BENEDICTINE ACADEMY Features March 8 Lecture by Sister Simone Campbell, National Catholic Speaker on Social Justice and founder of "Nuns on the Bus" advocacy campaigns

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/February 17, 2015

ELIZABETH, NJ -- Benedictine Academy, the all-female Catholic college prep high school located in Elizabeth, is celebrating its one hundredth anniversary year with several special events designed to encourage students, parents, alumnae and the community to participate in honoring the Academy’s important milestone.

On Sunday March 8, Benedictine will feature a lecture by Sister Simone Campbell, Executive Director of NETWORK, a national Catholic social justice lobbying organization based in Washington, D.C. Sister Simone’s topic is “From One Bus Stop to the Next: Seeing Christ Among Us”. The lecture will be held Sunday, March 8 at 2:00 PM at the Kean University STEM Building Auditorium, 1000 Morris Avenue, Union, New Jersey 07083. Adults-$25 and Students, Priests, Religious Community Members -$10.00 The public is invited.

Sister Simone is considered by many to be the pre-eminent Catholic speaker on social justice today. A religious leader, attorney and poet with extensive experience in public policy and advocacy for change, she lobbies in Washington on issues of peace-building, immigration reform, healthcare and economic justice. She is the author of A Nun on the Bus: All of Us Can Create Hope, Change, and Community and has been featured in national media including 60 Minutes, The Colbert Report, and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

Additional Centennial celebration activities include a Grand Finale Gala Dinner and Auction to be held on April 24. Back to School Open House at Benedictine Academy will be held on Saturday, April 25 from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Information and ticket information for all events is available at www.benedictineacad.org or call Rosemary Anderson 908-352-0670 Ext.105

Benedictine Academy (BA) was founded by the Benedictine Sisters of Elizabeth in 1915 to serve young women in Elizabeth and surrounding communities. A Catholic college preparatory high school, the mission of the Academy is to educate young women to be responsible leaders of the 21st Century. The Academy offers a valuable educational experience to students of the Catholic and various Christian faiths representing the richness and variety of over twenty nationalities and cultures, primarily from Union and Essex Counties. Focusing on academic growth and character formation in the Benedictine tradition, the Academy challenges students to become life-long learners who are intellectually curious, rooted in the Gospel, and committed to justice and integrity. Academic achievement and personal growth are developed in a unique educational family setting. www.benedictineacad.org

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Background Information on Sister Simone Campbell

Sister Simone Campbell has served as Executive Director of NETWORK, a national Catholic social justice lobbying organization, since 2004. She is a religious leader, attorney and poet with extensive experience in public policy and advocacy for systemic change. In Washington, she lobbies on issues of peace-building, immigration reform, healthcare and economic justice. Around the country, she is a noted speaker and educator on these public policy issues.

During the 2010 congressional debate about healthcare reform, she wrote the famous “nuns’ letter” supporting the reform bill and got 59 leaders of Catholic Sisters, including LCWR, to sign on. This action was cited by many as critically important in passing the Affordable Care Act. She was thanked by President Obama and invited to the ceremony celebrating its being signed into law.

In 2012, she was also instrumental in organizing the “Nuns on the Bus” tour of nine states to oppose the “Ryan Budget” approved by the House of Representatives. This budget would decimate programs meant to help people in need. “Nuns on the Bus” received an avalanche of attention across the nation from religious communities, elected officials and the media.

She has led three cross-country Nuns on the Bus trips, focused on economic justice, comprehensive immigration reform, and (most recently) voter turnout.

Simone has often been featured in the national and international media, including recent appearances on 60 Minutes, The Colbert Report, and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

She has received numerous awards, including a “Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Award” and the “Defender of Democracy Award” from the international Parliamentarians for Global Action. In addition, she has been the keynote or featured speaker at numerous large gatherings, including the 2012 Democratic National Convention.

Prior to coming to NETWORK, Simone served as the Executive Director of JERICHO, the California interfaith public policy organization that works like NETWORK to protect the interests of people living in poverty. Simone also participated in a delegation of religious leaders to Iraq in December 2002, just prior to the war, and was later (while at NETWORK) part of a Catholic Relief Services delegation to Lebanon and Syria to study the Iraqi refugee situation there.

Before JERICHO, Simone served as the general director of her religious community, the Sisters of Social Service. She was the leader of her Sisters in the United States, Mexico, Taiwan and the Philippines. In this capacity, she negotiated with government and religious leaders in each of these countries.

In 1978, Simone founded and served for 18 years as the lead attorney for the Community Law Center in Oakland, California. She served the family law and probate needs of the working poor of her county.

She is also the author of A Nun on the Bus: How All of Us Can Create Hope, Change, and Community, published in April 2014 by HarperCollins.