The Gayle and Tom Benson Charitable Foundation donated $1.5 million to Xavier University of Louisiana, helping provide maintenance for the campus chapel and setting up a scholarship fund in their name.
Xavier will officially rename the St. Katharine Drexel Chapel sanctuary the Gayle and Tom Benson Sanctuary in a public ceremony next Thursday (Sept. 6) at 2 p.m.
"Through their generosity, the Bensons are establishing a partnership with Xavier, the only historically Black and Catholic University in America, that allows us to continue our noble mission to help create a just and humane society," said Xavier president Reynold Verret in a news release.