Sister Helen Prejean of “Dead Man Walking” Fame to Visit

New York Times #1 Best Selling author and international spokesperson for the wrongfully convicted and the abolition of capital punishment, Sister Helen Prejean will deliver the 2016 Arrupe Lecture on Tuesday, May 17th at 7:00pm at St. Bonaventure’s College.

Sister Helen was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She joined the Sisters of St Joseph of Medaille in 1957 (now known as the Congregation of St. Joseph). Sister Helen is the author of “Dead Man Walking,” a #1 New York Times Best Seller for 31 weeks.

In January 1996, the book was developed into a major motion picture starring Susan Sarandon as Sister Helen and Sean Penn as a death row inmate. The film received 4 Oscar nominations, including a Best Actress win for Susan Sarandon.

The lecture is named in honour of Father Pedro Arrupe, S.J., Superior General of the Jesuits, 1965-1983. The Jesuits are the largest religious order in the Roman Catholic Church with 17,000 men in 110 countries. St. Bon’s is a K-12 independent Jesuit school.

“Sister Helen Prejean is an inspirational force in the continuing debate to abolish the death penalty in the U.S.,” says Tom McGrath, President at St. Bonaventure’s College, “She is a gifted orator who has an extraordinary understanding of social justice.”

A brief biography on Sister Helen can be found here.