‘A school that meets in the summer’: Institute for Black Catholic Studies celebrates 2025 commencement

July 22, 2025 | Black Catholic Messenger

Past IBCS professor Dr. M. Shawn Copeland served as the main speaker for the event at Xavier University of Louisiana, the nation’s Catholic HBCU.

NEW ORLEANS — “This is not a summer school, but a school that meets in the summer.”

The quote from Dominican sister Jamie T. Phelps rang through St. Katharine Drexel Chapel at Xavier University of Louisiana on Friday evening—recounted by retired Boston College professor Dr. M. Shawn Copeland during the 2025 graduation ceremony of the Institute for Black Catholic Studies, which held its 46th annual session this year.

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