FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kimberly Griffing [email protected] or Kevin P. Cox 336-758-5237 www.wfu.edu/wfunews
CARDINAL FRANCIS ARINZE TO DELIVER WAKE FOREST'S 1999 COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS
Cardinal Francis Arinze, a renowned Roman Catholic leader, will deliver the 1999 commencement address at Wake Forest University on May 17.
Approximately 1,446 undergraduate and graduate students will receive diplomas during the outdoor ceremony, which begins at 9 a.m. on University Plaza.
Arinze, frequently mentioned as a possible successor to Pope John Paul II, is president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, the Vatican's office for promoting mutual understanding, respect and collaboration between Catholics and followers of other religions.
Born in Nigeria, Arinze became an ordained priest in 1958, bishop in 1965 and an archbishop two years later. He was made a cardinal by Pope John Paul II in 1985.
In Africa, he served as the regional Catholic education secretary for eastern Nigeria, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria, and vice president for Africa of the United Bible Societies. In 1985, Arinze was appointed president of the Secretariat for Non-Christians, which was later renamed the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. Arinze serves on several sacred congregations of the Vatican and is part of a small group of cardinals helping plan Jubilee 2000, the church's millennium celebration. Arinze's nephew, Niki, is a member of Wake Forest's men's basketball team.
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For a downloadable picture of Cardinal Arinze visit http://www.wfunews/photos.
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