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Nourishing Faith. Fostering Discipleship.
ELON UNIVERSITY
CATHOLIC CAMPUS MINISTRY Truitt Center Campus Box 2960 Elon, NC 27244
Habemus Papam CCM watches history unfold as the Church welcomes Pope Francis By Grace Ahlering, Class of 2016
SUNDAY MASS TIMES: Elon Community Church 6pm & 9pm WEDNESDAY NIGHT CATHOLIC: Holt Chapel (South Campus) 7:07pm - Rosary, 7:30pm - Mass FRIDAY MASS: Numen Lumen Pavilion 12:10pm STAFF: Campus Minister Fr. Gerry Waterman, OFM Conv. gwaterman@elon.edu 336-278-7355 Business Manager Trung Huynh-Duc tduc@elon.edu 336-446-9226 Peer Ministry Coordinator Anne Marie Wilson awilson33@elon.edu Elon Staff Advisor Amanda Zamzes azamzes@elon.edu STUDENT LEADERS: Kristen Bryar, President Kayleigh Johnson, V. President Jordan Cottle Thomas McGuire Erin Strosnider Sabrina Urman
Pope Francis Jorge Mario Bergoglio, SJ Born: December 17, 1936 Ordained Priest: December 13, 1969 Ordained Bishop: June 27, 1992 Elected Pope: March 13, 2013
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abemus papam! We have a pope! This highly anticipated news swept the Vatican on March 13, 2013, when Jorge Bergogilo, former Cardinal of Buenos Aires, Argentina, was named Pope Francis. Members of CCM quickly heard about the selection of Pope Francis, receiving updates through television, live online streams, social media, and each other. The evening of the election, the CCM
community dedicated the weekly Wednesday Night Catholic Mass to Pope Francis, to celebrate his new leadership and pray for his time in the Vatican. Amid all of the excitement, CCM students have noticed that Pope Francis brings a lot of “firsts” with him to the Vatican. “He’s Jesuit,” said first-year student Conor McKoy, “and coming from a Jesuit school I know that means he has a lot of experience serving people who need it.” Being Latin American, Pope Francis is the first Pope from outside of Europe in more than 1,000 years. Senior Jessica Simmermeyer said, “I am excited about the change, mainly because I think it is amazing that we are able to watch the Catholic Church make history.” For some students, Pope Francis’ introductory speech caused them to realize his humble nature. “His humility is something that makes him stand out from different popes. Whether it is his robes, asking us to pray for him, or paying for his hotel room, it is refreshing to see a pope that acts no different or superior than any other Catholic,” said sophomore Matt Zimpelman. All of these “firsts” are appealing to the young people of the church, offering a breath of fresh air. “The youth are the future of the church, and being able to retain that membership will keep the Catholic Church strong,” added firstyear Matt Krause. Elon Catholic Campus Ministry offers a warm welcome to Pope Francis. We pray that his ministry to the Church acts as a sign of God’s love to people everywhere.
Wholly Service for Holy Week
By Anne Marie Wilson hen thinking of Holy Week, you wouldn’t necessarily think of Spring Break, but that was the reality for Elon University this year! Ten amazing students, Fr. Gerry, and I had the privilege of going to Johns Island, South Carolina, to work with the Sea Island Habitat for Humanity, alongside Habitat supervisors and a group from Eastern Connecticut State University. Today, Habitat has helped build or repair more than 600,000 houses and served more than 3 million people around the world. While working with Habitat, some students were installing sheet rock and vinyl siding, others were making a beautiful wooden deck, digging holes, moving gravel... with everyone coming together to make a difference in the lives of the future homeowners. This was an amazing opportunity for CCM to give back to others in need and truly see what Habitat is all about. We have some students who are excited to go back next year and others are trying to get more involved with Habitat locally! During an evening reflection, first-year student Kevin Coyne expressed the following: “Going out and doing service (like CCM’s Alternative Spring Break Trip) is always great and needed, but true service starts within our daily lives on a daily basis.” The love and service the students showed to everyone on the trip was so evident and truly reflected the remarkable character of our students here in CCM. We were also able to celebrate Holy Thursday with an intimate Mass and a Washing of the Feet, and on Good Friday we were blessed to meditate with the Stations of the Cross around the Angel Tree, possibly Johns Islands’ most famous attraction. The experience was a once- in-a-lifetime trip where “service” and “spirituality” came together harmoniously. What a great way to spend the final days of Lent and the beginning of the Sacred Triduum.
W Washington D.C. March for Life By Conor McKoy, Class of 2016
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hile most students were heading home for Fake Break, a CCM group of 12 students and I were picked up on a bus on January 25th to Washington, D.C., to participate in the National March for Life. Getting no sleep the night before, we departed on the five hour bus ride, pairing up with Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Greensboro, NC, to arrive in our nation’s capital around 7:00 a.m. Upon arrival, I was amazed by the sheer size of the number of people in attendance for this event. It was my first time ever participating in a walk for life, but it was truly an experience everyone should have at least once. I had come to see what it meant to be part of such a morally driven event, and it did not disappoint. It was a lot of fun marching through the freezing cold streets of D.C., watching everyone proclaim their beliefs of the right to life. Actually, one could see people on both sides of the debate making their ideals known. It is truly rewarding to get a chance to understand such a political and ethical debate from a group perspective. It was amazing to see so many people from all around the country to come together to express a common value. I could not have asked for a better religious experience to start off my break.
