USF president stephen privett to deliver invocation at tomorrow's swearing in of US speaker of the house nancy pelosi

i just learned that the university of san francisco's president, rev. stephen a. privett, s.j., has been invited by speaker-elect nancy pelosi to deliver an invocation prior to her being sworn in as US speaker of the house.

via the USF press release:

Colleagues,

USF's President, Rev. Stephen A. Privett, S.J., has been invited by Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi to deliver an invocation just before she is sworn in as Speaker of the House. On Thursday, January 4, 2007, Father Privett will offer the opening prayer on the floor of the House in Washington D.C., at 12:00 noon Eastern time.

In addition, Anne-Marie Devine sent me the following message this morning. Ann-Marie recently joined us as Assistant Director of Media Relations.

Leading up to the ceremony, Fr. Privett will appear on KTVU's (Fox 2) morning news program during a five-minute live interview with Ross McGowen at 7:15am pacific time. Fr. Privett will discuss the theme of his invocation and the honor of being part of this momentous event.

This is a great honor for our President and for the University. Upon his return, we shall encourage him to post the text of his prayer on his web-page.

Dave Macmillan

what an honor and an opportunity.

i've seen father privett speak numerous times and each time he engages people in issues that matter. he focuses - and encourages us to focus - on social justice, human rights, and the need for dramatic change. father privett's delivering the invocation is certainly an honor for the university of san francisco. but more importantly, it gives voice, however temporary, to social justice, human rights, and dramatic change - three things desperately needed in washington, dc.