Benjamin J. Urmston,
S.J.
After thirty-seven years at Xavier, twenty-seven years as founder of Xavier Peace and Justice Programs, twenty-five years as administrative secretary and initiator of the Peace Studies Minor, Twenty-eight years as host of the weekly radio show Faith and Justice Forum, Fr. Urmston is now Director Emeritus of Peace and Justice Programs and Coordinator of the Vision of Hope Speaker Series
"What is it to be a Jesuit? It is to know that one is a sinner, yet called to be a companion of Jesus. It is to engage under the standard of the Cross, in the crucial struggle of our time: the struggle for faith and that struggle for justice which it includes." (Thirty-second International Congregation of the Society of Jesus, Decree Two.) Whatever I have been able to achieve has been by the grace of God.
Academic Degrees
A.B.
Classics; M.A. Philosophy; STL, Theology; M.Rel.Ed. Religious Education;
Ph.D. Peace Studies
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"It is only appropriate to celebrate the tenth anniversary
of the Dorothy Day Medal by honoring the man behind Peace and Justice at For fifty
plus years as a Jesuit, twenty-five plus years as a Brendon J. Cull, Xavier Student, All-Honors Day Program, April 19, 1997. |
On April 20, 1977, The
Orchid Award was given to Benjamin J. Urmston, S.J.
by the Tri-State Air Committee, a citizens group concerned with the quality of
the air in
On January 20, 1978, Archbishop Joseph L. Bernardin recognized Rev. Benjamin J. Urmston, S.J. "for his contribution to Catholic Social Action through notable service as a member of the Archdiocesan Social Action Commission, worthy of the sincere gratitude of all who have collaborated with him."
On April 2, 1987 Most
Reverend Daniel E. Pilarczyk, Archbishop of
On September 28, 1997, Fr. Benjamin J. Urmston, S.J. was given the Golden Microphone award by
Xavier University's WVXU.FM for twenty years of successful weekly programming
on Faith and Justice Forum, the Response of Religious Groups to the needs of
the larger community. From 1977 to 1997 there were over 1000 shows!
On August 6, 1998, Fr. Benjamin J. Urmston, S.J., Ph.D. was awarded the Manhattan College Peace Studies Medal by Dr. Joseph J. Fahey on behalf of the faculty and students of the Manhattan Peace Studies Program "to recognize his outstanding and significant contribution to peacemaking and Peace Studies through his personal life and institutional witness."
On April 26, 2002, Fr. Benjamin J. Urmston, S.J. was given the Xavier University Muslim Student Association Award of Recognition "In honor of his work and dedication to support the goals of the Muslim Student Association and promotion of Islamic awareness on campus."
On December 8, 2002, Fr. Benjamin J. Urmston, S.J. was given a Rev. Maurice McCrackin Award.
Conclusion of Building
the Beloved Community , Maurice McCrackin's
Life for Peace and Civil Rights: "Maurice McCrackin's
story is one of great adventure, conflict, suffering, and triumph. The
course of his life was motivated surprisingly by a very simple and powerful
ideal, learned as a youth. .try to do as Jesus would do.
That ideal led Maurice McCrackin to the ministry, to
On November 6, 2003, Fr. Benjamin J. Urmston, S.J. was given the "Religious Leader of the Year Award for his commitment to the Contact Center, the Cincinnati Welfare Rights Coalition, and the Ohio Empowerment Coalition."
In 2004 an article by Fr.
Benjamin Urmston, S.J. "Human Rights" was
printed in Keeping the Faith in
In Winter 2006 175th Anniversary Commemorative Issue of Xavier Magazine, Anne Marie Bourgeois, Xavier alumna, one of the five first women graduates, Master of Arts in clinical psychology, 1975, Psychologist, artist. Hindsight is 20/20: "I now appreciate the philosophy and theology courses we were required to take." She singles out Benjamin J. Urmston, S.J., John N. Felton, S.J., and Edward B. Brueggeman, S.J., among others, as "a credit to the Jesuit community and to Xavier."
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The Society
of Jesus is an international order that met in 1975 and affirmed as a priority
the integration of faith and justice on a world-wide basis. I have been able to
go on study trips with peace and justice groups to the former Soviet Union, the
Mondragon worker cooperatives in
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A recent indirect word of encouragement written to Fr. Walter Deye, S.J., President of St. Xavier High School from an
alumnus:
"Father, Thank you
again. I corresponded by e-mail with Father Urmston
within the last year after spending some time with the many peace resources on
his web site. I even managed to listen to one or two of his radio shows. He is
having an effect beyond
Peter Broeman
7/17/08