Instaurare | Spring 2018

Instaurare The C hristendom College M agazine

Spri ng 2 0 1 8

United in

Faith & Learning Inspired Alumni Launch New Schools

Saintly Military Hero to Inspire Generations of Students | Remembering Alumnus Matthew Cameron Graduate School Inspires Men to the Diaconate | Exceeding the Expectations of the Santorums

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VOLUME 26 | NUMBER 1 | SPRING 2018 Published three times yearly by the Christendom College Marketing Office.

Executive Editor: Tom McFadden Managing Editor & Design/Layout: Niall O’Donnell Photos: Zachary Smith, Niall O’Donnell, Sarah Ziegler, Tamlyn Sheng, Christiana Fedoryka Contributors: Zachary Smith, Danielle Lemieux, Niall O’Donnell Christendom College 134 Christendom Drive, Front Royal, VA 22630 540.636.2900 | christendom.edu Copyright © 2018. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided the following credit line is used: “Reprinted by permission from INSTAURARE, the official magazine of Christendom College (christendom.edu).” SUBSCRIPTION FREE UPON REQUEST. Instaurare magazine (pronounced “in-sta-rar-ay”) receives its name from the Latin in the college’s motto, “Instaurare Omnia in Christo” or “To Restore All Things in Christ.”

Christendom College does not discriminate against any applicant or student on the basis of sex, race, color, age, national origin, religion, disability, genetic information, marital status, pregnancy or veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law.

CHRISTENDOM COLLEGE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

ADVISORS TO THE BOARD

Donna Fitzpatrick Bethell, Chair Douglas Dewey, Vice Chair John Cecconi, Treasurer Robert Scrivener ’81, Secretary Martin Boles Eugene D’Agostino Richard Esposito Richard R. Hough III Timothy O’Donnell, ex officio Stephen O’Keefe ’93 Vincenzo La Ruffa Mark Swartzberg Thomas West Luanne Zurlo

Mary Ellen Bork Bernadette Casey-Smith Robert Crnkovich Philip Crotty John DeMatteo Robert P. George Daniel Gorman Joan Janaro Katherine McAvoy Rev. C. John McCloskey III John McNeice Joseph Melancon Rev. Robert Morey Robert Mylod Hon. James Nicholson Mary Beth Riordan Rev. George W. Rutler Mark Ryland Rev. William Saunders Hon. Rick Santorum Owen Smith Marjorie Teetor David Vicinanzo George Weigel Thomas Young Eugene Zurlo

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“Places like Christendom College are part of the good news and are making a difference in preparing people to be faithful Catholics.”

– Dr. Janet Smith As part of the college’s Major Speakers Program, internationally recognized Humanae Vitae expert Dr. Janet Smith delivered a lecture on February 5 speaking on "Humanae Vitae, 50 Years Later: Progress or Regress?" Smith engaged her audience throughout the talk, as she spoke on the roots of Humanae Vitae and why the encyclical matters now, more than ever.

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Inside This Issue 18

United in Faith & Learning Alumni John O’Herron and Dennis Pregent, along with Dan and Emily Henson, have launched new schools inspired by their Christendom education.

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Sharing the Same Heart of Faith Christendom College is exceeding the expectations of 40th Anniversary Gala Chairmen Rick and Karen Santorum.

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An Unexpected Call Graduate School students discover a call to the diaconate through their theological formation.

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From the President

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Saintly Military Hero to Inspire Generations of Students

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A Student’s Journey to the Faith and Christendom

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Crusader Basketball

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In the Classroom

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Photo Album

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Students Accepted to Graduate Schools

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News in Brief

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Alumni Community Remembers Matthew Cameron

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Classmates: Alumni News

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Omnia in Christo: Singing from the Heart

SPRING 2018

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The Gif of Freedom EXCERPT FROM COLLEGE PRESIDENT DR. TIMOTHY O’DONNELL’S SPRING OPENING ADDRESS TO THE STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND STAFF Cervantes on his galley sets the sword back in the sheath (Don John of Austria rides homeward with a wreath.)

And he sees across a weary land a straggling road in Spain, Up which a lean and foolish knight forever rides in vain, And he smiles, but not as Sultans smile, and settles back the blade....

(But Don John of Austria rides home from the Crusade.)

– G.K. Chesterton, Lepanto

This past October, I was blessed

“Let us not forget not only what it truly means to be human, but also to be a son and daughter of God.”

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to lead a Christendom pilgrimage to Spain and Portugal, which included visits to the tombs of St. James the Greater at Santiago de Compostela, St. John of the Cross, St. Teresa of Avila, and Sts. Francisco and Jacinta at Fatima. During that pilgrimage, our founder Dr. Warren Carroll’s vision of Christendom was continually in my mind, and the vision of Triumph magazine and those individuals who, in the midst of the rapidly spreading secularization of the 1970s, saw Spain as a bastion of Catholic culture.

The simple view of the Valle de los Caídos (The Valley of the Fallen)—with its magnificent cross, stone statues of the Evangelist, and the solemn Mass within—was a striking reminder that governments can, and should, acknowledge the unique redeeming sacrifice of Jesus Christ, our Lord and King.

The concept of Christendom is not just a thing of the past, it is a living idea that simply cannot be forgotten. We live in an age characterized by the “dictatorship of relativism,” which claims there are no absolutes, excepting the one fallacious absolute that enslaves so many: “there are no absolutes.”

The freest person is one who sees the world and himself in the light of Truth. As L. Brent Bozell, Jr., once observed in an essay entitled The Confessional Tribe, “any school which excludes Christianity from its curriculum indeed from any field of study, quite simply falsifies reality and this conspires to entrap the young in an unreal world.”

Our gifted faculty mentors here at Christendom, who work so hard, are seeking to introduce you to the full vision of Catholic wisdom. After being given this treasury of Catholic wisdom, we must ask ourselves: what are we living for? If we live simply for pleasure, what is our god? Who is our god?

The desire to be virtuous, to be temperate, and to be chaste follows from our commitment to Christ our Lord, Who is our King. Our loving Lord Who died for us! For you. For me. If He is the Lord then everything in our life belongs to Him. Our body, our friendships, our entertainment—everything!

Let us not forget we are in a war. We have enemies: the World, the Flesh, and the Devil.

Don’t be naïve. We cannot as Catholic men and women go along with the current culture. We must live in reality! Much of our culture is toxic, it is poisonous, it’s often based upon lies leading to emptiness and despair.

If we are to build and maintain a Catholic community, it requires work for all of us—students, faculty and staff. We cannot live in silos. The New Evangelization isn’t just about mission trips or going to Rome or Ireland. It begins right here, with concern for our brothers and sisters: spending time with someone who seems down, depressed, or struggling with a broken relationship; offering a helping hand if someone is struggling with studies and time management; intervening if someone is closing the door to their room and turns to enter

A Call to Greatness

A Call to Greatness |

THE CAMPAIGN FOR CHRISTENDOM COLLEGE

U P D A T E The college is boldly moving forward in faith with a $40 million comprehensive campaign.

THE CAMPAIGN FOR CHRISTENDOM COLLEGE

spiritual darkness with a hotspot; sitting at lunch with someone who seems lonely or isolated. Put down the smart phone. Look around you—and see.

Let us not forget not only what it truly means to be human, but also to be a son and daughter of God. Let us remember that we were not created for food, drink, or sex. We are created for union with God. That is the deepest and most profound truth in life. This is not a burden, it is a gift of freedom, the gift of love. Our heavenly Father looks at us and says, “You are my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.” His love is not conditional. We need to begin now to live in the light of this truth!

