Villanova University to Host Kim Harris, PhD, for 2024 Mother Mary Lange Lecture in Black Catholic Studies

VILLANOVA, Pa. (October 23, 2024) - Villanova University will host the 2024 Mother Mary Lange Lecture in Black Catholic Studies at 7 p.m. on Thursday, November 7, in the Driscoll Hall Auditorium. The lecture, the signature event for Black Catholic History Month, will feature Kim Harris, PhD, associate professor of African American Religious Thought and Practice at Loyola Marymount University, as the keynote speaker.

About the Keynote Speaker
Dr. Harris lectures on the Black Catholic experience, including the spirituals of the Underground Railroad and the freedom songs of the Civil Rights Movement. She also teaches courses on Black liberation and Womanist theologies. A respected liturgist, composer and recording artist, Dr. Harris is a member of both the Black Catholic Theological Symposium and the North American Academy of Liturgy. She also serves as an academic member of the African American Catholic Center for Evangelization in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and as a liturgical consultant for the Archdiocese of New York's Office of Black Ministry. A gifted cantor and passionate advocate for cultural preservation, Dr. Harris earned her doctorate in worship and the arts from Union Theological Seminary in New York City.

About the Mother Mary Lange Lecture Series
The lecture series, inaugurated in 2021, takes its name from the Venerable Mother Mary Lange, one of six American Catholics of African descent on the path to canonization. She was the resilient and pioneering chief founder of the Oblate Sisters of Providence in Baltimore-the first permanent congregation for women of color-established in 1829. The order, in turn, founded St. Frances Academy, the oldest continuously operating school for Black Catholic children in the United States. Villanova was one of the first Catholic institutions of higher education to welcome Black women religious, most notably the Oblate Sisters of Providence, after World War I. The Mother Mary Lange Lecture exemplifies the University's ongoing commitment to anti-racism, as well as to the contributions and achievements of Black Catholics.

Event Details
The Mother Mary Lange Lecture is sponsored by the Office for Mission and Ministry co-sponsored by the Office of the Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

About Villanova University: Since 1842, Villanova University's Augustinian Catholic intellectual tradition has been the cornerstone of an academic community in which students learn to think critically, act compassionately and succeed while serving others. There are more than 10,000 undergraduate, graduate and law students in the University's six colleges-the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Villanova School of Business, the College of Engineering, the M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing, the College of Professional Studies and the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. Ranked among the nation's top universities, Villanova supports its students' intellectual growth and prepares them to become ethical leaders who create positive change everywhere life takes them. For more, visit www.villanova.edu.