Bethany Welch, Ph.D., has been named the winner of the 2014 Cardinal Bernardin New Leadership Award. She is being recognized for her commitment to serving the immigrant and the stranger as founding director of the Aquinas Center at Saint Thomas Aquinas Parish in South Philadelphia. The award is sponsored by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, the national anti-poverty program of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Dr. Welch is a convert to Catholicism who worked with the diverse immigrant community of South Philadelphia to repurpose a former convent that is now a space for advocacy, social services, urban immersion experiences and revitalization projects.

Dr. Bethany Welch will be honored with the Cardinal Bernardin New Leadership Award at a reception June 11, 2014 during the Spring General Assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in New Orleans.

The Cardinal Bernardin New Leadership Award honors a Catholic between the age of 18 and 40 who demonstrates leadership in fighting poverty and injustice in the United States through community-based solutions.

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Editor's Note: For more information on the Aquinas Center visit http://staquinas.com/aquinascenter/.

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