In Founders Week, interreligious theme
Tony Pimpinella
Issue date: 2/4/10 Section: News
Last update: 2/4/10 at 2:42 AM EST
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The Spiritans use this time to celebrate their existence and remind students, teachers and alumni of their on-going mission: serving others.
"To be a Spiritan, you're giving yourself to service to others," said Bishop Augustine Shao.
Shao, who is spending the week at Duquense, was honored Monday for his accomplishments and completing his master's degree in counseling. He was ordained a priest in 1983 and began studying at Duquesne in 1989, but was elected provincial superior in his home providence in Zanzibar, an island off the east coast of Africa that is part of the nation Tanzania. His degree was halted again in 1997 when Pope John Paul II named Shao the Bishop of Zanzibar.
The Rev. James McCloskey, Duquesne's vice president for mission and identity, said the theme was chosen based on a Spiritan's speech in Portugal in 2004 at the General Chapter, the highest governing body of the Spiritan congregation that meets once every eight years. The Spiritan spoke about his working with Muslim people.
"His address was an invitation to deepen our commitments and our relationships with the Islamic world," McCloskey said. "Our efforts in this regard have expanded exponentially."
Shao explained the importance of involving Islam into the Spiritan mission this year, also stating that several other continents are in need of assistance.
"We are trying to understand how we read the signs of the times,and how we are facing the challenges of the times," Shao said.
According to the U.S. Department of State's Web site, Zanzibar stopped keeping records of religious demographics after the 1967 census, but experts estimate the percentage of Christians and Muslims are equal, with each accounting for 30 to 40 percent of the population.
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