On March 20, President of Boston College, Father William P. Leahy, S.J., will receive Catholic Extension's 2018 Spirit of Francis Award at a dinner in his honor at the Mandarin Oriental Boston. The dinner will mark the first time Catholic Extension, headquartered in Chicago, has held the event in Boston and honored a local leader. Honorary co-chair His Eminence, Seán Cardinal O'Malley, OFM Cap, Archbishop of Boston, will be in attendance. Tickets are available at www.CatholicExtension.org.

The Spirit of Francis Award recognizes an individual or group for their commitment "to reach out to the margins of society" in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi, Pope Francis and the founder of Catholic Extension, Father Francis Clement Kelley. For 110 years Catholic Extension has been building churches and the Church in America's poorest places and transforming lives through the power of faith.

Father Leahy is a member of the USA Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus who became the 25th president of Boston College in July 1996. He came to Boston College from Marquette University, where he had served as a faculty member for six years prior to serving as Executive Vice President. Father Leahy holds a doctorate in history from Stanford University, a Master of Arts in U.S. History from Saint Louis University, and master degrees in divinity and sacred theology from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California. He is the author of "Adapting to America: Catholics, Jesuits and Higher Education in the Twentieth Century."

Under Father Leahy's leadership, Boston College joined forces with Catholic Extension to provide educational opportunities for participants in a number of Catholic Extension programs. Since 2012, religious sisters, young adults and lay leaders from under-resourced mission dioceses have been able to study at Boston College's School of Theology and Ministry as well as at the Woods College of Advancing Studies.

The partnership has enabled Catholic Extension to offer scholarships to young adult leaders who serve in parish, diocesan and campus ministries throughout the United States to earn master degrees in theology and ministry. Additionally Hispanic lay leaders who study each summer at Boston College'sSchool of Theology and Ministry are able to pursue graduate certificates in Hispanic ministry.

About Catholic Extension

Catholic Extension builds churches and the Church in America's poorest places. Since its founding in 1905, Catholic Extension has distributed more than $1.2 billion to dioceses and parishes that cannot support themselves. Catholic Extension provides funding and resources for church buildings, leaders and ministries to build up and strengthen Catholic faith communities and unleash the transformative power of faith. For more information, please visit www.catholicextension.org.