At its 2012 Commencement exercises on May 12, Thomas Aquinas College awarded its highest honor, The Saint Thomas Aquinas Medallion, to three eminently worthy recipients: Mr. Peter L. Deluca, Dr. John W. Neumayr, and Mother Mary Assumpta Long, O.P.

[audio = Mother Assumpta 2012]

The Joy Filled Heart of a Thomist: Proclaiming the Gospel with Love, Life, and Learning

During the last days of classes before final examinations, 31 Thomas Aquinas College juniors gathered in the rotunda of St. Thomas Hall to sing five hymns. The brief performance marked the latest chapter in a young but increasingly anticipated campus tradition.

Address to Friends and Alumni
of Thomas Aquinas College

By William McGurn

Earlier this month William McGurn, vice president for News Corporation and author of the weekly “Main Street” column in the Wall Street Journal, was the featured speaker at a reception for friends and alumni of Thomas Aquinas College in New York City. The text below is adapted from his remarks that evening.

THANK YOU, President McLean, for those kind words.

On the morning of Friday, April 20, Thomas Aquinas College was graced by the visit of the superiors of some 20 North American religious communities belonging to the Servants of Mary, Ministers to the Sick. The sisters, who were in the area for their annual provincial meeting, have as their charism serving the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the ill by traveling to their homes to provide nursing services and to keep vigil at their bedsides.

On April 15, 2009, Thomas Aquinas College President Thomas E. Dillon died tragically in an automobile accident while traveling to Ireland to represent the College at an academic conference. This past Sunday — the third anniversary of his death — members of Dr. Dillon’s family and the greater College community met at his Santa Paula gravesite to pray for the repose of his soul. As it was also the Feast of Divine Mercy, those praying recited the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.

On Thursday, March 29, students at Thomas Aquinas College were treated to an hour-long question-and-answer session with a visitor who is widely considered among the world’s greatest living actors, Sir Anthony Hopkins.

On Saturday, March 24, Thomas Aquinas College hosted the semi-annual Legatus-Aquinas Forum for some 17 members and guests of the Ventura-North Los Angeles and Orange County chapters of Legatus, the international organization of Catholic business executives. The day began with Mass in Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel, offered by College Chaplain Rev. Cornelius Buckley, S.J.

The above video contains highlights from the March 14, 2012, San Francisco reception in honor of Thomas Aquinas College’s head chaplain, Rev. Cornelius M. Buckley, S.J. The event, which marked Fr. Buckley’s 50th anniversary as a priest as well as the official launch of the Fr.