Brother Ignatius Perkins Honored as 2025 Living Legend by the American Academy of Nursing
Brother Ignatius Perkins, O.P., Ph.D., RN, director of the St. Martin De Porres Center, O.P, for Health and Human Dignity at the School of Nursing and Health Sciences, was honored as a 2025 Living Legend by the American Academy of Nursing—the Academy’s highest recognition.
Brother Ignatius was celebrated during the Academy’s Living Legends Ceremony on October 17 in Washington, D.C., as part of the organization’s annual Health Policy Conference. The Living Legend designation recognizes nurses whose careers have made a lasting impact on health care through leadership, innovation, and service.
During the ceremony, Brother Ignatius chose not to deliver formal remarks. Instead, in keeping with his lifelong commitment to the integration of faith, ethics, and healing, he offered a blessing of the healing hands—inviting those present to reflect on the call to bring healing, hope, and peace to the world through the art and science of nursing.
Among those in attendance were Dr. Nancy Meedzan, associate dean of nursing, and Dr. Amy Delaney, assistant professor of nursing, who traveled to Washington, D.C., to celebrate Brother Ignatius’s remarkable legacy. Reflecting on the experience, Dr. Delaney remarked that watching Brother Ignatius on stage was “like seeing Taylor Swift perform—everyone wanted to say, ‘I was there.’”
Brother Ignatius’s recognition as a Living Legend follows a year of significant honors. In May, he received an honorary doctorate from Providence College during its 107th Commencement Exercises, acknowledging his more than six decades of leadership in nursing ethics, education, and faith-based health care.
Through his scholarship, advocacy, and mentorship, Brother Ignatius has shaped generations of nurses and advanced the understanding of human dignity as the foundation of health care. His influence continues to be felt across the profession and within the Providence College community, where his work through the St. Martin De Porres Center inspires ongoing dialogue and service grounded in compassion and respect.
Watch the recording of the American Academy of Nursing’s 2025 Living Legends Ceremony, including Brother Ignatius Perkins’s inspiring acceptance and blessing of the healing hands.