Listen and take to heart to the words of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI: “Above all, that of which we are in need at this moment in history are men who, through an enlightened and lived faith, render God credible in this world. The negative testimony of Christians who speak about God and live against him, has darkened God’s image and opened the door to disbelief. We need men who have their gaze directed to God, to understand true humanity. We need men whose intellects are enlightened by the light of God, and whose hearts God opens, so that their intellects can speak to the intellects of others, and so that their hearts are able to open up to the hearts of others. Only through men who have been touched by God, can God come near to men.”

In my opening remarks, I mentioned Cervantes and Don John of Austria. Both were knights and would have often repeated the traditional knights code of honor: My soul to God by the full spiritual life My life to Christ the King.

My heart to our Blessed Lady; and My own honor—the ineffable honor that comes to him who called the Church my Mother and to him who calls God, my Father and strives to live like his Son. I urge you not to listen to the seductive voices of cynicism. Dare to be great! Become the man or woman God is calling you to be, and together let us again seek to restore all things in Christ.”

$13.5 Million CHRIST THE KING PROJECT

$13.5 Million ENDOWMENT FUND

$13 Million ANNUAL FUND

Campaign Progress $36,389,087 of $ 4 0 MI L L I O N ra is ed 91%

campaign.christendom.edu SPRING 2018

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Sharing the

A Call to Greatness |

same heart of

faith Christendom Exceeds Expectations of 40th Anniversary Gala Chairmen Rick and Karen Santorum

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A Call to Greatness | THE CAMPAIGN FOR CHRISTENDOM COLLEGE

Senator and Mrs. Rick Santorum have been

at the forefront of the political battles for years – from Rick serving in the U.S. Senate for many years, to two runs at being the Republican nominee for the president of the United States of America. All of these experiences have led them to see contemporary society’s desperate need to embrace the truth, return to civil discourse in the public square, and form a generation of leaders on fire for the faith. And for them, Christendom College is an answer to this need.

Rick and Karen have been associated with the college for many years, beginning with the senator’s commencement address to the Class of 2003, and continuing to this day as they serve as the 40th Anniversary Gala chairmen and experience life as Christendom parents. The Santorums happily and eagerly support Christendom because they value the time-tested Catholic liberal arts education, taught in an environment that

encourages its students to bring the light of truth to the world and to stand for that truth, no matter the consequences.

“The founding principles, the focus on the liberal arts, and the evident, intense love of the faith are what first drew us to Christendom College,” shares Karen Santorum. “The mission resonated with us, and we saw an urgent need for its growth and impact in our world. We quickly grew to see and believe that Christendom students could have a truly transformational impact in the broader culture.”

While they have sent their children to other secular and Catholic colleges, when it came time for their son, Peter, to look at colleges, Christendom was at the top of the list, because Christendom’s identity and mission clearly set it apart from other institutions. “As we met Christendom alumni, teachers, and administrators, it became clear that we all shared the same heart of faith – to restore all things in Christ,” says Senator Santorum.

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THE CAMPAIGN FOR CHRISTENDOM COLLEGE

A Call to Greatness |

The Santorum family at their daughter’s 2017 wedding in Adare, Ireland.

College Launches Planned Giving Society Since its formation in July 2017, the Planned Giving Office has spread the good news of the value of supporting the college's mission through wills and estate plans. As part of the 40th Anniversary, the college has launched the St. John Paul II Legacy Society. The society was created to recognize and to provide stewardship activities for the growing number of benefactors who have included Christendom in their wills and estates. An important resource for the growth of planned gifts to Christendom is a new planned giving website, which can be viewed at christendom.edu/plannedgiving. To learn more about the St. John Paul II Legacy Society, contact John Ciskanik at ciskanik@christendom.edu or 434-907-3063.

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As homeschooling parents of seven children—their youngest, Bella, having special needs—the Santorums believe that raising disciples of Christ should always be at the core of their educational mission. Their son, Peter, discovered the lifechanging aspects of the college by attending the Experience Christendom Summer Program at the end of his junior year of high school.

“We trust that Christendom is going to build upon that solid foundation that we gave Peter and deepen it, not warp or contradict it,” Senator Santorum relates. “As parents of a Christendom student, we have every confidence in each professor, because we know they are faithful to the Magisterium, and in

the administration, because of President O’Donnell’s leadership and the fact that the college does not receive federal funding.”

Another characteristic of Christendom that the Santorums say sets it apart from other colleges is the love and expression of the faith in daily campus life.

“At Christendom, we love that the faith permeates all disciplines, and is a part of the everyday discourse of campus life,” explains Karen. “The fact that the chapel is always full for daily Mass is simply beautiful. Few college campuses could say that, even at Catholic universities.”

The Santorums are proud to support not only the mission of Christendom, but also the college’s beautiful community that has been fostered by a shared love of truth, a passion for the faith, and a strong belief in the importance of Catholic culture and education. They continue to experience the impact of the Christendom community as their son completes his freshman year.

“As parents of a current student, we’ve been exposed to a whole new side of the school and we are continually impressed,” says Senator Santorum. “The academic rigor, tight-knit community, faith-filled campus, and general collegial experience has exceeded our expectations, which were quite high to begin with.”

Far above the worldly feats and achievements boasted by other colleges, Christendom sets a standard of truth, goodness, and beauty, which it consistently surpasses for the benefit of its students, the wider Christendom community, and society as a whole.

“During his papacy, John Paul II said that he believed the darkness in the world is growing,” says Karen. “Christendom is a shining light in that encroaching darkness.”

THE CAMPAIGN FOR CHRISTENDOM COLLEGE

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A Call to Greatness |

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We love that the faith permeates all disciplines, and is a part of the everyday discourse of campus life.

The fact that the chapel is always full for daily Mass is simply beautiful. Few college campuses could say that, even at Catholic universities.

Christ the King Chapel H I G H L I G H T The new Christ the King Chapel will feature four side chapels each featuring a 20-foot vaulted ceiling. Each altar will be dedicated to a particular saint and will provide a beautiful and intimate place for prayer and reflection for members of the college community.

Dedication opportunities are available. Please contact Paul Jalsevac at pjalsevac@christendom.edu or 540-551-9171.

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A Call to Greatness |

THE CAMPAIGN FOR CHRISTENDOM COLLEGE

HEROIC SACRIFICE Saintly Military Hero to Inspire Generations of Students “Servant of God Fr. Vincent Capodanno

will be a great inspiration to Christendom students because they are young, have high ideals, and are looking for a challenge,” says Arlington Diocese priest Fr. Daniel Mode, the progenitor for Fr. Capodanno’s cause for sainthood. Fr. Mode recently initiated a project with the college to dedicate a stained-glass window of Fr. Capodanno for the new Christ the King Chapel.

Fr. Capodanno’s story began in 1929 when he was born to Italian immigrant parents, who raised him in a faith-centered home, igniting within him a desire to serve others through the priesthood. Answering his call to foreign missionary work, Fr. Capodanno joined the Maryknoll Fathers and was sent to Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Entering the chaplaincy for the United States Navy in 1965, he distinguished himself through his heroic sacrifices for those young men in his care, his personal holiness, and selfless dedication to his duty. His dedication came to ultimate fruition

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during his 18-month tour in Vietnam from 1966-1967 when he died from 27 bullet wounds while administering medical and spiritual care to a wounded fellow soldier.

