EWTN host is keynote speaker at annual Celebrate Life dinner
By Mary Ann Wyand
Internationally known journalist Raymond Arroyo will make the news instead of reporting it as the keynote speaker for the 24th annual Celebrate Life dinner on Sept. 14 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis.
Arroyo is the host and creator of EWTN’s “The World Over Live,” which is watched by more than 100 million people around the world.
He interviewed Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger—now Pope Benedict XVI—in 2003 and Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, and earned numerous awards for his reporting. He also worked for the Associated Press and was a Capitol Hill correspondent.
The 7 p.m. awards dinner is sponsored by Right to Life of Indianapolis, and will raise funds for pro-life radio advertisements as well as educational programs at area high schools.
During the dinner, the organization also will recognize Dr. Paul Jarrett, an Indianapolis obstetrician and gynecologist, with its Respect Life Award and honor three members of the Boarini family, from St. Luke Parish in Indiana-polis, with its Charles E. Stimming Pro-Life Award.
Jarrett performed 23 abortions before becoming a Christian in 1978. He has been active in the pro-life movement since the early 1980s, and has served as a medical missionary in Kenya for six months each year since retiring from his private practice in 2000.
He also volunteers as a speaker for Right to Life of Indianapolis and is a board member of Mission to Ukraine.
The Boarini family has donated hundreds of floral arrangements for the Celebrate Life dinner for more than 12 years.
Mary Alice (Grande) Boarini as well as her daughter, Mary Anne (Boarini) Noble, and granddaughter, Mollie Noble, will be honored with the Stimming Award for their years of volunteer service to the cause of life.
The owner of Grande Greenhouses, Mary Alice Boarini also volunteers at her parish and at Catholic schools.
David and Mary Anne Noble serve as mentors for engaged couples at St. Luke Parish. She is the cafeteria manager at St. Luke School, and prepares food for families facing grief or illness as a member of the parish Good Samaritans committee.
She also has been active locally and statewide in programs for children with mental and physical disabilities.
Born with Down syndrome and a heart defect, Mollie Noble attended special education classes in Washington Township and graduated from Cardinal Ritter Jr./Sr. High School in 2001.
She attended Marian College for two years with the help of Noble of Indiana, and now serves as a board member of that organization. She also is active in the Church’s Special Religious Education (SPRED) program.
St. Luke parishioner Joan Byrum, the longtime president of Right to Life of Indianapolis, said the pro-life organization is pleased to have Arroyo speak at this year’s dinner because his broadcast ministry promotes respect for the dignity of life and the event raises funds for pro-life educational efforts.
“He’s a very interesting and uplifting speaker,” Byrum said. “Many people have seen him on EWTN. … His family lived in New Orleans, and … their house was structurally damaged by Hurricane Katrina. He also will discuss that experience.”
(Tickets for the Celebrate Life dinner are $50 each. For reservations, call Right to Life of Indianapolis at 317-582-1526 before the Sept. 1 registration deadline.) †