DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME was on the cutting edge of lay involvement and student leadership.
“Marquette, through Campus Ministry, became
like the laboratory for students to exercise leadership in faith responsibilities,” says Rev. Bryan Massingale, Arts ’79, who was one of those young faith leaders.
Students began breaking open the week’s Gospel
readings and planning campus Masses. Father Massingale, now the associate director of undergraduate studies and professor in the Department of Theology, remembers the profundity of these new liturgical ministry opportunities. “We look at it now and say, ‘Doesn’t that always happen?’ Well, it didn’t always happen,” he says. “At that time, there were students who came to Marquette and began exercising liturgical ministries and leadership that they couldn’t exercise in their own parishes.”
For current students, 50 years can seem like
eons ago. Graduates born after the Green Bay
WITNESS TO HISTORY There have been six popes since Vatican II. The world is still getting acquainted with the newest leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis. Some study abroad students witnessed the church’s historic moment. Seamus Doyle, sophomore in the Klingler College of Arts and Sciences, witnessed the final Angelus by Pope Benedict and the first audience with Pope Francis. “I was able to go to Pope Benedict’s final Angelus, which took place the Sunday before he resigned. It was a deeply moving experience with tens of thousands of other Catholics. We didn’t speak the same
language or come from the same country, but we held a deeper truth that bonded us together. The square, which holds 60,000 people at its fullest, was nearly full. People were holding signs thanking Benedict for his service to the church and, as I stood there looking at all the people around me, it struck me that I was standing in the midst of history.”
Packers won the first Super Bowl have no living memory of Vatican II.
That’s what makes an anniversary celebration
so valuable. There is no better excuse than a golden jubilee to crack open old yearbooks and trade stories with alumni of different eras. We have much to share with one another. Our present-day community may draw inspiration from remembering past campus liturgies that packed chapels and congregations. Our alumni may find solace in knowing the spirit of Vatican II is still alive on campus today, seen at the popular Thursday night student Mass in St. Joan of Arc Chapel, witnessed when young religious begin the journey to full initiation into church life, and demonstrated by students exploring how to minister to classmates.
Whether through a theology class,
service opportunity, Sunday Mass or simply by being a student at a Catholic university, the reforms of Vatican II shape each of our Marquette experiences. For that, we will never be the same. m
20
Summer 2013
Kelly Taylor, sophomore in the College of Business Administration, stood within feet of Pope Benedict during his final tour. “I actually had the most awesome opportunity to be able to attend Pope Benedict’s last public audience in St. Peter’s Square. The audience starts with a procession of the pope being driven in his ‘Pope mobile’ around the square.
In addition to Benedict’s last audience, I was present in St. Peter’s Square when the white smoke billowed out of the Sistine Chapel chimney. I can remember standing in the square, looking behind me and not being able to see the end of the crowd. It was simply amazing and breathtaking to be in that place at that moment in history. I love my faith, and being able to witness the election of Pope Francis is something that I will cherish forever.” From left: Meghan Hickey, communication junior; Mary McNellis, business administration sophomore; Kelly Taylor; Andrew Miller, business administration junior; and Hunter Bedford, arts and sciences junior.