Fr. Mode, who also serves as a Navy chaplain, was thrilled when Dr. O’Donnell asked if he would be interested in leading an effort to dedicate a window in the new chapel to Fr. Capodanno.

“A stained-glass window inspires people. It’s a type of Catholic ‘poster’ that points you to something, involves you in something,” Fr. Mode explains. “So I always thought in the back of my mind that it would be great to have a stained-glass window of Father Capodanno.”

Fr. Mode believes it is necessary for young people to have authentic examples of Christian life, as many college-aged young adults feel incapable of changing things in today’s amoral culture.

“A lot of people give up because they think ‘Oh, I’m only one person – how can I make a difference?’” he reflects. “But

A Call to Greatness |

Fr. Capodanno (right) with men in Vietnam

Fr. Daniel Mode

Fr. Capodanno: Mass for troops

Fr. Mode: Mass for Marines in Afghanistan

Fr. Capodanno celebrating Mass

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It’s amazing how many people he has inspired, not only when he was living, but also after his death. It’s amazing how ripple effects from one stone thrown into a pond will affect the whole pond.

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we see time and time again how one person can make such a huge difference. Look at Fr. Capodanno – it’s amazing how many people he has inspired, not only when he was living, but also after his death. It’s amazing how ripple effects from one stone thrown into a pond will affect the whole pond. Never doubt the positive effect you can have even as one person.”

For more information on Fr. Capodanno, you can read Fr. Mode’s biography about him, The Grunt Padre, or visit The Father Capodanno Guild website at capodannoguild.org.

Additionally, if you are interested in joining the effort to dedicate the window in the new chapel, please contact Susie Twetten at susie.twetten@christendom.edu.

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THE CAMPAIGN FOR CHRISTENDOM COLLEGE

Fr. Capodanno: Christmas in Vietnam

Feeling

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A Student’s Long Journey to the Faith and Christendom College

America is a land of opportunity for so

many. For freshman Bryan Zhu, who lives in China, the opportunity he was seeking was to go to an American college.

Five years ago, Zhu crossed the Pacific Ocean and came to the U.S., ready to study, prepare, and be accepted. What Zhu didn’t expect was the larger plan at work: that by coming to the U.S., Zhu would find God, Catholicism, and Christendom.

When Zhu moved to America in 2013, he did not do so in a vacuum. Many Chinese students move in with an American family during high school with the same purpose in mind — gaining acceptance to an American college — so there was nothing “new” in Zhu’s plan. Or so he thought.

Upon his arrival, Zhu, who was an atheist, moved in with a Protestant family in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and enrolled at Lancaster Catholic High School, thanks to a special international student agency called “New Oasis.” While living with the family, Zhu was brought into contact with the ideas of Christianity, and eventually decided to become a Christian as a member of the Protestant church.

“During my sophomore year of high school, I went to a church’s spring retreat with my host family,” recalls Zhu. “As the retreat went on, I felt like it was more than just a gathering of teenagers. I realized that, although many of these people had never met each other, they treated each other like brothers and sisters. This spoke to me a lot as a foreigner. I wanted to join in this kind of family, and so I decided to become a Christian.”

While Zhu was now a Protestant, he was still studying at Lancaster Catholic, where he was also being exposed to the beauties of the Catholic faith. That exposure led to questions, and eventually to belief in the truths of the Catholic faith.

What would come next would challenge Zhu further, and take him even deeper into the Catholic faith: a conversation

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with a friend’s parents about the Experience Christendom Summer Program. Zhu, a naturally curious young adult, thought “why not?” He was floored at what he experienced during the one week program.

“It was not until this past week that I really knew exactly what education is,” wrote Zhu after attending the program. “Human beings are not machines. We are not supposed to be trained to do one specific thing only. Sadly, that’s exactly what most of the schools can only provide to ‘educate’ the youth today. Most of us don’t even know who we are, where are we going and what are we living for. After a week of being at Christendom College, I really felt how ignorant I am about myself, about humanity, and about God. Instead of training people into a work machine, Christendom’s liberal arts curriculum restores our knowledge of what does it mean to be a human being.”

Zhu truly fell in love with the liberal arts education offered at Christendom during the week, as he learned philosophy, history, English language and literature, and theology from Christendom’s faculty. The education, in just one week, opened new doors for him into the depths of human knowledge. The life in the classroom dovetailed beautifully with the life outside of it as well, as Zhu experienced an authentic Catholic culture in the hikes, dances, and debates he shared with the forty-seven other participants in his session.

While he loved his Christendom experience, Zhu was already set on going to another Catholic university in Pennsylvania initially after high school. After one semester, Zhu realized that the school just did not have what he had found at Christendom — the kind of education that deepened his faith and improved his life. After a time of prayer, Zhu decided to transfer to Christendom in the spring of 2018 — an amazing turn of events, after his initial flight to the U.S. only five years before.

Zhu is just beginning his Christendom journey, but he already feels at home. He’s forming strong friendships with his classmates, goes to daily Mass frequently, and is enjoying the rigor of Christendom’s classes. He may still be discerning what he wants to do after college, but Zhu is confident that he will be ready for anything, thanks to the foundation he’s receiving.

“One of the most important reasons that I enjoy being here is the Catholic atmosphere. It’s absolutely unprecedented.

I couldn’t find any other school that has the same atmosphere,

and its perfect meld of the classical and Catholic traditions. The education here is more than just learning a set of skills — it’s learning how to think and how to act when any situation comes up. We’re promoted from being like a machine to being a human being, who actually flourishes, thanks to Christendom,” says Zhu. Zhu will complete his journey in faith as a Christendom student when he comes into the Catholic Church this Easter.

He may be a long way from his homeland in China, but he feels more at home than ever before. He’s found a new life in the Catholic faith, a decision that ultimately brought him to Christendom for his college education.

A deepened faith. A love for the liberal arts. An exposure to what great possibilities the future holds. This is Bryan Zhu’s American story so far. Great things are sure to follow.

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I couldn’t find any other school that has the same atmosphere, and its perfect meld of the classical and Catholic traditions.

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AN UNEXPECTED CALL Graduate School Inspires Men to the Deaconate

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In October of 2012, while driving

through the expansive plains of South Dakota, Portland police officer Greg Pashley saw a towering steeple rising up from the rural wide-open space. The steeple led him to the Catholic Church of Saints Peter and Paul in the town of Dimock. It was a Wednesday afternoon and the doors were open. He went in and found a perfect spot to sit in silence and allow himself to be moved in a direction that he did not anticipate.

When Pashley was not serving on the force, he spent all his free time either playing bass in local bar bands, working to find people to play with, struggling to keep

people together long enough to get good gigs, and finding songs to play.

“When my son began prepping for First Communion, it occurred to me that I was living a rather mediocre—to put it nicely—Catholic life,” Pashley says.

With this realization, Pashley began seeking a renewal in his faith and flew to South Dakota to visit a priest friend who was serving in the diocese of Rapid City.

“I left South Dakota changed,” he says.

In the ministry of his priest friend and in the lives of the local parishioners, he saw something that he deeply desired and knew he didn’t have: a relationship with Jesus.

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Top left to bottom right: Church of Sts. Peter and Paul in Dimock, South Dakota; Greg Pashley; Mt. Angel Abbey in Oregon; Bryan Taylor.

Pashley began going to confession regularly and put aside his guitar for theology books. Following a two-night retreat to Mt. Angel Abbey in Oregon, he was sure that he wanted to learn more about this and live it more completely. He began to discern a call to the permanent diaconate and, realizing he would need an advanced degree in the theology, he started looking for someplace to enroll.