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Catholic Campus Ministry
A Priesthood Vocation from Elon Interview with Austin Faur By Kevin Coyne, Class of 2016 Where are you attending college seminary? I’m currently studying at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, PA. I’ve really enjoyed my time at St. Charles so far and hope to spend many more years here. How long were you discerning the priesthood prior to attending seminary? Since I was a little kid, I always saw the priesthood as a real possibility. I was an altar server in middle school and high school and assisted in faith formation classes, but I never took the discernment process seriously until I got to Elon. November of my freshmen year at Elon, I began taking the discernment process more seriously, by talking to the Vocations Director for the Raleigh Diocese and attending discernment group meetings. Did you find Elon an apt, accommodating environment in which to discern the priesthood? In all honesty, it is pretty hard to discern in a college environment like Elon. Just finding
time to go to the little Chapel that we have next to the Newman Center was hard. I tried to attend Mass frequently, but my schedule made it nearly impossible to get to Wednesday Night Catholic. That being said, Elon made me realize that I missed going to daily Mass and being involved in my parish and that without those things in my life, I wouldn’t be completely happy. What were the reactions of those close to you when you decided to transfer to college seminary from Elon? My family was, and still is, very excited about me going into the seminary. It was a little tougher at Elon though, because I had made some very good friends in my hall and on the Ultimate Frisbee team. While they were very supportive of my decision to transfer, it was a little tougher saying good-bye to them. Luckily, I’m still able to come back and see them and play a little Ultimate. What are some of the challenges you foresee for a diocesan priest in America today?
Austin, a former Elon student, takes in a game of Frisbee at his seminary. The Catholic Church has many teachings that a lot of people, both Catholic and nonCatholic, do not agree with. Expressing these teachings without turning people away from the Church will be a challenge for every priest. There will also be a challenge replacing all of the older priests. There simply aren’t as many seminarians as there used to be and doing the same work with fewer men will be difficult.
Graces Received: Painted and Metal Ex-Votos from Italy By Dr. Tom Mould and Dr. Lynn Huber, Elon Professors n January 2014, Elon University will host the traveling exhibit “Graces Received: Painted and Metal Ex-Votos from Italy.” The exhibit, curated by folklorist Dr. Leonard Primiano from Cabrini College and brought to Elon by Dr. Tom Mould in Anthropology, Dr. Lynn Huber in Religious Studies, and Dr. Evan Gatti in Art History, consists of 53 votive objects from the Italian Catholic tradition created between 1832 and 1959. “Ex-votos,” short for ex voto suscepto meaning “according to the promise that was made,” were offered as thanks for heavenly intercession with various misfortunes, including accidents or illness. The collection includes both painted tablets (tavolette) depicting the dramatic moment of crisis for which intercession was requested and metal objects (milagros) in the shapes of people, afflicted body parts, or hearts representing the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In some sense, these objects reflect not only the thankfulness of those who have received divine intercession, but Examples of ex-votos on display at the serve as a visual record of individuals’ faith Calandra Institute in New York City. in God’s grace and compassion.
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Serving Elon University
The Elon Center for the Study of Religion, Culture, and Society, along with Catholic Campus Ministry, and other departments on campus, anticipate offering a number of events in connection with the exhibit, including a lecture by Dr. Primiano, a panel discussion by Elon faculty on the use of ex-votos and personal altars in various religious traditions and historical timeperiods, and a conversation with Father Gerry Waterman about Catholic spirituality in relation to these types of votive objects. All of these events will be open and free of charge to the Elon community and to the public. As planning continues for the exhibit, which will be located in the Isabella Canon Room in Elon’s Performing Arts Center, we will be updating the public about times and event locations. Needless to say we are very excited about being able to bring to campus this collection, which highlights the rich connections between faith and art, and we hope that many of you will join us in experiencing this unique collection.
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Habemus Papam by Grace Ahlering Wholly Service for Holy Week by Anne Marie Wilson Washington, D.C. March for Life by Conor McKoy A Priesthood Vocation from Elon: Interview with Austin Faur by Kevin Coyne CCM was honored to welcome Bishop Michael F. Burbidge from the Diocese of Raleigh on Sunday, April 14, 2013. Bishop Burbidge celebrated the 6pm and 9pm Masses on campus, visited with students and joined us for a wonderful, sumptuous dinner hosted by members of the Elon Community Church.
Graces Received: Painted and Metal Ex-Votos from Italy by Dr. Tom Mould and Dr. Lynn Huber