Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick has been named as the commencement speaker at the 124th St. Edward’s University graduation ceremony in May.

McCarrick will also be appearing at the Baccalaureate Mass May 7 alongside recently-named Austin Bishop Joe S. Vasquez.

McCarrick was one of the 115 cardinals who helped to elect fellow cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to the papacy in 2005. Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, has recently come under fire for his role in the Catholic church sex abuse scandal.

McCarrick, a national human rights activist, has been heavily involved in education and supported the creation of Forward in Faith, a Washington D.C.-based opportunity scholarship program helping children from low-income families to attend private schools. He also serves and directs many organizations devoted to humanitarian causes throughout the world.

In his capacity as Archbishop of Washington, D.C., Cardinal McCarrick was chancellor of The Catholic University of America as well as president of the board of trustees at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

Commencement ceremonies are scheduled for May 8 at 10 a.m. at the Frank Erwin Center at the University of Texas at Austin. The university plans to confer 649 degrees.