SJU Class of 2025 Commencement Celebration

Authors

• Doug Mullin, College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's UniversityFollow
• LeAnne Matthews, College of Saint Benedict
• Brian Bruess, College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's UniversityFollow
• Canaan Cooper, College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University
• William Lies, Congregation of Holy Cross
• Richard Ice, College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's UniversityFollow
• Shawn Colberg, College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's UniversityFollow
• Jeff DuBois, College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's UniversityFollow
• Bill Olson

Document Type

Presentation

Publication Date

5-17-2025

Abstract

Saint John's Abbey and University Church
Saint John's University
Collegeville, MN


371 graduates (343 undergraduate and 28 graduate students from the Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary)

Fr. Bill Lies, CSC, a 1984 graduate and the provincial superior of the U.S. Province of Congregation of Holy Cross delivered the Saint John's commencement address.

Fr. Bill Lies received his bachelor’s degree from SJU in English with minors in French and philosophy, followed by a Master of Divinity from the University of Notre Dame and a Ph.D. in Latin American politics from the University of Pittsburgh. He professed Final Vows in the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1993 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1994.

As provincial superior, Lies oversees the work and welfare of more than 400 priests, brothers and seminarians in the U.S. Province, which includes missions in Chile, Peru and Mexico.

Before becoming provincial superior, Lies was vice president for mission engagement and church affairs at Notre Dame, a role he began in March of 2012.

He formerly served as executive director of the Center for Social Concerns at Notre Dame (2002-12) and taught in the Department of Political Science. In 2013, Fr. Bill received Catholic Charities U.S.A.’s “Keep the Dream Alive” award, which honors Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

He is a fellow of both the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and the Kellogg Institute for International Studies.

Canaan Cooper of The Bahamas, who graduated with a degree in biochemistry, was the student speaker at SJU.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Mullin, Doug; Matthews, LeAnne; Bruess, Brian; Cooper, Canaan; Lies, William; Ice, Richard; Colberg, Shawn; DuBois, Jeff; and Olson, Bill, "SJU Class of 2025 Commencement Celebration" (2025). Saint John’s University Commencement Speakers. 9.
https://digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/commencement_sju/9