Erick Berrelleza, S.J., founding dean of BC's Messina College, will be Laetare Sunday speaker

Boston College’s 73rd annual Laetare Sunday celebration—the BC Alumni Association’s oldest tradition—will take place on March 10 and feature an address by Erick Berrelleza, S.J., founding dean of the University's Messina College.

Laetare Sunday is the fourth Sunday of Lent and marks the season’s midpoint. The day will begin with Mass at 9:30 a.m. in Conte Forum, with University President William P. Leahy, S.J., presiding. A brunch will immediately follow.

Fr. Berrelleza came to Boston College in September 2022 to lead Messina College, the new two-year residential college division of BC, which will offer an associate’s degree program beginning in the 2024-2025 academic year. Messina is located on the Brookline Campus of Boston College.

Formerly an assistant professor of sociology at Santa Clara University, Fr. Berrelleza is a first-generation college student whose scholarship has focused on urban sociology and immigration.

A Los Angeles native and a member of the USA West Province of Jesuits, he received a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Loyola Marymount University, an M.Div. degree in theology and ministry from BC in 2015, and a doctorate in sociology from Boston University in 2021.  He has served as a visiting scholar in BC’s Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life, and as a member of the board of trustees at BC, Santa Clara University, Brophy College Preparatory School in Phoenix, and Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose.

For more about Laetare Sunday, including registration information, visit  the Alumni Events Calendar.