Dorothy Day (1897-1980) was a prominent Catholic, writer, social activist, and co-founder of The Catholic Worker, a movement dedicated to serving the poorest of the poor. Her life has been revealed through her own writings as well as the work of historians, theologians, and academics. What has been missing until now is a more personal account from the point of view of someone who knew her well. Dorothy Day: The World Will Be Saved by Beauty is a frank and reflective, heartfelt and humorous portrayal as written by her granddaughter, Kate Hennessy. Come and hear Hennessy provide us with a valuable and nuanced portrait of an undersung and provocative American woman. It challenges our ideas of plaster saints and of saintly women.

About the Speaker

KATE HENNESSY is a writer and the youngest of Dorothy Day’s nine grandchildren. Along with the biography of Dorothy Day, Hennessy has worked in collaboration with the photographer Vivian Cherry on Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker: The Miracle of Our Continuance, and her work has appeared in Best American Travel Writing. Hennessy attended New York University and the School for International Living in Vermont. She has traveled and worked around the world, including at an international summer camp in the former USSR; as an ESL Teacher in Guatemala and to Tibetan refugees in India; as well as a curator at a small Vermont museum. She has also walked 750 kilometers on el Camino de Santiago in Spain. After living most of her life in Vermont, New York City, and Ireland, Hennessy now lives in Oakland, California.

Taking place in the Vanstone Lecture Hall, St. Jerome's University Academic Centre. Complimentary parking - accessible - refreshments served prior to the lecture.

Complimentary tickets, but please register for this event.

Find out more about the 2017-18 Lectures in Catholic Experience.