s Industries and International Group, which included businesses involved globally in the development, manufacture and marketing of a wide variety of electrical and electronic products for industrial, construction, and utility markets.
Following service in the U.S. Army, Mr. Marous earned bachelor and master of science degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh. He was awarded an honorary doctor of engineering degree by the University of South Carolina in December 1988; an honorary doctor of public service degree from South Carolina State College in May 1989; and an honorary doctor of letters degree from Clemson University in December 1989. He received an honorary doctorate from Saint Vincent Seminary in 1996.
Mr. Marous and Cardinal Wuerl were co-founders of the Extra Mile Education Foundation, which supports the education of children from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods in inner city parochial schools in the Diocese of Pittsburgh.
John and his wife Lucine reside in Fox Chapel.
