Houston, Texas, April 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — University of Saint Thomas-Houston announces Fr. David Michael Moses, a charismatic Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston and well-known speaker, musician, and songwriter, as its 2024 Keynote Commencement Speaker on Saturday, May 11, 11 a.m., at NRG Stadium, 8400 Kirby Drive. UST commencement celebrates the achievements of 684 undergraduates and 302 graduate students. Both the Baccalaureate Mass held on Friday, May 10 at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart and the Commencement the following day will be livestreamed here. For more information in the meantime, go to www.stthom.edu/Commencement.
Graduates are in for a treat, because Fr. David Michael, who is on a mission to share his faith through digital media with contagious joy, good humor and a genuine love for others, is known for his ability to connect with youth. His talk is titled “A Generation of Hope.” As a young priest, Fr. David Michael Moses will seek to encourage the newest generation of UST graduates to use the foundation of education they have been given to become beacons of hope in a world so in need of direction, meaning, and purpose. Through humor, storytelling and tradition, Fr. David Michael will convey to each graduate the deep significance of the role their lives will play in the Kingdom of God.
The fifth of six children, Fr. David Michael is “homegrown” born and raised in Nassau Bay, Texas. He started college when he was 14. He graduated from the University of Houston-Clear Lake with a bachelor’s degree in the Humanities (Pre-Law) when he was 18. He was then accepted to the University of Houston Law School, but ultimately felt called to the priesthood and entered seminary for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. After studying philosophy at Holy Trinity Seminary in Dallas, he returned to Houston to continue his formation at St. Mary’s Seminary, where he earned his Master of Divinity and Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology. Fr. David Michael was ordained to the priesthood on June 1, 2019. Currently, he is the parochial vicar at Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Spring, Texas.
In addition to his seminary studies and spiritual formation, Fr. David Michael has developed his music composition, performing a series of “Concerts for Life” that have collectively raised more than $640,000 to assist Houston women in crisis pregnancies. He also enjoys making videos about daily life as a priest shown on YouTube “This is Priesthood,” which he shares on social media with 140,000 followers.
Honorary Degree
UST will present an honorary doctorate to Mother Adela Galindo, Foundress of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary, which seeks to “help many hearts to discover the splendor of the Magisterium and Treasures of the Church, and so form ardent and luminous witnesses of the faith to build a new civilization of love and life.”
UST President Dr. Richard Ludwick said, “Mother Adela Galindo is gifted with the love of God and service to His people. Specifically, through founding the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary she shows faith in action. The Church entrusts Mother with the mission to take the first-class pilgrim relic of the blood of St. John Paul II throughout the western hemisphere, and that mission is one that touches the hearts of our Saint Thomas community. Mother Adela is an evangelizer and one who shares the power of God’s love with the world and exemplifies the University of Saint Thomas values — goodness, discipline, knowledge, and community. We are very happy and honored that she will receive this high award.”
The honorary Doctorate is the highest award conferred by the University to recognize profound contributions in the arts, science and technology, education, politics and law, public service, humanitarian pursuits, religion and moral leadership, and civil rights.
About University of Saint Thomas-Houston
University of Saint Thomas-Houston is a comprehensive university, grounded in the liberal arts. Committed to the unity of all knowledge, UST offers programs in the traditional liberal arts, professional, and skills-based disciplines. Graduates of the University of Saint Thomas think critically, communicate effectively, succeed professionally and lead ethically.
- Class of 2024 Commencement
- Fr. David Michael Moses