James Joseph Norris was an American advocate for refugees and migrants. The first president of the

International Catholic Migration Commission The International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) is an international organization that serves and protects uprooted people, including migrants, refugees, and internally displaced people, regardless of faith, race, ethnicity or nationalit ...

, he oversaw the assistance given to more than 200,000 migrants and refugees between 1951 and 1974. A personal friend of both

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

and later

Mother Teresa Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, MC (; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa ( sq, Nënë Tereza), was an Indian-Albanian Catholic nun who, in 1950, founded the Missionaries of Charity. Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu () was bo ...

, he was the first layperson to address the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

in 1963, where he spoke on the topic of world poverty and the Christian conscience. He was also the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

's official representative to the funeral of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He was awarded the

UNHCR The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...

's highest humanitarian award, known as the Nansen Refugee Award in 1975.

Honorary Degrees

* St. John's University (New York City), Doctor of Humane Letters (June 14, 1964) *

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan un ...

, Doctor of Laws (June 5, 1965) *

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...

, Doctor of Humane Letters (June 6, 1965) *

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

, Doctor of Laws (June 5, 1967)

References

Sources

External links

James J. Norris - Vatican Council II Collection - Biographical NoteNorris, James Joseph (Encyclopedia.com)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norris, James J. 1907 births 1976 deaths Catholic University of America alumni People from Roselle Park, New Jersey United States Navy reservists Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Nansen Refugee Award laureates