STEUBENVILLE, OH—In response to sustained growth in student enrollment, Franciscan University of Steubenville will host its first-ever December commencement ceremony on Saturday, December 13, 2008. This announcement was posted October 29, 2008.
Bachelor’s and master’s degrees will be awarded to the approximately 180 students who have qualified for graduation since May 2008.
Events begin at 10:00 a.m. Saturday with the Baccalaureate Mass in Finnegan Fieldhouse. The main celebrant and homilist will be Father Mitch Pacwa, SJ, who will receive an honorary doctorate in Christian ethics.
Known to millions of television viewers as the host of EWTN Live and other programs on the EWTN television and radio networks, Father Pacwa works arduously to educate Catholics about their faith and teach people about the Scriptures. He is the founder of Ignatius Productions and has written books and produced videos on apologetics, the sacrament of confession, the New Age movement, the Holy Land, Eastern religions, and many other faith topics. He is often called upon to explain and defend the Catholic faith on the national media and speaks at over 30 Catholic conferences each year. Fluent in 12 languages, including Arabic, Aramaic, Hebrew, and Koine Greek, he has led over 50 pilgrimages to the Holy Land.
Immediately following Mass, the graduate and undergraduate commencement will take place in Finnegan Fieldhouse. The December 2008 graduating class of approximately 105 undergraduate and 70 graduate students will represent 30 states as well as Korea, Jamaica, and Canada. Theology, mental health, English, business, and biology are the top five majors of this graduating class.
During the ceremony, John and Sheila Kippley will receive honorary doctorates in Christian ethics for a lifetime of work teaching Natural Family Planning (NFP) and upholding sexual morality in marriage. John Kippley will deliver the commencement address.
Married 45 years, the Kippleys began teaching Natural Family Planning in 1971, devoting much of their early efforts to countering negative stereotypes associated with NFP and becoming among the first lay advocates of Pope Paul VI’s prophetic 1968 encyclical, Humanae Vitae.
Since then the Kippleys have become some of the leading voices of the Natural Family Planning movement within the Catholic Church, receiving the endorsement of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops along the way. To date, well 
over 200,000 couples have attended NFP classes in the U.S. alone, and thousands of books, tapes, and newsletters on NFP have been distributed worldwide. In 2004 the Kippleys established Natural Family Planning International to continue their efforts to educate couples on the problems of birth control and the positive benefits of Natural Family Planning and breastfeeding.
Graduates will receive their degrees from Franciscan University president Father Terence Henry, TOR, with Father Christian Oravec, TOR, chairman of the Board of Trustees, and other University representatives presiding at the ceremony.
More information about December 2008 commencement activities is available online, and live streaming video of the day’s events will also be available on the University’s Web site beginning at 10:00 a.m.
© 2008 Franciscan University of Steubenville