Rabbi James Rudin to Become a Papal Knight

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It is a rare occurrence for an American rabbi to be honored with the Papal Knighthood of St. Gregory the Great. On Sunday, November 20th, Rabbi Rudin will join those respected ranks.

The Order of St Gregory is bestowed for conspicuous lay service to the Church on the recommendation of a diocesan bishop with the support of the papal nuncio. Pope Francis will recognize Rabbi A. James Rudin, Senior Interreligious Advisor of the American Jewish Committee, Distinguished Professor of Religion and Judaica at Saint Leo University, and co-founder of the University’s Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies, with a Papal Knighthood for his decades of work in building positive Catholic-Jewish relations throughout the world.

Via Saint Leo University:

At 1 p.m., Sunday, November 20, Cardinal Sean Patrick O’Malley, OFM of the Archdiocese of Boston, will represent Pope Francis and conduct the investiture ceremony at Saint Leo University. The public is invited to this historical event, followed by a dessert reception at 2 p.m. in the university’s Wellness Center, 33701 State Road 52, St. Leo, FL 33574. Register to attend the investiture ceremony in person here. Reservations are required. Parties of six or more should contact Dr. Matthew Tapie, director of the Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies, at matthew.tapie@saintleo.edu.

The ceremony will also be available via Livestream at https://www.saintleo.edu/papal-knighthood.

U.S. rabbi who worked on Jewish-Catholic relations to be knighted by pope

By Yonat Shimron

November 2, 2022,, at 12:20 p.m. EDT

https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2022/11/02/rabbi-pope-francis-james-rudin/

Rabbi A. James Rudin shakes hands with Pope John Paul II at World Youth Day in Denver in 1993. (Courtesy of James Rudin)

Rabbi A. James Rudin, a longtime interreligious affairs director for the American Jewish Committee, will be named a Papal Knight of Saint Gregory for his work on Catholic-Jewish relations, one of the few non-Catholics to receive the honor.

As a rabbi, he worked on Jewish-Catholic relations. Now the pope is knighting him.

Rabbi Eric J. Greenberg, who helped nominate Rudin for the knighthood, said the honor comes at a critical time of growing antisemitism. “This knighthood clearly demonstrates the evolving positive relations between Catholics and Jews.”

To Find Out Why Rabbi Rudin is Being Honored
Read His Memoir, Now

The People in the Room: Rabbis, Nuns, Pastors, Popes, and Presidents

Go behind the headlines and read the inside story told by “one who was in the room” as Christians and Jews—strangers and adversaries for nearly twenty centuries—reversed that sad history and created an extraordinary revolution of the human spirit. Told by a global interreligious leader, this authoritative book is the riveting personal account of the significant issues and prominent personalities he encountered in the vital effort to permanently change the relationship between two of the world’s major religious communities.
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