The Windham County resident is author of the book “Dorothy Day: The World Will Be Saved by Beauty,” which offers “an intimate portrait” of the woman she called “Granny.” Hennessy, however, can tell you the whole story. Readers of the first issue of the Catholic Worker couldn’t foresee how it would spark a movement of 240 global communities that help “the homeless, exiled, hungry and forsaken” while fighting “injustice, war, racism and violence of all forms.” Nor could they know its creator, the late Dorothy Day, would go on to earn the Vatican title “Servant of God” - the first step toward canonization as a saint. For those who think that there is no hope for the future, no recognition of their plight.” For those who are walking the streets in the all but futile search for work. “This little paper is addressed,” it said, “for those who are huddling in shelters trying to escape the rain. Ighty-five years ago on May 1, 1933, Vermonter Kate Hennessy’s grandmother stood amid 200,000 social justice protesters in Manhattan and sold penny copies of a new publication. Photo by Bob Fitch/Stanford University Libraries

Audience members inquired into who Dorothy Day was outside of The Catholic Worker, the realities of her family relationships, and Hennessy’s feelings of exposure or invasiveness when writing so intimately about the lives of others.Dorothy Day faces armed sheriffs while sitting on a California picket line in 1973. Hennessy read several excerpts from the book to represent how her grandmother sought “salvation through beauty” and then invited the audience to ask questions and share their comments. It was difficult for her to navigate the dynamics between herself, her mother, and her grandmother. Personal relationships also complicated Hennessy’s writing process, as she felt a responsibility to everyone she wrote about. Hennessy emphasized the complexity, richness, and contradictions of Dorothy Day’s life that made it challenging to tell her story. Hennessy’s talk focused on her new book, Dorothy Day: The World Will Be Saved By Beauty. Hennessy gave a brief background on her grandmother’s life as a leading figure in the founding of the Catholic Worker Movement. The event was co-sponsored by the Department of Continuing Education (STM), the Theology Department, the Volunteer and Service Learning Center, PULSE, the Catholic Studies Program, and the Church in the 21st Century Center. On April 19, 2017, the Boisi Center hosted Kate Hennessy, a writer and the youngest granddaughter of Dorothy Day.

Dorothy day the world will be saved by beauty