Kean Catholics visit Pope Leo’s alma mater
On Aug. 2, a group of students from New Jersey’s Kean University traveled to the suburbs of Philadelphia to visit the alma mater of Pope Leo XIV.
The trip was organized by the Kean Catholics ministry. “The students are always asking me who should we invite,” said campus minister Lucia Pasternak. “And, of course, they always jokingly say, ‘The pope.’”
Unfortunately, the Holy Father has not yet scheduled a visit to the United States, so Pasternak decided that the next best thing was to bring the students to the school he attended when he was their age.
Augustinian influence
Founded in 1842 as the Augustinian College of Villanova (after St. Thomas of Villanova), the college struggled in its first decades due to anti-Catholicism, staffing shortages, and financial challenges. Its academic reputation continued to grow, however; today it ranks as one of the top universities in the US.
As a student in the late 1970s, Bob Prevost resided in St. Mary’s Hall and was known as a friendly and gifted student who was concerned about the welfare of others. During his time at Villanova, he helped found a campus pro-life group, Villanovans for Life. He entered the Augustinian order shortly after his graduation in 1977. Decades later, he would become the school’s most famous graduate.
About dozen Kean students made the trip to Villanova for a day of reflection, prayer, and personal witness.
Nick Hathaway, a journalism student at Kean, who is also treasurer of the Thomistic Institute chapter on campus, said that he was struck by “the ever-present Augustinian influence I felt throughout the entire campus.”
“When walking around Villanova, the themes that Saint Augustine espoused in Confessions, especially the idea that the present is the only real moment, can be felt throughout the campus. I noticed how present in time the university felt. Even though it was founded 184 years ago in Pennsylvania, I never felt that I was looking at a campus defined by its past. Despite Villanova’s rich history, I instead felt immersed in the present,” he said.
Encountering saints
One of the stops the group made was Saint Thomas of Villanova Church, the campus’s main house of worship. There they visited the remains of Servant of God Father Bill Atkinson, O.S.A. While an Augustinian novice, Atkinson crashed on a toboggan, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down. With the help of classmates, he persevered in his studies and, after receiving a dispensation from Pope Paul VI, he was ordained to the priesthood in 1974. He celebrated his first Mass at Villanova’s Fieldhouse, serving as a priest for 32 years.
After praying before the Blessed Sacrament and asking for Father Atkinson’s intercession, the group listened to a presentation by Father Robert Hagan, O.S.A., provincial of the Villanova province. Father Hagan, who knew Father Atkinson personally, was inspired by the priest’s sense of joy and enthusiasm and credits him with inspiring his vocation as an Augustinian.
“To listen to someone who spent time with a person whose cause for sainthood is ongoing was amazing,” Lucia Pasternak said.
The group also attended a Mass in the school’s Corr Chapel celebrated by Father Francis Caponi, O.S.A., who teaches systematic theology at the university. After the liturgy, Father Caponi spoke about the history of the school and, using the chapel’s magnificent stained-glass windows to illustrate stories about some of the saints who are important to the Augustinian order.
Nick Hathaway said that the visit to Villanova left him “in awe, and not just because we were at the university that the Holy Father attended.”
“I would encourage anyone to visit, to not just to learn about Pope Leo XIV but about the Catholics who built Villanova University and made it what it is,” Nick Hathaway said.
Visit Kean Catholics to learn more about the campus ministry there. For information about Catholic ministries at other campuses, visit the Archdiocese of Newark’s Office of Campus Ministry.
To view more photos of Kean Catholics’ visit to Villanova University, CLICK HERE.
Featured image: On Aug. 2, Kean Catholics organized a visit to Villanova University, the alma mater of Pope Leo XIV. A dozen students participated in the event. (Photo courtesy Kean Catholics)
