USML Honors Msgr. Milam Joseph
On March 12, representatives from the University of Saint Mary of the Lake in Illinois joined friends and family of Rev. Msgr. Milam Joseph in Dallas to recognize and honor the impact that he has made and continues to make in the service of the church.
Msgr. Joseph delivered the 2023 Cardinal Meyer lecture, “An Immigrant Church: Stories of Encounter” at USML and that lecture was recently published in Chicago Studies, the journal of the university.
The lecture recounted details from Msgr. Joseph’s time in Tyler, Texas and the events that ultimately led to the landmark 1982 Supreme Court case Plyler v. Doe, which upheld the rights of undocumented children to receive public education. Msgr. Joseph emphasized his upbringing as the grandson of working-class Lebanese immigrants, and how that instilled in him the importance of family, hard work, and the sacramental nature of true love. Accompanying his article are photos he shared from various moments in his life—his father’s small hat shop, his first encounter with his Great Aunt Selma, a letter from Judge William Wayne Justice, and more—all illustrating the profound impact of God’s love in delivering justice and hope.
Fr. Francis Bitterman, Vice Rector, and Dr. Brian Schmisek, Provost and Cardinal George Chair of Faith and Culture, presented Msgr. Joseph with a framed copy of the cover, signed by Cardinal Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago.
The evening also celebrated and recognized Msgr. Joseph for establishing the M. John and Anne Joseph Endowed Scholarship at USML, “to perpetuate, partially support and uphold the educational and scholarship work of the School of Parish Leadership and Evangelization with direct tuition assistance to our Hispanic students attending The University of St. Mary of the Lake.”
The University of Saint Mary of the Lake educates and forms priests, deacons, and lay leaders to serve the Church and its people. The campus is home to Mundelein Seminary and The School of Parish Leadership and Evangelization, a major seminary and school of theology for the Archdiocese of Chicago and beyond for over a century. To learn more about the University of Saint Mary of the Lake and the programs it offers, visit www.usml.edu
