The Ave Maria University 2023-2024 Academic Year opened with a Mass celebrated by Bishop Frank J. Dewane on Aug. 21, 2023.
Prior to the opening hymn, students carrying banners, representing different houses (themed resident halls) of the university, came forward, and they were followed by faculty, dressed in their doctoral robes and seated up front while the students sat behind. Concelebrating the Mass with Bishop Dewane were priests who serve the spiritual needs of the students on campus and in Ave Maria Parish.
The Bishop and priests wore red vestments, to mark the celebration of a Mass of the Holy Spirit, whereupon the community gathers to thank God for the gifts of creation and salvation and to seek the guidance and wisdom of the Holy Spirit in the coming year.
Bishop Dewane welcomed new and returning students for the start of a new Academic Year and noted that they have each been provided with a great opportunity to be at Ave Maria University and said he was praying that they find success in their studies. The Bishop encouraged the students to be open to hear the call of the Lord in their lives and to live that answer each day.
The Bishop called upon the Lord to bless the works of the faculty and staff of the university as they are dedicated to the task of building up the students on all levels, but most importantly in their spiritual formation.
Reflecting upon the Gospel reading of the day (Mt 19:16-22), wherein a young man approached Jesus and said “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life,” Bishop Dewane said the lesson taught by Jesus is an important one for all to learn, but perhaps most importantly for the university students to understand.
In the Gospel, Jesus tells the young man to keep the Commandments, but when he says he has done all of that, he questioned again about what he lacks, the young man is prompted to go further and sell what he had and give to the poor and he will have treasure in heaven, “Then come, follow Me.” The young man heard this and went away sad, for he had many possessions.
“The life we all live is often marred by sin, contrary to the way we set out as we are all searching for something,” Bishop Dewane explained. “The lesson we must learn is not to focus our lives on our earthly possessions, but it is to conform to the request of Jesus Christ in our lives. We do this through prayers and intercessions, because we have to ask what the Lord seeks of us.”
As students, they come to Ave Maria University with goals and dreams to enter into a profession or career, but the Bishop remarked how that is secondary to what their commitment to attending a Catholic university is all about.
“Your commitment must be about listening to the Lord and responding,” Bishop Dewane continued. “The Light of Christ must be in your ministry and in your lives. Here at Ave Maria University, you must be willing to be a part of Christian culture. Like Christ, live your life for others. You are the Light; called to evidence those beliefs with a certain moral strength.”
“As we begin this year, let us invoke the Light of the Holy Spirit within our lives. May it guide your relationship with the Lord as you strive to live and become always more the men or women of God we are called to be,” Bishop Dewane concluded.
Following closing prayer, the Bishop presided over a commissioning ceremony for five new doctoral students in theology who received the mandatum. As part of the doctoral program, they will be engaged as instructors and teaching assistants for courses in Catholic theology at the University. As such, they are required to obtain the mandatum from the local Bishop. As part of this, before Bishop Dewane and the entire school community, each made a Profession of Faith and Oath of Fidelity, vowing to remain faithful to the Teachings of the Church.
After the Mass the Bishop greeted the students who thanked him for his presence and inspiring homily.
“This is another exciting year in our Diocese of Venice Catholic Schools,” Father said. “We are full up with every school having some sort of waitlist. We have new initiatives which are being implemented to ensure that each of our students receives the educational experience that parents have come to expect from the Diocese: that is a quality education that helps to build the mind, body and spirit, all focused on building up the glory of God in the world.”
Sophia McCartney, a senior at St. John Neumann Catholic High School in Naples, has announced her commitment to accept an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 2024. McCartney is a star basketball player at Neumann and intends to play at West Point.
Bus ride to the outskirts of Fatima in the countryside where the Aug. 19, 1917, apparition of Our Lady of Fatima took place. Pilgrims took part in two-mile Estação da Via Sacra (Stations of the Cross), or Caminho dos Pastorinhos (path of the little shepherds), which included 14 chapels that represent the different stations of the Way of the Cross. Father Alex Pince, Parochial Vicar at Epiphany Cathedral led the Diocesan group through the stations on the second anniversary of his priestly ordination.
This visit also included a stop at the Cenacolo Community (Fraternity Angel of Peace) which ministers to those suffering from addictions, as well as the Parish Church of Fatima where Sts. Lucia, Francisco and Jacinto, were baptized, as well as to the Shrine Museum. St. Francisco died in 1919 at the age of 10, Jacinto died in 1920, at the age of 9, both from the 1919 global influenza outbreak. They are the Church’s youngest saints who did not die as martyrs, with Jacinta the youngest.
Each afternoon of WYD a Youth Festival is taking place throughout the city. In Cidade da Alegria, is a Vocational Fair and Reconciliation Park. During the Vocational Fair, young pilgrims encounter various movements, associations, communities, religious orders, and projects of social nature. Reconciliation Park is where pilgrims encounter the Merciful Christ through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Rise Up catechesis continues. Evening welcoming ceremony for Pope Francis at Colina de Econtro (Parque Eduardo VII). Youth Festival.
Hanson’s distinguished career includes more than 11 years of experience as a principal or assistant principal in both public and Catholic school settings. She served as the principal of St. Clement School in Chicago, Illinois where she led the school to its first National Blue-Ribbon School award in the school’s 100-year history. She is an award-winning teacher with experience in middle school math, science, and language arts. Hanson holds a B.S. in Finance and a Master of Education in Teaching and Learning from DePaul University, and has completed doctoral level coursework in educational policy, organization and leadership at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.
Snyder went on to become the founding Upper School Principal of Aquinas American School in Madrid, Spain. He returned to the United States in 2015 to accept a role as founding Headmaster of True North Classical Academy in Miami, where he helped grow the school from 180 students to more than 1,700. He returned to Donahue in 2021 as assistant principal. Snyder has several degrees including a B.S. in Biology from Florida Atlantic University, a B.S. of Philosophy from the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, a master’s degree in K-12 Educational Leadership, and a Doctorate in Higher Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University. He is currently pursuing a second Master’s in Character Education from the University of Birmingham’s Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues in London, England.
