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Canisius President John J. Hurley conferred the President’s Medal upon Elaine Sciolino ’70, HON ’92 on Tuesday night, December 1.  The President’s Medal bears the phrase “For God and Country” and is bestowed only periodically to individuals who have distinguished themselves in public life through service to God and community.  This is only the 46th time the President’s Medal has been awarded since its inaugural conferral, in 1955, to the Hon. Jefferson Caffery.

As a New York Times writer and author, and former Newsweek correspondent, Sciolino reported on some of the world’s most historic events including the Iranian Revolution. She was the first American – and the first woman – ever to interview the Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of the Iranian Revolution. Sciolino also covered the hostage crisis in Iran, the Iran-Iraq War and the rise of Iranian President Mohammad Khatami.

The author of four books, Sciolino visited campus on Tuesday to publicize her most recent release, The Only Street in Paris: Life on the Rue des Martyrs.  The book, she says, “is part memoir, part travelogue and part love letter to the people who live and work on this magical street in Paris.”

Though the street is a mere half-mile long its history dates as far back as 250 AD.

Sciolino explained “The patron saint of France, Denis, after whom the street is named, was beheaded here.  The ritual of communicating with the dead was codified here.”  It was also on rue des Martyrs that “Ignatius Loyola and his compatriots took their vows before he created the Society of Jesus.”

Sciolino dedicates an entire chapter in her new book to the Jesuit history of the street and her efforts to convince Pope Francis to visit rue des Martyrs.

To read more about Elaine Sciolino, click here.

Submitted by: Marketing and Communication