Deutsch to deliver Oesterreicher Memorial Lecture

Sister Celia Deutsch

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Research scholar and Barnard College professor Sister Celia M. Deutsch will present “A Journey to Dialogue: The Sisters of Sion and Jewish-Christian Relations” at the 26th Monsignor John M. Oesterreicher Memorial Lecture on Thursday, Oct. 31, at 7 p.m. in the Caroline D. Schwartz College of Nursing Amphitheatre on Seton Hall University’s South Orange campus, 400 South Orange Ave.

This annual lecture honors the life and work of Oesterreicher, who founded the Institute of Judaeo-Christian Studies at Seton Hall University in 1953. He was ordained in 1927, amid rising religious tension in Germany. As an anti-Nazi-party activist, he sought to promote a relationship between Christians and Jews to fight anti-Semitism. His involvement in the Vatican Council II’s Declaration of the Church’s Relation to Non-Christian Religions focused on nurturing Jewish-Christian dialogue.

Deutsch is a member of the Sisters of Sion, a Roman Catholic congregation dedicated to interfaith relations. She will speak on the sisters’ involvement in World War II and specifically pre-war rescue efforts. Engaged in interreligious dialogue at the national, international and local levels, she is the author of “Lady Wisdom, Jesus, and the Sages: Metaphor and Social Context in Matthew’s Gospel” and other works of biblical scholarship. 

The event is free and open to the public; however, registration is encouraged by emailing Lawrence.Frizzell@shu.edu or calling 973-761-9751.