Real World star to talk about faith
By ALLY JAY
News Writer
Looking for love? Matt Smith from New Orleans' Real World will speak as a part of No Greater Love, Campus Ministry's half-day retreat, tonight at 7 p.m. in the Hesburgh Library auditorium.
"Matt's the unofficial kickoff of No Greater Love," said Frank Santoni, Coordinator of Special Events for Campus Ministry. Smith was a cast member on MTV's reality show, The Real World, and is now the spokesperson for Life Teen, a national Catholic youth organization.
"Matt's a remarkable guy who's tough to put in any category. His exposure on the show let us know his name, but it's his approach to life and faith that lets him cross a lot of boundaries. On the show he stuck with what he believed and he was not considered weird. He was considered likeable and approachable and those are the characteristics he brings to Notre Dame," said Santoni.
Smith will be discussing his faith prior to The Real World, how his faith was impacted by the show and his faith now that the show is over. After the talk, he will take questions from the audience in a conversational style.
Before Smith's talk, Gary Daigle and Danielle Skorich will perform. Daigle is a music producer and composer of Catholic music and folk music. Skorich is a junior at Notre Dame and will be playing songs from the CD she recently recorded.
"Music is an integral part of this weekend and it'll be a treat to hear Danielle. She's heartfelt about what she believes and puts that into her music."
A New Orleans-style reception will follow Smith's talk.
The main events of No Greater Love will be on Saturday. Workshops will be held throughout the day at South Dining Hall and the new Coleman-Morse Center and Father Mike Baxter will deliver a keynote address.
"This will be a great opportunity to recharge our faith. As spring is bringing new life, this is a chance to breathe new life into our faith life," said Father Bill Wack, who will lead the kick off prayer service.
No Greater Love is open to all, registration is not required and students may come and go as they please.
A schedule of events is available at http://www.nd.edu/~nglove.
All News Stories for Friday, March 23, 2001
