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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 DeGioia, 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 John J. 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 Co-Chairs
Thomas and Allison 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. 

Shuttle Info

Complimentary shuttle bus service will be provided between Hilton Garden Inn Chelsea, Sheraton Times Square, and Chelsea Piers will be available before and after the dinner. More details to come.

Hotels with Courtesy Rates

For your convenience, we’ve arranged courtesy room holds at two hotels. Please use the links provided below to book your room or call the hotel directly and mention you are booking with the group “Commonweal.”

Hilton Garden Inn Chelsea 
121 West 28th St.
(212) 564-2181
Reservation link HERE
Booking cutoff date: September 3, 2026

Sheraton Times Square
811 7th Ave.
(212) 581-1000
Reservation link HERE
Booking cutoff date: September 4, 2026

Boutique Hotels
in the Area

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

The Jane Hotel, 113 Jane St.
(212) 924-6700
https://thejanenyc.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:

Paul Baumann
Matthew Boudway
Rand Richards Cooper
Claudia Avila Cosnahan
Neomi De Anda
Anthony Domestico  
Miles Doyle
Steve Eberle
Paul Elie 
Robert Ellsberg
Massimo Faggioli
Rita Ferrone
Dorothy Fortenberry
Natalia Imperatori-Lee
Lauren Kane
Cathleen Kaveny
Max Foley-Keene
Ellen B. Koneck
Carmen Nanko-Fernández
Fr. James Martin, SJ
Alice McDermott

Gold Sponsors:

Silver Sponsors:

Regina Munch
Griffin Oleynick
Mollie Wilson O’ Reilly
Hosffman Ospino
Dominic Preziosi
Santiago Ramos
Susan Bigelow Reynolds
Aaron Robertson
Robert Rubsam
Valerie Sayers
Heidi Schlumpf
Isa Simon
Matthew Sitman
Helene Stapinski
Alexander Stern
Peter Steinfels
Margaret O’Brien Steinfels
Meghan Sullivan
Steven Torres
Gabriella Wilke
More to come!