Feb. 15, 2017

Contact Emily Dykman at 608-796-3703 or eadykman@viterbo.edu

DOROTHY DAY: THE WORLD WILL BE SAVED BY BEAUTY AUTHOR AND GRANDDAUGHTER KATE HENNESSY TO SPEAK AT VITERBO UNIVERSITY MARCH 1–2

LA CROSSE, Wis. – Kate Hennessy, granddaughter of famed Catholic activist Dorothy Day and author of the book Dorothy Day: The World will be Saved by Beauty, will speak at Viterbo University at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 1 in San Damiano Chapel and at 7:30 a.m. Thursday, March 2 in Brophy Center 123.

Both events are free and open to the public.

Day is being considered for sainthood by the Catholic church. She was a founder of the Catholic Worker movement and fought for social justice on behalf of the poor and disenfranchised. She created the Catholic Worker newspaper in 1933 and served as its editor until her death in 1980. Pope Francis named Day as a “Great American” in his 2015 speech to the U.S. Congress.

As Dorothy Day’s youngest granddaughter, Kate Hennessy has had unusual access and insight into Day’s life. Drawing on her own relationship with Day and previously unpublished and unexamined letters, diaries, and interviews with her mother Tamar (Day’s only daughter), Hennessy provides a fresh perspective on her work and inner life as never before.

“Intimate, detailed… Hennessy has created an amazing tapestry of Day’s life and the memories she left with her loved ones,” wrote a reviewer with Publishers Weekly.

Hennessy’s appearance at Viterbo is sponsored by Place of Grace Catholic Worker House and Viterbo’s religious studies and Master of Arts in Servant Leadership programs.

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