Loyola University New Orleans announced plans to establish the Canizaro Center for Catholic Studies, in a press release published this summer.

The location of the center itself will be on the first floor of Bobet Hall, in what is now the Arrupé suite, according to The Rev. Nathan O’Halloran, S. J., who will serve as the center’s director.

The center will aim at providing various resources for students who are interested in becoming more involved with the religious studies program at Loyola, O’Halloran said.

O’Halloran plans to develop the center’s usage through several programming opportunities for the Loyola community. The first of these will be the Catholic Business Leader Conference, he said. The conference, planned for Sept. 29 through Oct. 29, will be held in the center and plans to feature speakers joining together to help students learn about business from varying perspectives, O’Halloran said. Students interested in attending the conference can visit the Catholic Community Foundation’s website for more information and to register for the conference.

O’Halloran added that the conference is just one of many events that will be coming to the center. He said he hopes to make it a resource to serve all of Loyola as well the New Orleans community.

O’Halloran added that funding for the center came from an endowment gifted to Loyola by a local philanthropist, Joseph Canizaro.

Canizaro’s $5 million gift will support the center for years to come, according to O’Halloran. He added that only 5% of the center’s budget will be used each year while funds are continually reproduced through the center’s events which generate cash flow and therefore, produce growing interest in the funds.

O’Halloran thanked Canizaro for giving back to the university and added that he hopes the Loyola community will embrace the opportunity with open arms.

The center is now up and running in Bobet Hall and has already began to supply students with various resources, O’Halloran said.