Boston College to Honor Immigrant Roots with Naturalization Ceremony

As part of the school's 150th anniversary celebration, Boston College will honor its immigrant roots this Thursday, March 21 with a naturalization ceremony. 

The ceremony will be held in BC's Robsham Theatre at 3 p.m. and will feature 100 immigrants from 42 countries taking the oath of allegiance to become US citizens, according to a press release issued by BC. US District Court Judge George A. O’Toole, Jr. will preside over the ceremony.

According to history detailed on BC's website, the university was founded in 1864 and served the sons of the Irish working class. 

Thursday's naturalization ceremony will not only celebrate Boston College's history, it will also kick off a two-day symposium on US immigration, the press release said.

"Migration: Past, Present and Future" takes place March 21-22 and will feature a number of panels and speeches from immigration experts including Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, Archbishop Emeritus of Washington, DC, Rev. Mark Raper, SJ, president of the Jesuits Conference of Asia Pacific and Ray Suarez, "PBS NewsHour" senior correspondent.

The symposium's opening keynote address, "The Border is Not a Straight Line," will take place Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Robsham Theatre. Author and essayist Richard Rodriguez will speak as well as BC Professor of Theology and Director of BC's Centre for Human Rights and International Justice David Hollenbach, SJ. 

BC’s James O’Toole will give a keynote address Friday afternoon titled “Boston College and the Immigrant Experience: The First 150 Years" and BC Professor of History Kevin Kenny will speak on the school's history of serving immigrant populations.

A full schedule for the symposium events is available online.