Through the recommendation of a friend, he discovered Christendom’s graduate school of Theology.

“The experience at the graduate school enriched my life in ways I will never fully comprehend,” Pashley says. “The professors are of the highest quality and are admirably dedicated to the Church and to their respective specialties. They were always so joyful in their presentation, they incorporated Church documents, the Catechism, Scripture and other required reading into classes in a way that was so integrated and clear that it made what had appeared to be, at first glance, a rather intimidating

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bibliography, actually a collection of books and sources that I return to even today.”

Enrolled in the online program, Pashley was struck by the availability and personal attention of the professors. The highlight of his coursework was a Scripture class offered by Fr. Sebastian Carnazzo in conjunction with a pilgrimage to the Holy Land with the Institute of Catholic Culture. On that trip, Pashley met fellow Christendom graduate school student Bryan Taylor, a prosecuting attorney from Idaho.

“My experience at the graduate school was outstanding,” says Taylor. “I achieved exactly what I set out to achieve and that was a better understanding of the teachings of the Church.

What I didn’t expect to happen was how the program awoke my passion for the faith and created one of my great spiritual friends, Greg Pashley.”

Both being in law enforcement, Pashley and Taylor fostered a kinship quickly and encouraged each other in their faith as a foundation for their jobs.

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My time at the graduate school had a greater impact on my life than I will ever be able to quantify. Every time I assist at the parish, teach, talk with someone about their faith, read, share stories from my pilgrimage, talk with my kids about Scripture—everything I do is colored by my experience and education at Christendom.

Like Pashley, Taylor has found himself in the discernment process for the permanent deaconate. Both men are very active in their parishes and communities and meet at least once a year for an annual men’s retreat at Mt. Angel Abbey organized by Pashley, where both have led presentations and discussions.

Additionally, the two are embarking on a new exciting spiritual exercise: hand writing correspondence in the style of the Cappadocian Fathers.

“The graduate school has assisted me in so many ways,” says Taylor. “The biggest way is that it has given me the necessary tools and knowledge to be confident in spreading the faith. It has also sparked an even deeper passion for continuous learning.”

Pashley shares in Taylor’s experience at the graduate school and his desire to spread the faith.

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“My time at the graduate school had a greater impact on my life than I will ever be able to quantify,” he says. “Every time I assist at the parish, teach, talk with someone about their faith, read, share stories from my pilgrimage, talk with my kids about Scripture—everything I do is colored by my experience and education at Christendom.”

On March 11, Pashley was installed as an instituted Acolyte and Lector by Archbishop Alexander Sample of the Diocese of Portland and hopes to be ordained a deacon in the fall of 2019.

Pashley, who has served as a police officer for 25 years, says that the Portland police has no Catholic chaplains. Thanks to a spiritual renewal on the plains of South Dakota and his Christendom education, he hopes to change that.

ALUMNUS OPENS CATHOLIC FREE CLINIC ON SITE OF FORMER ABORTION CLINIC In 2015, Amethyst Health Center for Women — Manassas and Prince William County’s only abortion clinic — closed its doors. Three years later, a free Catholic medical clinic stands in its place. People unable to pay for medical work are now being aided weekly by doctors and nurses, turning a place once used for evil into a place for good, all thanks to the efforts of alumnus Sean Garvey ’93 and others. After the abortion clinic closed its doors, the building was purchased by the BVM Foundation, an organization founded by Garvey and others. After the purchase, the foundation passed on the building to the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington, who opened the clinic. The clinic is staffed by a volunteer group of doctors, nurses, and translators who primarily treat recent immigrants who have not obtained or cannot afford medical insurance. For Garvey, the clinic is proof that even places of great evil can be restored into places of good, for Christ.

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CRUSADER BASKETBALL

a season of achievements The Christendom Crusader basketball teams claimed big victories as teams and individual players.

An impressive number of Christendom athletes were honored as Academic All-Americans, achieving a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher during basketball season: sophomore Mary Heisler and senior David Snyder, along with juniors John Echaniz, Ian Heisler, Shane McCrum, and Clare Hepler.

The Lady Crusaders defeated Trinity University (Washington, D.C.), an NCAA Division III Team.

The Crusaders enjoyed a big victory over USCAA top-dog Davis College (New York).

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Senior Bryn Burgess averaged 15.6 points per game.

Six-foot-eleven freshman Luke Schultz averaged 18.3 points per game.

In the Classroom Highlighting a Course from Our Rich Curriculum

THE AUGUSTAN AGE: VIRGIL’S GEORGICS

By Dr. Andrew Beer

“The best poem by the best poet”—so John

Dryden declared Virgil’s Georgics. Last fall, fifteen advanced Latin students and I spent the semester reading this best poem by the best poet. The Latin title, Georgica, is really a Greek word (Γεωργικά) that means “agricultural matters.” It implies that the poem teaches how to farm. Yet, by semester’s end, none of us, except one student who worked at a local vineyard, had acquired any more skill in farming than we had at the outset.

If the Georgics are supposed to teach us farming, then either we are hopeless students or Virgil’s poem is a failure. Or was Virgil really up to something else?

At look at the poem itself suggests an answer. The fourth and final book is on apiculture, the art of caring for bees. First, one must build an apiary, taking care to exclude certain dangers: exposure to violent winds, sheep and goats that might trample the bees’ flowers, lizards and birds that might eat them. But then what should be present? at liquidi fontes et stagna virentia musco

But put there limpid fonts and pools grown green

adsint et tenuis fugiens per gramina rivus, palmaque vestibulum aut ingens oleaster inumbret,

With moss and, running through the grass, a slender stream; With palm or mighty olive the forecourt shade,

ut, cum prima novi ducent examina reges

That when fresh kings in spring lead out the swarms

vere suo ludetque favis emissa iuventus,

And the young, sent forth from hives, begin to sport,

vicina invitet decedere ripa calori,

The bank nearby invites escape from heat,

obviaque hospitiis teneat frondentibus arbos.

And the tree with leafy greeting receives its guests. (4.18–24)

Virgil’s instruction becomes an occasion for contemplating both the beauty of country life and the marvelous genius of these tiny creatures. Bees need “limpid fonts,” or at least clean water of some kind, for drinking, for making honey, and for making bee bread to feed their young. The added detail that there should be pools fringed with moss is not strictly relevant, as the bees have no use for this, and yet the beauty of the scene

attracts us. This apiary not only serves a useful function but charms with the beauty of its design. In calling the space before the entrance of the hive a “forecourt” (vestibulum), Virgil uses a term proper to a human abode, and thus begins a description of bee society viewed as a miniature version of the world of man.

Virgil’s phrase “fresh kings” (novi reges)—the ancients mistook bee queens for kings—reminds us of the constant rhythm of renewal in the cycles of nature, and finally, the scene invites us to consider how the deliberate toil of man can humanize the natural world. The tree, carefully placed by the farmer in the path of his bees, plays “host” (hospitiis teneat) to the little guests resting on its branches.

That the Georgics teach us how to farm is indeed a kind of pretense. But to conclude that they fail to teach—period— would be a mistake. When weighing the value of Virgil’s poem, we ought to recall Sidney’s judgment that “of all sciences . . . is our poet the monarch. For he doth not only show the way, but giveth so sweet a prospect into the way, as will entice any man to enter into it.” No poet has ever given so sweet a prospect into this way as Virgil, all the sweeter for those who, like the fifteen students last fall, have read the poem in Latin.

