© 2026 Commonweal Magazine. All rights reserved.

ARCHIVE

PODCASTS

SUBSCRIBE

HOME

DONATE

Join us as Commonweal marks 102 years of continuous publication

The evening will include a cocktail reception overlooking the Hudson River, followed by dinner and a program honoring Rev. John I. Jenkins, CSC, President Emeritus of the University of Notre Dame, with the Commonweal Centennial Award. 

A tradition of gathering for conversation and community in support of Commonweal…

Since 2005, Commonweal has hosted a biennial gala, gathering friends, writers, and readers from around the country to honor individuals whose noteworthy work, informed and inspired by their Catholic faith, serves the common good. Over the years, Commonweal has honored luminaries like Tim Shriver, Mark Shields, Sr. Carol Keehan, Kerry Robinson, and Amy Goldman, as well as university presidents John Sexton, John DeGoia, and Tania Tetlow, who was the inaugural Centennial Award recipient.

United States Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr. (co-chair)
Rod Hochman (co-chair)
President & CEO, Providence St. Joseph Health
Anthony R. Tersigni (co-chair)
President and CEO, Ascension
Tim Welsh (co-chair)
Vice Chair, US Bank
James T. Morley, Jr. - Jane B. O'Connell - Leo J. O'Donovan, SJ - Barbara Mullin Rosiello

2020 Event Committee

Get your tickets or reserve your table today

This year, we are pleased to honor Rev. John I. Jenkins, CSC, President Emeritus of the University of Notre Dame.

Fr. Jenkins was named the seventeenth president of Notre Dame in 2005. Under his leadership, the university continued to pursue academic excellence with a renewed emphasis to its mission of educating the whole person—mind, body, and spirit—to do good in the world. He stepped down as president in 2024, after serving four terms.

Throughout his tenure at Notre Dame, Fr. Jenkins has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to higher education, civil discourse, and ethical considerations of the most pressing issues of the day. And, for more than two decades, he has worked to enhance Notre Dame’s influence within higher education, the Catholic Church, the United States, and the world at large.

PROGRAM

6:30 Cocktail hour overlooking the Hudson River

7:30 Dinner & Program, including:

• Remarks from Commonweal editor Dominic Preziosi
  
  
• Presentation of Commonweal Centennial Award by Jack Brennan
  

• Remarks from award winner Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.
  
  
• More details to come
  

FEATURED GUESTS

Featured Guests

United States Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr. (co-chair)
Rod Hochman (co-chair)
President & CEO, Providence St. Joseph Health
Anthony R. Tersigni (co-chair)
President and CEO, Ascension
Tim Welsh (co-chair)
Vice Chair, US Bank
James T. Morley, Jr. - Jane B. O'Connell - Leo J. O'Donovan, SJ - Barbara Mullin Rosiello

2020 Event Committee

FEATURED GUESTS

Matthew Boudway • Vinson Cunningham • Neomi De Anda • E. J. Dionne • Anthony Domestico • Miles Doyle • Paul Elie • Massimo Faggioli • Rita Ferrone • Mary Gordon • Natalia Imperatori-Lee • Lauren Kane • Eugene McCarraher • Alice McDermott • John McGreevy • Paul Moses • Regina Munch • Carmen Nanko-Fernández • Griffin Oleynick • Mollie Wilson O’Reilly • Hoffsman Ospino • Dominic Preziosi • Bernard Prusak • Susan Bigelow Reynolds • Valerie Sayers • Isa Simon • Matthew Sitman • Margaret O’Brien Steinfels • Peter Steinfels • Alex Stern • And more!

DINNER COMMITTEE
in formation

Dinner Chair
Thomas Franco

Committee Members
Thomas Baker
John J. Brennan
Natalia Imperatori-Lee
Chris Lowney
James T. Morley
Daniel R. Murray
Constance A. O’Brien
Dennis O’Brien
Jane B. O’Connell
Kerry Alys Robinson
Barbara Rosiello
Paul Saunders
Meghan Sullivan

Look forward to seeing some of your favorite writers, editors, and friends of Commonweal on October 5!

Can't make it to the dinner but still want to support our benefit dinner?

Cocktail attire is requested

DRESS CODE

PROCEEDS

All proceeds support Commonweal’s continued investment in writers, readers, editors, and technology. Your contribution to Commonweal is tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

QUESTIONS?

Please contact Eva Ting, event coordinator, for any logistical questions: eva.y.ting@gmail.com  or call 212-662-4200 ext. 8018 to reach Ellen Koneck, executive director of Commonweal.

ACCOMMODATIONS
& LOGISTICS

Parking at Chelsea Piers

On-site parking is available at hourly rates, with complimentary twenty-minute parking for pick-ups or drop-offs. More details on parking at Chelsea Piers can be found HERE.

Taxis and Ride Shares

Taxis and ride-sharing companies are welcome transportation options. All vehicles have twenty minutes of free access to Chelsea Piers in order to drop off and pick up passengers. 

Getting to Chelsea Piers by Public Transit

Take the 1, 6, C, E, F, M, R, or W subway lines to 23rd Street to connect with the westbound M23 bus that stops directly in front of Chelsea Piers. It’s a fifteen-minute walk from the 23rd Street subway station. The M14D and M12 bus lines are also a five-minute walk to the Piers. 

Recommended Hotels

Commonweal will reserve blocks at two hotels. Check back for details soon.

Shuttle Info

Complimentary shuttle bus service will be provided between the hotels at which Commonweal will have room blocks and the venue that evening.

Boutique Hotels
in the Area

Hotel Hugo
525 Greenwich St.
(212) 608-4848
https://www.hotelhugony.com

Chelsea Pines Inn
317 W. 14th St.
(212) 929-1023
https://www.chelseapinesinn.com

Get your tickets or reserve your table today

THANKS TO OUR DINNER SPONSORS

Bronze Sponsors:

More details to come

Gold Sponsors