Christendom College will honor Dr. Marianne Mount of Catholic Distance University, Leonardo Defilippis of Saint Luke Productions, and Dr. John Bruchalski of the Tepeyac Center during a special forty-fifth anniversary academic convocation on Saturday, September 17. Each will be honored for their incredible fidelity to the Catholic Church, with a special forty-fifth anniversary fireworks display following the convocation.
The academic convocation marks the first official commemoration of the college’s forty-fifth anniversary this academic year, with the community gathering on September 17 at the college’s St. Louis the Crusader Gymnasium to celebrate the college’s Catholic heritage and its mission to restore all things in Christ.
As part of the convocation, the college will honor three individuals that have demonstrated an incredible fidelity to the Catholic Church and have further served as an example of how to bring Christ into the modern world.
Dr. Marianne Evans Mount, the president of Catholic Distance University.
Dr. Marianne Evans Mount will be awarded the college’s St. Catherine of Siena Award for Distinguished Service to the Church and Catholic Higher Education. The president of Catholic Distance University, Mount earned her doctorate in Human Development from Virginia Tech and holds many degrees in a variety of academic disciplines. In the academic community, Mount currently serves on the Board of Directors of the International Partnership for Human Development and on the Audit Committee of the Distance Education and Training Council. She is also secretary of the Board of Trustees of Catholic Distance University. From 2000 to 2005, she served as associate director of the Board of Trustees for the Arlington Catholic Herald diocesan newspaper. As an innovative leader in the field of education, Mount has received numerous awards and served as a presenter for a variety of organizations.
Leonardo Defilippis, the founder of Saint Luke Productions.
Leonardo Defilippis, the founder of Saint Luke Productions, will be the college’s first Fra Angelico Award-winner for Excellence in Fine Arts in Service to the Beauty of the Catholic Faith. After years as a Shakespearean actor, Defilippis embarked on a spiritual journey that led him to found Catholic theater company, Saint Luke Productions, in 1980. Millions throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe have seen his work as an actor, producer, and film director. His work has inspired vocations to the religious life, and he has won numerous awards over the decades. He continues to tour with Vianney and Maximilian: Saint of Auschwitz.
Dr. John Bruchalski, founder of the Tepeyac Center.
Finally, Dr. John Bruchalski will be honored with the college’s Pro Deo et Patria Medal for Distinguished Service to God and Country to close the convocation. Bruchalski earned his medical degree from the University of South Alabama College of Medicine in 1987 and completed his OB/GYN residency at Eastern Virginia Medical Center and the Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1991. During his residency, Bruchalski performed abortions out of a desire to help women, but realized abortion was not achieving the freedom, health, and happiness they sought. Bruchalski returned to the Catholic Faith and felt God’s call to start a medical specialty practice that truly helped women. In 1994, Bruchalski founded Tepeyac OB/GYN in Fairfax, Virginia, committed to serving all women regardless of their beliefs, background, or financial situation. In 2000, he founded Divine Mercy Care which raises funds to cover the cost of prenatal care for approximately 30% of Tepeyac’s pregnant patients who are in financial need.
The academic convocation marks the first of many celebrations planned for Christendom’s forty-fifty anniversary, including a special forty-fifty anniversary Homecoming Weekend from October 7-9, and the dedication of the college’s new Christ the King Chapel on April 15, the Vigil of Divine Mercy Sunday.