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Faith & Learning Alumni Seek to Restore Education in Christ Starting a school is not an easy task —

just ask the founders of Christendom College. And yet, the need for strong schools that build up and educate the youth is needed now, more than ever. Today’s secular culture is a breeding ground for many of the problems that infect today’s young people, but an affordable education in the true, the good, and the beautiful can counteract that.

Two pairs of alumni have seen this growing need, and are now addressing the problem. In Richmond, Virginia, alumni John O’Herron ’06 and Denny Pregent ’07 founded Cardinal Newman Academy, a private, coeducational liberal arts high school. In North Carolina, Dan and Emily Henson founded Youngsville Academy, a charter school. Both were born out of a love for learning, and out of a desire to give to others the same type of joyful education they received at Christendom.

“The commitment that my dad, Dr. Carroll, and the other founders had to a particular vision, and the sacrifices they made to make that vision a reality, have been a constant inspiration,” says John O’Herron, son of Christendom founding faculty member Raymund O’Herron. “I’m confident that we too will look back 40 years from now with fond memories of these early days of the school’s life.”

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We saw a desperate need for a quality educational option for families seeking an education for their children not only in facts and figures, reading and arithmetic, but also in reason and ethics, virtue and character.

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O’Herron, Pregent, and other Catholic parents began discussing the possibility of Cardinal Newman Academy in 2013, noting the lack of choices in secondary education in the Richmond area. While there are three existing Catholic high schools in the Richmond area, one is an all-boys military school, another an all-girls, and the other a co-ed school forty minutes from the city center. These parents surveyed other Catholic parents in the Richmond area, who overwhelmingly said they desired a coeducational Catholic high school in their area. With all this in mind, O’Herron, Pregent, and the other parents decided to found Cardinal Newman Academy, an independent school that would follow the great Cardinal Newman as their example.

“We wanted to create a school where knowledge was valued for its own sake and students could learn in a Catholic culture of joy and service. Blessed John Henry Newman was immediately the obvious choice for our patron,” Pregent says.

Cardinal Newman Academy provides a rigorous collegepreparatory curriculum to its students, along with small class sizes, co-curricular activities, including athletic opportunities, and a culture that fosters growth of body, mind, and soul. The school opened with 9th grade this past fall, with plans to add a grade each year. Those who are part of this year’s 9th grade class will be pioneers who will help shape the school for years to

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come, just as the members of the inaugural class of Christendom College did for the school when they joined in the fall of 1977.

Cardinal Newman Academy is open to people of all faiths, with Christ and the teachings of the Catholic Church remaining central to the mission of the school. That idea of evangelical outreach is critical to the school, as it shares the joys of a Catholic liberal arts education with families of other faith backgrounds.

Such an idea permeates Youngsville Academy as well. Dan ’08 and Emily ’09 Henson, along with Dan’s father, Larry, began the process of creating the school in 2012, after North Carolina lifted the cap on charter schools. When asked why they wanted to found a charter school, Dan says he and his family felt a great need for a school alternative in their area — a school that would not be subject to the same curricula as found in regular public schools.

“We saw a desperate need for a quality educational option for families seeking an education for their children not only in facts and figures, reading and arithmetic, but also in reason and ethics, virtue and character,” remarks Dan. After three years of hard work and preparation, Youngsville opened in July 2015, initially serving Grades K-2, and adding one grade level with 60 students each year after. The Academy seeks to provide students with a joyful learning environment

Daniel and Emily Henson travelled to Christendom College seeking quality educators for their growing school.

that cultivates the virtues of good character and equips students with skills in reading, writing, and arithmetic.

The school utilizes the Direct Instruction method, which encourages a high level of student engagement and success. There is a focus on student and teacher interaction in and outside the classroom, and core content for each lesson is scripted for the instructor in order that they can maintain consistent results.

This results in teachers being able to focus on their students’ progress and academic needs, inspiring a greater love of learning overall in the students.

If these educational ideals sound similar to those at Christendom, that is because they are. The Hensons were inspired by the formation of student character as well as academic achievement they experienced at Christendom and wanted to encourage that at Youngsville as well.

“At Youngsville Academy, our teachers and staff strive to reach the whole child – academically as well as personally,” says Emily. “Students at the school enjoy fast paced, engaging lessons as well as teachers who take time to be mentors.”

Ultimately, Youngsville was founded to provide students with a love of learning that serves as a foundation for empowering them to succeed. While Youngsville is not a Catholic private school, its board is comprised of members who ensure

that the curriculum maintains a focus on the pursuit of truth.

The school, like Cardinal Newman Academy, is open to families of all faith backgrounds, making the school a great place for education for the whole student.

While Youngsville is an elementary school now, it has hundreds of students on its wait list, a $9.25 million K-8 facility under construction, and plans to add a grade level each year until it is fully enrolled at 780 students, serving grades K-12.

This ideal of preparing students for success permeates both Youngsville and Cardinal Newman. Both schools follow in the tradition of Christendom, existing to give students an education in the true, the good, and the beautiful that enables them to have a positive impact on society. These two schools join a number of already established schools founded by Christendom alumni, including: alumnus Dan Miller’s Holy Cross Academy in Oneida, New York; and alumnus Sean Garvey’s Renaissance Academy in Nokesville, Virginia.

As the college looks back on its roots during its 40th Anniversary celebration, seeing those same roots in two new schools, founded by alumni, is a cause for hope — not just in the future of education, but in the future of society as a whole.

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P H OTO A L BU M

{c hristendom.edu/pictures} 1. Freshman John Briggs and sophomore Chris Culbreath jam at Cup O’ Coeli—a student open-mic evening.

2. Students swing at the first dance of the spring semester, the Sadie Hawkins Dance.

3. In Adoration at the Laudamus Te First Friday Holy Hour.

4. March for Life 2018: standing tall for life. With classes cancelled, the entire student body was in attendance.

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5. St. Joseph’s Day procession.

6. In the classroom with Chaplain and Theology professor Fr. Marcus Pollard.

7. Prof. Joseph Arias leads a discussion during Thomistic Tuesday’s catered lunch.

8. Life on Tap: Shelagh Bolger ’10 shares her successful experience as an event planner.

9. Colorful night with the Crayola Crayons at the Sadie Hawkins Dance.

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10. Student chefs brought big talent to the Dorm Wars “Chopped” cooking competition.

11. St. Patrick’s Day festivities.

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12. The Old-Fashioned Oats barbershop quartet performs at the St. Patrick’s Day celebration.

13. Faculty interview a finalist at the Padre Pio FullTuition Scholarship Competition.

14. Dorm Wars Swing Dance Competition: sibling winners, senior Maria and freshman Dominic McFadden

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15. Junior Semester in Rome: At the top of La Rocca in Assisi.

16. Junior Semester in Rome: Fun in Assisi with a “photo op” that’s become a tradition.

PHOTOS UPDATED WEEKLY ON FLICKR

christendom.edu/pictures FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM

@christendomcollege SPRING 2018

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G R E AT N E S S AWA I T S

Students Taking Advantage of Career Office Get Accepted to Graduate Schools Career development director Matt Marcolini

has a single mission: help every senior at Christendom College obtain a job (or create a plan to get one before they graduate) or go to graduate school. Since 2014, the college has heavily promoted the idea that Christendom students should attend graduate school. The primary emphasis in this push is that with their graduate degree in hand, Christendom alumni can have an even better effect on society as they work to fulfill the college’s goal of restoring all things in Christ.

