The goal of the Fellowship Program is to build bridges between Catholic, Jewish, and other religious traditions by providing the next generation of religious leaders with a comprehensive un-derstanding of and dedication to inter-faith issues. Russell Berrie Fellows are expected to complete the program and return home to their parishes and communities to lead others in efforts to promote interfaith understanding.

Deadline: April 15, 2009

Russell Berrie Fellows are expected to complete the program and return home to their parishes and communities to lead others in efforts to promote interfaith understanding.

For the second year, the Russell Berrie Foundation is pleased to announce an open competition for up to 15 fellowships in Interreligious Studies at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.

The Fellowship targets priests and members of the laity for the purpose of studying at the Angeli-cum to obtain either a License or Doctoral Degree in Theology with a concentration in Interrelig-ious Studies. The Fellowship Award will provide up to two years of financial support for Russell Berrie Fellows to pursue License or Doctoral degrees at the Angelicum. It is intended to cover tui-tion, a modest living stipend, examination fees, a modest book allowance, and travel to and from the recipient’s home country once a year.

The deadline for applications is April 15 2009.

Additional information:
The Russell Berrie Foundation was established in 1985 by Rus-sell Berrie, an American entrepre-neur and philanthropist. An im-portant goal of the Berrie Founda-tion is to help build a pluralistic world where people of all faiths can co-exist peacefully.
The mission of the Foundation expresses the personal passions and interests of Russell Berrie. Apart from interreligious under-standing, the foundation supports diabetes research, humanism in medicine, Jewish continuity, salesmanship as a profession, and strengthening communities.

More program information and application materials can be found at