Meeting a Hero

It is not every day that you get to meet someone you consider a hero, but yesterday I had the chance. Father Ian Ker, the biographer of Blessed John Henry Newman was in Washington to deliver a lecture at Catholic University. Last year, at the time of the beatification of Cardinal Newman, father Ker contributed an item to this blog. And, so when I heard he was coming, I emailed him and we arranged to meet for coffee. In the event, Father Ker also wanted to say Mass before heading to campus, so we shared the Eucharist together as well.
To say that Ker is an engaging conversationalist is to trivialize the depth of his learning. I can say that sharing a bit of time with this great scholar was one of the highlights of my year. And, kudos to CUA President John Garvey for bring Father Ker to campus.