Some of the efforts made to achieve these goals have been greatly appreciated. The career office now reimburses students for taking the GRE, and pays for online GRE test preparation for interested students. The office has also partnered with a faculty committee focused on graduate school mentorship, getting students the guidance they need to find good colleges and excel at their applications.

“Students are at an exciting point in their lives, and we want to ensure that they have the help they need to succeed,” says Marcolini.

If a student is interested in graduate school studies, Marcolini has a detailed graduate school information packet that details necessary test scores, the best graduate schools in the country for each career field, and more.

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This personalized attention sets Christendom’s career development office apart from other colleges, making it easier for students to get all the advice and guidance they need before graduation.

“Throughout the year, I email the students, talk with them at lunch, and encourage them in passing to come see me so we can talk about what they want to do with their education.

Rather than just standing in front of them all and delivering a talk, I want to meet one-on-one with each of them and get to know them. Forming this kind of connection with students is crucial, because it gives me the opportunity to get to know them and discover not only what they want to do, but also how I can personally help them achieve their goals,” says Marcolini.

Mathematics major Tom Anderson has benefitted from this personalized attention. After working with the career development office to prepare for the GRE, and working closely with a faculty mentor, Anderson has been accepted to the prestigious mathematics Ph.D. program at the University of NebraskaOmaha this coming fall.

“Through the career development office, I was able to receive GRE preparation materials, which were invaluable to my studying for the GRE,” says Anderson. “I know that, without the help I received, I would not have had access to the high-quality prepara-

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Students are at an exciting point in their lives, and we want to ensure that they have the help they need to succeed.

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tion materials. My mathematics professor, Dr. Douglas Dailey, was instrumental with my application process as well. He knows the ‘lay of the land’ in mathematics and he was able to share with me the strengths and weaknesses of certain departments. He also was kind enough to review all of my application materials, which helped immensely. The career office and the faculty were key to my ability to get into graduate school.”

Anderson is not alone in this achievement. Luke Maschue and Jane Adams have both been accepted to multiple graduate schools, including the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and the Catholic University of America. Maschue and Adams were both aided every step of the way by the career office and faculty advisors, as they took the GRE and went through the application process.

In Adams’ case, she is also currently a semi-finalist for the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship to study abroad. After taking the GRE and discovering the scholarship, she worked with history professor Dr. Christopher Lane to prepare and compete for it. Lane is the Fulbright Program Advisor at Christendom, and spent many man-hours working with Adams and others on their applications.

Adams plans on pursuing her Ph.D. in medieval studies, with the hope of teaching eventually at the graduate level. Going

Thomas Anderson, Jane Adams, and Luke Maschue (pictured left-to-right) are welcomed into both national and international Ph.D. fellowship programs along with their fellow members of the class of 2018: Aidan Callegari, Jacob Morris, Theresa Norris, Maddie Post, George Summers, Matt Trojacek, Joe Wilson, and Emma Wynne.

forward, Lane and Marcolini believe that other students will be able to compete for the scholarship, thanks to their liberal arts background.

“The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is fundamentally designed as an opportunity for international exchange, wherein our country’s best young people serve as cultural and intellectual ambassadors to the world,” says Lane. “Christendom helps form young men and women for this task in a variety of ways. Our rigorous, extensive core curriculum and our Rome study abroad program expose them to a past and to a present far outside their own experience. The fact that our faculty gets to know our students on a personal level and in multiple courses has been a great resource for our ability to give the mentoring necessary for a strong Fulbright application and for well-informed letters of recommendation.”

These are just a few examples of the graduate school plans seniors have for after graduation. Others will be studying at St. Louis University and the University of Notre Dame, while still others have plans to study abroad. In any case, thanks to the time-tested liberal arts education, the personalized attention given by faculty mentors, and the remarkable efforts of the career development office, these seniors are most certainly on the road to success, daring to be great in all that they do.

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BRIE F CFRs Screen Film for Students “Outcasts” came to Christendom College in January, with the creators of the acclaimed film traveling to campus to screen the ground-breaking documentary about the day-to-day lives of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal (CFR). The film’s executive producer, Joseph Campo, brought the film to Christendom, and was joined by a CFR friar for both the screening and a Q&A session after the film.

National Student-Athlete Junior Helena Briggs was named the National Student-Athlete of the Year by the USCAA. Briggs, who plays both volleyball and basketball at Christendom, was recognized due to her outstanding performance both on the court and off.

Three Deacons Three Christendom alumni were ordained to the diaconate this Spring: Br. John Mark Solitario, O.P. (ordination pictured left), John Killackey, and Steven Wood. For the three of them, this is their final step before becoming priests in the coming year.

Outside the Box and Tap Unplugged Senator Rick Santorum spoke to students on March 19, as part of the college’s new “Outside the Box” speaker series. A presidential candidate in 2012 and 2016, Santorum, along with his wife, Karen, served as chairmen of the dinner committee for the 40th Anniversary Gala Celebration. On March 13, successful music artist and alumna Marie Miller provided insights to her success at a “Life on Tap” networking event. Miller spoke about her life as a musician and performed some of her hit songs unplugged.

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Requiescat in Pace

Distinguished author and professor Rev. Stephen Brock, Ph.D., delivered Christendom’s annual St. Thomas Aquinas Lecture on January 24. A professor of Medieval Philosophy at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, Rev. Brock’s lecture was titled “The Metaphysics of Prayer.”

Christendom mourns the loss of Fr. Mark Pilon, former professor of theology and beloved member of the chaplaincy. Fr. Pilon was one of the spiritual fathers of Christendom in its earliest days, and continued to say Mass at Christendom until late in his life. He passed away from cancer on March 19, at the age of 74.

Christendom’s history department welcomed Rev. Wilson D. Miscamble, C.S.C., to campus for a 40th Anniversary lecture titled, “Father Hesburgh of Notre Dame: An American Priest Amidst the Challenges of 1968.” The talk was part of the college’s Faith and Reason Lecture Series.

Dr. Michael Zuckert, an author and a professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame delivered a talk entitled “Thinkin’ About Lincoln” on March 13. The talk examined Lincoln’s theory of democratic statesmanship.

The college mourns the loss of Patrick Duffy, who died February 10 at the age of 63. Duffy taught Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and even Sanskrit at Christendom for fifteen years. The founding chairman of the college’s classical and early Christian studies department, Duffy kept the classics alive on campus with his joyful spirit and love for teaching. Duffy fought a long battle with regulatory arthritis, emphysema, and chronic obstruction pulmonary disease.

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Soaring Fearlessly Christendom Alumni Community Remembers “Human of Earth” Matthew Shane Cameron A filmmaker. A music manager. An adventurer.

A husband. A father. Alumnus Matthew Shane Cameron was many things to many people. Most importantly, however, he was this: a good, Godly man. Cameron passed away on November 14, 2017, after a nine-month battle with adenocarcinoma of the lung cancer, but not before impacting countless lives during his 47 years as a “human of earth” — a phrase he used often. His courageous battle with cancer brought the Christendom alumni community together in a special way, as they drew that much closer to the “Who” behind Matthew Cameron: Jesus Christ.

Matthew Shane Cameron

Cameron lived no ordinary life. In fact, few things terrified him more than the idea of such a thing. At one point, the Kokomo, Indiana, native feared that going to a small school in the Shenandoah Valley would doom him to just that. Little did he know beforehand the types of friendships he would form at Christendom, in particular with Jesus. While he had had his share of rough patches in his relationship with Him (like anyone), Cameron truly came into his own at Christendom, and even made the total consecration to Jesus through Mary while at the college.

