Saint Leo University’s Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies to Honor Rev. Dr. Dennis McManus at 2026 Eternal Light Award Dinner

Saint Leo University’s Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies (CCJS) will honor Rev. Dr. Dennis McManus, an American Catholic priest and scholar, with its 2026 Eternal Light Award at the 29th annual Eternal Light Award Dinner on Sunday, November 15, in Tampa. Open to the public, the event will feature dinner, a keynote address by McManus, and an opportunity for members of the Catholic, Jewish, academic, and broader Tampa Bay communities to engage in conversation and reflection on the future of Catholic-Jewish relations.

Individual tickets are $90 and include hors d’oeuvres, drinks, dinner, and dessert. Tickets and table sponsorship information are available at your.saintleo.edu/ccjs/elad through Friday, October 30. A limited number of student scholarships are available by contacting Laurie Gens at Laurie.Gens@saintleo.edu. 

A reception and speaker meet-and-greet for major donors will begin at 4:30 p.m., followed by a reception for all event attendees at 5:15 p.m. Dinner and the program will run from 6 to 8 p.m. The event will take place at Higgins Hall at St. Lawrence Catholic Church, 5225 N. Himes Ave., Tampa.

"This annual gathering brings people of different backgrounds together to reflect on the importance of building mutual respect and understanding through interreligious study and dialogue," said Dr. Matthew Tapie, director of the CCJS and associate professor of theology and religion. "We invite members of the Tampa Bay community to join us for an evening of conversation and learning as we reflect on the progress made in Catholic-Jewish relations and the work that remains."

This year’s program is titled “Reflections on the Challenge and Promise of Catholic-Jewish Relations Today.” The 2026 Eternal Light Award recognizes McManus for his dedicated efforts to promote greater understanding between the two faith traditions. His work has focused extensively on Catholic-Jewish relations, the history of anti-Judaism in Christianity, and the theological and liturgical implications of Nostra Aetate, the 1965 Vatican declaration that positively transformed Catholic-Jewish relations.

Dr. Shira Billet and Rabbi Noam Marans also will offer comments during the program. Billet is assistant professor of Jewish Thought and Ethics at the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), while Marans is director of Interreligious Affairs at the American Jewish Committee (AJC).

Dr. Jim Burkee, university president, will speak about the future of Saint Leo, and Dr. Bryan DePoy, provost and vice president of academic affairs, will close out the program. 

Since 1998, CCJS has presented the Eternal Light Award to scholars who have made outstanding contributions to Catholic-Jewish dialogue and relations. CCJS is dedicated to advancing mutual respect, understanding, and appreciation among Catholics, Jews, and all people of goodwill through education, scholarship, and interreligious dialogue.

Program Contributors

Rev. Dr. Dennis McManus, the 2026 Eternal Light Award recipient, is a professor of theology at St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park, California, and has served since 2009 as Delegate for Jewish Affairs for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

McManus has participated in several official Catholic-Jewish dialogues and previously was a visiting professor and associate director of the Center for Jewish Civilization at Georgetown University. His scholarship includes work examining the continuing significance of Nostra Aetate and the development of Catholic-Jewish relations since the Holocaust.

Dr. Shira Billet is assistant professor of Jewish Thought and Ethics at the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) and academic director of JTS’s Hendel Center for Ethics and Justice. Her scholarship focuses on Jewish philosophy and Jewish thought, particularly in 19th- and early 20th-century Germany and Europe.

Rabbi Noam Marans, director of Interreligious Affairs at the American Jewish Committee (AJC), heads AJC’s global interfaith outreach and advocacy. Marans previously served as chair of IJCIC, the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations, the official dialogue partner of world Jewry with the Vatican, Ecumenical Patriarchate, World Council of Churches, World Evangelical Alliance, and other bodies.

The event’s co-chairs are Jeffrey Berger, immediate past president of the Tampa JCCs and Federation, and Fr. Curtis Carro, director of the Diocese of Saint Petersburg Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs and pastor of St. Raphael Catholic Church. Honorary co-chairs are Bishop Gregory Parkes, bishop of the Diocese of Saint Petersburg, and Drs. Paula and Carl Zielonka, Jewish community supporters and philanthropists. The event is co-sponsored by the Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg.

Mission and History of CCJS

The mission of the Saint Leo University Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies is to build mutual respect, understanding, and appreciation among Jews, Catholics, and all people of goodwill by providing opportunities for interreligious education and dialogue.  Inspired by Nostra Aetate, a declaration of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) that provided a new and positive framework for the Catholic Church’s relationship with the Jewish people, CCJS facilitates theological study and dialogue among Christians and Jews at the scholarly level, in the classroom, and in the local community.

The Center was established in 1998 through the joint efforts of Saint Leo University, the American Jewish Committee, and several principal founders, including Rabbi A. James Rudin, senior interreligious advisor to the AJC; Dr. Arthur F. Kirk Jr., president emeritus of Saint Leo University; Bishop Emeritus John J. Nevins of the Diocese of Venice; and Bishop Emeritus Robert Lynch of the Diocese of St. Petersburg. Given Florida’s growing and diverse population, these leaders recognized the need for an academic center devoted to the biblical and theological study of Catholic-Jewish relations and interreligious dialogue, as emphasized by the Second Vatican Council.

Today, CCJS is a leading academic center for the study of Catholic-Jewish relations and remains the only one of its kind in the Southeast. Its key programs and events serve three complementary audiences: students, scholars, and the local community.