Msgr. Robert T. McDermott is presented his Award for Outstanding Catholic Leadership from Bishop Joseph Galante at a ceremony sponsored by Catholic Leadership Institute in Drexel Hill, Pa., on Nov. 12. Children from the Catholic Partnership Schools Choir, below, helped commemorate the evening with their performance of “God of This City.”
Msgr. Robert T. McDermott, vicar general of the Diocese of Camden, was honored on Friday, Nov. 12, at the 2010 Awards for Outstanding Catholic Leadership.
Catholic Leadership Institute (CLI) and over 650 individuals from around the country gathered to honor Msgr. McDermott and three other honorees at the Drexelbrook in Drexel Hill, Pa.
The award recognizes the accomplishments of women and men — lay, clergy, and religious — whose exemplary leadership in the family, the workplace, the community and the church has been inspired by their Catholic faith.
Msgr. McDermott is pastor of St. Joseph Pro-Cathedral Parish, Camden, and founder of the St. Joseph’s Carpenter Society and the Romero Center.
Founded in 1985, SJCS strives to improve the quality of life of East Camden residents by promoting affordable homeownership and sustainable neighborhood development.
To improve the neighborhood, SJCS redevelops abandoned properties and sells new or rehabilitated homes to community residents, who are often looking to transition from renting to owning. Last year, SJCS marked the development of its 800th home.
SJCS created the Campbell Soup Homeowner Academy in 1993. Since then, over 6,700 people have participated in SJCS’s classes on homeownership and home maintenance. Any individual wishing to purchase an SJCS home is required to participate in the homeownership education program.
The Romero Center is an urban retreat and social justice education center in East Camden.
The CLI dinner and awards reception was held in Drexel Hill, Pa. The other honorees were Dr. Rosalie Mirenda, president of Neumann University; Mother Mary Assumpta Long, O.P., co-foundress and prioress general of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist; and Matthew Kelly, speaker and bestselling author.
“These individuals have taken their God-given gifts and talents and gone out and transformed the world and in turn become outstanding Catholic leaders and role models. Each of the honorees is a true testament to the peace, love and joy that comes from living a life devoted to the Lord,” said Timothy C. Flanagan, founder and chair of Catholic Leadership Institute.
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