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The friendships Cameron made at Christendom would stay with him for the rest of his life. He loved people easily, and his positivity and his generosity were infectious, as was his spirit of adventure. After graduation in 1993, he joined classmate Christopher Foley and others on trips across the United States, Europe, and even through Israel, Greece, Turkey, and Egypt. These years were known as the “Tumbleweed” years by Cameron and others, due to the name of their group — the “Tumbleweeds.”

Cameron’s life was marked by an incredible love for others, but none more so than for his beloved wife, Tatiana “Tajci,” an award-winning Croatian pop star that he met in the late ‘90s, and for his three sons. He gave everything to his family, devoting his career to producing Tatiana’s concerts across the country and caring for his sons. While his family’s journeys would take him around the world, Cameron never stopped keeping track of his friends and their careers, encouraging them and congratulating them whenever he could.

His cancer diagnosis in February 2017 didn’t stop Cameron.

Rather, it emboldened him to show his love to others even more, a point immortalized by his brother, Father of Mercy Ben Cameron, in his funeral Mass homily.

“He offered his suffering up for many other people, but especially for his beloved wife and for his sons,” said Fr. Ben. “He was amazed at how many people were praying for him, but he encouraged them that they pray also for other people besides him — others who didn’t have the spiritual support that he had.”

Fr. Ben gave his brother the sacrament of the anointing of the sick twice: on the day he learned that he had cancer, and on his last full day as a “human of earth.”

Christendom alumni from across the United States made their way to Franklin, Tennessee, for the celebration of Cameron’s life, and were reminded of how strong the connections

Alumni community comes together to celebrate the life of Matthew Cameron.

formed at Christendom remain after graduation. Despite a quarter of a century separation from their graduation year, all of the alumni present greeted each other like it was yesterday.

This was the culture that Cameron loved and was supported by during his nine-month battle with cancer — it only seemed fitting that he would gift these people with the joys of reunion after his passing.

“I’ve told a countless number of people over the past twentyfive years that to this day some of my closest friends are those I met within my first few days at Christendom,” says Michelle Bodoh, a classmate of Cameron’s who attended the funeral and wake. “I soon realized that these friendships encompassed a deeper level of friendship than I had known in the past. These friends cared about me as a whole person, and that included caring about my soul. When you care about someone’s soul you always want the ultimate good for that person and you’re willing to make sacrifices to help one another. Matt Cameron was one of those friends. Even though we have all moved on in different directions, sometimes not seeing one another for years on end, our bonds of friendship remain. And there has

been no greater reunion of friends than the one Matt called us to upon his death.”

After his passing, a friend remarked that they hoped that Cameron was resting peacefully. Tatiana, seeing that on Facebook, remarked, “Resting peacefully? Hm. More like soaring fearlessly.”

Fr. Ben echoed that point in his final remarks in his homily, calling on all to be inspired by Cameron, and to look to the “Who” behind him: Jesus.

“When you think of Matthew Shane Cameron, when you think of the goodness and beauty you experienced with him and through him, remember the Divine Artist Jesus Christ, that Jesus fashioned that work of art. And remember that Jesus wants to work His art in you, in order to make all of us into beautiful works of art that will last for all eternity.”

Cameron lived his life to the fullest, and truly gave himself fully to others. Such a life united the Christendom community in an indelible way. May it continue to inspire it for generations to come.

ALUMNI LENTEN RETREAT The 2018 Alumni Lenten Retreat was well attended with more than 50 alumni from all eras attending. Fr. Fran Peffley ’86 was the retreat master and gave two excellent talks, heard confessions and gave away tons of free books, CDs, and evangelization materials.

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Send your submissions to classmates@christendom.edu.

CLASSMATES Your Paper & Ink Alumni Social Network

1980s

1990s Desmond and Sarah (Parker) Silveira ’98 welcomed their eighth child, Francesca. Brothers and sister are enjoying their new sibling.

Joe Sommers ’81 with wife Terry and five children Shannon, Rob, Meg, Katie, and Seamus are pictured here at Shannon’s wedding to Luke Starre on Aug 15, 2015. The Starres live near Kilgore, Ohio, with child Raymond, and are expecting their second in January. The Sommers live in Muskego, WI.

2000s

Zoë Marie was born to Heather (Tansey) ’03 and Peter ’99 Jensen on August 8, 2017. She is loved and adored by her three older siblings.

Fr. Joseph Mary Brown ’85 visited Most Holy Trinity Maronite Monastery in Petersham, Mass., where Fr. Robert Nortz ’85 and Fr. Michael Cermak ’87 are monks.

SAVE THE DATE

Class Reunions for ’88, ’98, ’08

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Canon Michael Stein ’04 was ordained a Priest for Eternity by His Eminence Cardinal Burke in 2010 for the Institute of Christ the King. He has served as a pastor in Africa, vice-rector in Chicago, and is currently serving as pastor at St. Joseph Oratory in Detroit with fellow recently ordained Christendom alumnus Canon Jonathon Fehrenbacher ’09. Please carry in prayer the Restoration Process of their Historic Victorian Gothic Church. gofundme.com/historic-renewal

Last June, Jeremy and Mary (Hack) Sheiko ’05 welcomed their son, Thomas, whom they adopted at birth.

Colette, 11, and Magdalena, 8, are really enjoying having another sibling.

Jaclyn Weber ’06 traveled to Costa Rica and Nicaragua in January 2018, and it was a wonderful experience.

She got to feed monkeys, see the magma in Masaya Volcano, boated around Lake Nicaragua (largest lake in Central America), hiked in the Cloud Forest, picked coffee berries at a plantation, and actually use the Spanish she learned from Madame Barone and Madame Anna at Christendom. Jaclyn has visited 18 countries and cannot wait to start planning her next adventure.

Tom and Mary (Akers) Hambleton ’07 welcomed their sixth child, Simon, at the end of September 2017.

On February 1, Fr. Alex McCullough ’09 was installed as Pastor of St. James of the Valley, Our Lady of the Rosary, and St. Matthias in Cincinnati. The next day he flew out to Washington, D.C., to concelebrate the wedding of Matthew Hadro ’09 to Catherine Szeltner.

Matthew and Susannah Cavanaugh ’13 recently welcomed Fiona Mae into their family. She was born on January 2, 2018.

Susannah also passed her final exam with Pope Paul VI Institute in Omaha, Nebraska, and became a FertilityCare Practitioner with the Creighton Model FertilityCare System.

2010s Mary Harrington ’11 became engaged to Peter Norris on December 1, 2017. Please keep the happy engaged couple in your prayers as they prepare for their fall wedding in 2018.

Noreen (Daly) ’11 and Spencer Barrs are happy to announce the birth of their second daughter, Gwen Angeline, on May 31, 2017.

After Hurricane Irma, the husband of Angela (Swagler) Greenwalt ’12, Sean, successfully interviewed for a transfer and promotion to Sarasota, Florida. They closed and moved into their first house in October 2017 in the Tampa Bay area. Angela now holds a corporate position reviewing insurance policies for a dental insurance company.

Chris and Liz Foeckler ’12 welcomed their third boy, Luke Daniel John Paul Joseph Foeckler into the family on October 22, the feast of St. John Paul the Great. He is beloved of his brothers, Francis, 3, and Christopher, 2, who love to hold him, make him laugh, and smother him with kisses. Chris is finishing his fifth year teaching at Chelsea Academy, while Liz has successfully finished her first official year teaching piano and voice lessons from her home business “Foeckler Studios”— foecklerstudios.com.

