Cardinal Renato Martino, former Holy See representative to the United Nations, will speak at an ecumenical Faith and Work Breakfast at a Minnesota church this month.

The cardinal currently serves as president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People.

The breakfast, to be held Oct. 24, is the first in a series that is co-sponsored by St. Olaf Church and the John A. Ryan Institute for Catholic Social Thought at the University of St. Thomas. The event will take place at the church, from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.

The cardinal will speak on the theme, “The Compendium and the World of Work: What Does the Church Have to Say to Those Who Work?”

He will discuss the Catholic Church’s social, economic and spiritual perspectives on the role of work in view of the Church’s social teachings.
 
The 73-year-old Italian cardinal served at the United Nations as permanent observer of the Holy See, from 1987 to 2002. He participated in conferences on disarmament, development, poverty, the rights of minors and Palestinian refugees, and religious liberty. He was named to his current post in 2002.

This is the 13th annual Faith and Work Breakfast series. The morning gatherings offer participants an opportunity to address the personal challenges of integrating faith and work. The theme of this year’s series is “Scarcity and Abundance: Faith, Work and Poverty.”