PUBLISHED BY THE BOSTON COLLEGE OFFICE OF UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
DECEMBER 12, 2024 VOL. 32 NO. 8
Lilly Grant Will Support C21 Effort to Promote Youth Worship Practices
Ringing In the Season of Light
BY KATHLEEN SULLIVAN STAFF WRITER
Boston College held its annual Christmas tree lighting on the Plaza at O’Neill Library on December 3, featuring caroling and performances by student groups, greetings from University President William P. Leahy, S.J., hot chocolate and other treats, and a visit from Santa Claus.
photos by seho lee ’27
Lilly Endowment Inc. has awarded a $971,000 grant to Boston College to support a Church in the 21st Century Center project aimed at strengthening and nurturing children’s worship practices through innovative experiential and formational faith programming and events—all designed to build a community focused on helping children find God in their everyday lives. The four-year grant, awarded through Lilly Endowment’s Nurturing Children Through Worship and Prayer Initiative, will enable the C21 Center to establish the Catholic Children’s Ministry Partnership (CCMP), where a cohort of 100 parishes throughout New England and New York will be connected to the center’s repository of multimedia resources and programming for children and families. “The C21 Center is profoundly grateful to the Lilly Endowment for its generous support of the Catholic Children’s Ministry Partnership,” said C21 Center Director Karen Kiefer. “This grant is an extraordinary opportunity that will help Catholic
parishes and families nurture children’s faith and imagination and foster in them a lifelong friendship with God.” The grant will enable the center to enhance and expand its proven resources for children and families into robust platforms that will be shared for free through a password-protected portal serving as an exclusive hub for the cohort parish staff and families. The CCMP will feature four distinctive C21 programs: the Breakfast with God Worship Programming, the Drawing God Program, the Growing God Care for Creation Project, and the Misfit Sock Advent Prayer Tradition. The C21 resources for children are fully inclusive and use music, art, singing, planting, baking, and storytelling as catalysts to enhance a child’s worship practices. Through videos, children’s books, activities and experiences, downloadable companion/curriculum guides, and training videos, catechists and parents will be empowered to profoundly impact the way children experience God’s love through worship. Led by Jesuit priest Quang Tran, S.J., and preschool teacher Anne Krane, Break-
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Hanley Is New Moakley Professor of Political Science BY SEAN SMITH CHRONICLE EDITOR
Professor of Political Science Ryan Patrick Hanley, a historian of political philosophy who explores the work of eminent Enlightenment thinkers and their relevance for 21st-century society, has been named as the J. Joseph Moakley Professor of Political Science. Hanley is the second to hold the Moakley Chair, endowed in honor of the longtime South Boston Democratic congressman. Kay Schlozman, appointed to the chair in 2002, retired at the end of the 2023-2024 academic year after 50 years at BC. For Hanley, who joined Boston College in 2019 after 15 years on the Marquette University faculty, his selection for the Moakley Chair only adds to an already fulfilling tenure at the Heights.
Ryan Patrick Hanley has been on the Boston College faculty since 2019. photo by peter julian
“I am humbled at being chosen for this chair,” he said. “First, because it is named for Joe Moakley, whose service to his constituency and his willingness to take on challenging ethical and political issues is such an inspiration. Second, because the chair was held by Kay Schlozman, who made such a huge impact on our understanding of American politics, and did such invaluable service to the discipline of political science. She was so welcoming to me when I first came here and helped me to get to know the University. “Boston College is my dream job,” added Hanley. “This department takes politics and political questions very seriously, and I feel very fortunate to be among such talented colleagues. I also enjoy working with the students here, and am impressed by their enthusiasm and incisiveness. And as the parent of a current senior, I’ve been able to experience the BC community in a
more personal way.” “I believe that Ryan is a most worthy successor to Kay as Moakley Professor,” said Professor Gerald Easter, the department chair, who praised Schlozman for her “highly valued teaching and service at Bos-
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INSIDE 2 Around Campus
BCDS holiday baking; grad student arts group debuts.
4 Reaching a Summit
Design event meant a lot to Woods College student.
8 BC Global
New beginning for BC Irish Institute.