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Dave Larsen writes about higher education.
Kelly Mori writes about health and higher education.Home > Blogs > On Campus > Archives > 2010 > January > 25 > Entry
UD’s Marian Research Institute installs new director
The Rev. Francois Rossier received high approval before being installed today, Monday, Jan. 25, as the new executive director of the Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute at the University of Dayton.
Rossier’s role is the only position at UD that has to be approved by the Vatican, according to university officials.
The Marian Library and Institute is a world-renowned center of scholarship and learning about Mary, the mother of Christ.
Rossier, a Marianist priest, will be installed at 5 p.m. today in a formal ceremony and prayer service in the Immaculate Conception Chapel on UD’s campus. The ceremony will be attended by university and church officials, including the new Archbishop of Cincinnati Dennis Schnurr, and the Rev. Jim Fitz, assistant provincial of the Society of Mary. A reception will follow at 6 p.m. at the Kennedy Union’s Torch Lounge.
As part of the installation, Rossier will give a talk about the importance of Mary in Christianity and why it is studied at UD, a Catholic university founded by the Society of Mary.
“There is a renewal of interest in Mary around the world,” Rossier said. “She’s the most written-about woman in the entire human history, and she’s an emblem of Catholic tradition and identity.”
Rossier was born in 1957 in Fribourg, Switzerland. He took his first vows in 1984 and was ordained in 1991. Rossier came to Dayton in 2003.
Rossier’s focus is on teaching and researching Biblical text that speak of Mary. With a master’s degree in literature, he also examines how Mary is portrayed in popular culture and contemporary literature, such as Dan Brown’s thrillers and Sara Paretsky’s V.I. Warshawski detective novels.
Rossier succeeds the Rev. Johann Roten, another Swiss Marianist, who headed the institute for more than 20 years, leading its expansive growth and taking it into the digital age. Roten, an internationally recognized expert on Mary, also will be honored at the ceremony.
UD’s Marian Library is the world’s largest and most comprehensive repository of printed materials on Mary, with 75,000 books and nearly 150,000 articles and pamphlets. Its art collection includes an estimated 3,600 Nativity scenes, one of the largest collections in the U.S.
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By Cat
January 26, 2010 7:09 AM | Link to this
If you have never been into the Marian Library archives, those that are open to the public, please visit. It’s truly a little appreciated gem, outside of the UD community. I studied under Father Roten years ago and there is so much information and beautiful artwork there. Welcome to a new Director.