Campus Ministry
We strive to be an open and welcoming place on campus for students of all faith traditions and religious backgrounds to explore their faith.
We offer retreats, small faith communities, various community-building events, liturgical ministry, sacramental preparation, service experiences and interfaith opportunities. We hope you will join us as you navigate your faith journey while in college.
As part of its mission, Campus Ministry has developed three values, Encounter, Accompaniment and Vulnerability, that connect the mission of the university and lay the foundation for growth and development of the whole person. Programming centered around these values help students to see beyond themselves and to better understand the needs of the community and to engage in social justice, closely aligning with the CIT and the mission of the university. We want to emulate these values in all the programs and opportunities we have for students, faculty, and staff of the university to grow in their faith.
So often in life, we waste time asking ourselves: ‘Who am I?’ You can keep asking ‘Who am I?’ for the rest of your lives. But the real question is: ‘For whom am I?’” Of course, you are for God. But he has decided that you should also be for others, and he has given you many qualities, inclinations, gifts, and charisms that are not for you, but to share with those around you. - Pope Francis, Christus Vivit 286
Encounter
Life is full of unexpected moments in life. The word encounter means to unexpectedly meet someone. In Campus Ministry, our goal is to foster an environment in which students can encounter God, or the divine, in new ways. We often say God works in mysterious ways, and though we may not understand the ways we meet the divine in our lives, we will encounter the divine if we’re open to it. Whoever or whatever God is to you, we hope you’ll encounter God in the people in Campus Ministry, the programs we create, and the environment we cultivate. Finding community and fostering faith can be difficult in college. By encountering God in yourself and others, perhaps this is where community is found and faith is fostered.
Accompaniment
Campus Ministry promises to walk alongside you without requiring you to be anything other than yourself. We strive to be present to people in their joys and sorrows, reminding them of God’s love in the midst of it all. You are allowed to show up as you are, but we hope you don’t leave as you came. In Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis’ invitation to the “art of accompaniment” reminds us to “remove our sandals before the sacred ground of the other” so we can see the worth and dignity of the person we’re walking with.
Vulnerability
Campus Ministry hopes to be a place where we can have deeper conversations with others. Conversations of faith can invite moments of vulnerability. We invite students to one-on-one conversations with us where students can feel comfortable opening up about their joys, struggles and everything in between. Spiritual guidance and pastoral care can help students recognize God’s movement in their life, but one cannot do this without being vulnerable. We as humans also need vulnerability to build connections with others and to give and receive love.