Mark and Katie (Wunderlich) Hepler ’13 welcomed a baby girl, Alida Rose, on February 28.

Matthew Camp ’13 and Therese Weber ’16 were married at St. John Parish in Wahpeton, N.D., on June 2, 2017. They are very excited to welcome their firstborn child this Easter.

Angelica Cintorino ’14, RN, BSN, has recently accepted a position as an RN at UVA Medical Center in Charlottesville, working on the acute care unit. The 2017-18 U.S. News & World Report “Best Hospitals” guide rates the University of Virginia Medical

Center as the No. 1 hospital in Virginia.

Angelica graduated Magna Cum Laude from Marymount University’s Accelerated BSN program in December. She was inducted into the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International. Membership is reserved for those who are ranked in the top of their class and who exhibit academic integrity and professional leadership potential as well as voluntary service and good character.

On December 31, 2017, Philip Gilbert ’15 received clerical tonsure and was ordained to the subdiaconate by the hand of His Grace Bishop Benedict (Aleksiychuck) for the Ukrainian Catholic Church. The ordination was at his home parish of St. Peter in Ukiah, Calif.

Other alumni were present: Sean ’14 and Emily ’16 LaRochelle, Noah de la Cruz ’15, Andre Moreau ’15, Steven ’13 and Melody ’15 Wood.

Ashlyn Thomas ’17, the Visitor and Retreats Coordinator at the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, is seeing the fruit of her Christendom connections. She will welcome the class of Meghan (Uebel) Belk ’17 coming on Mother Seton’s tour in May. She loves how Christendom alumni support each other professionally and personally.

Ashton Forbeck ’18 is an Assistant Manager for Sherwin-Williams with a million-dollar store in State College, Penn.

William Skuba ’18 and Michaela (Sanborn) Skuba ’16 were married at Christ the King Chapel on February 10, 2018.

IN OUR PRAYERS: Mass is offered for the alumni on Sundays and all First Fridays. Remember that you can have Masses said for special intentions or for friends and family! Contact Vince Criste for more info at vince.criste@christendom.edu.

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Omnia in Christo Singing from the Heart

B

y the middle of the twentieth century, one hundred years of emigration and the relentless onslaught of mass commercial culture had all but erased the presence of traditional Irish music in the lives of the Irish in Ireland and America.

Then, much like the rising corpse of the ballad “Finnegan’s Wake,” the music experienced an unexpected revival. From the Clancy Brothers to the Chieftains to Riverdance, traditional Irish music has become a global phenomenon in the second half of the twentieth century, second only to Guinness as Ireland’s most valuable cultural export.

Despite the continuing ties between Ireland and America, very little attention has been given to how this revival took root and flourished in local Irish communities in America. In the fall of 2017, I took advantage of my sabbatical to begin a project exploring this revival at the local level through the life and career of The Dady Brothers, an Irish music duo based in Rochester, New York. The story of the Dady Brothers reflects not only the geographic breadth of the Irish music revival, but also the way in which traditional Irish music could prove capable of overcoming the cultural divisions that characterized the turbulent decades of the 1960s and 1970s.

John and Joe Dady were born in the 1950s, the last of six children born to the devout Irish Catholics William and Evelyn Dady. Born and raised in Holy Rosary Parish in the Tenth Ward on the Northwest side of Rochester, John and Joe grew up in the golden age of urban Catholic life, one in which postwar prosperity actually reinforced the close-knit geographic and cultural life bequeathed by earlier generations.

That being said, there was very little distinctly Irish about the Dadys’ upbringing. Irish by heritage, Catholic by faith, they were American

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Taken from the college’s motto “Instaurare Omnia in Christo,” this section features an essay or excerpt from a recent paper or talk by one of Christendom’s distinguished faculty.

By Christopher Shannon, Ph.D.

in culture. William Dady was a musician and a devotee of the Big Band music of the 1940s; while he was able to pass on a general love for music to his sons, his understanding of Irish music was limited to the Tin Pan Alley tunes of Bing Crosby. Like so many who grew up in the 1960s, the Dadys’ musical life began with the appearance of the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. Though the Beatles would soon become icons of the counterculture, John and Joe were able to share their love of the Beatles with their father, who would play Beatles tunes with them on his trumpet. Even as their musical tastes turned more esoteric, delving deeper into

American folk and roots music as played by counterculture groups like The Grateful Dead, William Dady remained a steadfast supporter of his sons’ pursuit of a career in music. When the Dadys graduated from playing at local Catholic churches and schools to neighborhood bars, their father would often perform with them, singing the old novelty songs that he had sung to them when they were growing up. When they made the decision to become full-time professional musicians, William Dady loaned them the money to produce their first record, the bluegrass/folk album Mind to Move (1979).

These local, family ties also brought the Dadys to Irish music. In the early 1970s, John’s

childhood sweetheart and future wife, Carol Culligan, returned from a trip to Ireland with tales of the Irish music revival. John soon went to Ireland and heard for himself the traditional instrumental music of the Chieftains and the ballads of the Dubliners. Upon his return, Carol brought him down to Rochester’s own center for Irish music, The Irish Inn, just north of the Tenth Ward on Lake Avenue. Years before they knew of the Clancy Brothers, John and Joe learned the Irish ballad tradition from Martin Whelan and Brian Clancy of the Emigrants, a local Rochester Irish music act. Their local exposure to Irish instrumental music came a few years later at the Friendship Tavern, located just south of Holy Rosary, also on Lake Avenue. The backroom sessions were anchored by Marty O’Keefe, a County-Clare-born fiddle and concertina player and fellow Holy Rosary parishioner. Through the 1980s, their commitment to Irish music only deepened. Their second album, Soul Lilt (1991), consisted exclusively of Irish instrumental music.

Through all their pursuit of professional success, the Dadys remained committed to their neighborhood roots. John married Carol in the mid-1970s. Though the life of a professional musician usually requires a commitment to national touring, John made the decision to limit touring in order to stay close to his family. After his parents retired to Florida, John bought his childhood home on Lakeview Park, where he and Carol raised their six children. Even as the neighborhood began to change for the worse and many Holy Rosary parishoners moved to the suburbs, the Dadys stayed in the Tenth Ward. Through a career of recording, playing national festivals, and brief tours of Ireland, the Dady Brothers remained local heroes, playing traditional music while remaining rooted in a local community.

A graduate of Yale, Christopher Shannon, Ph.D., is a professor of history at Christendom College and author of the highly acclaimed Bowery to Broadway: The American Irish in Classic Hollywood Cinema.

WHAT IS GIVING DAY? Christendom Giving Day is a 24-hour online fundraising challenge that aims to rally alumni around the world to come together in support of our alma mater and challenge each other to give without counting the cost.

WHAT IS THE GOAL OF THE 2018 GIVING DAY? To secure 200 new alumni giving monthly pledges of $10 or more in an effort to start a new culture of giving amongst alumni.

WHAT IS “THE CARROLL FUND�?

As part of Giving Day, we are launching a new Carroll Fund for alumni to honor the legacy of Dr. Carroll. This fund will support the critical needs of students each year in these five essential areas: 1) financial aid, 2) counseling and spiritual development, 3) career services, 4) athletics, and 5) faculty and staff.

V I S I T C H R I ST E N D O M G I V I N G DAY. CO M TO F I N D O U T M O R E .

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