The spirit of St. Francis of Assisi is coming alive on campus this month. Throughout the month – which has been named “the Month of Miracles” – the University is hosting a series of events to help people deepen their faith and learn more about the institution’s Franciscan tradition.
The idea for a “Month of Miracles” originated from a pilgrimage that faculty, staff members and students took to Rome and Assisi, Italy, in May of 2023. The group visited sites that were significant to St. Francis of Assisi throughout his life.
Some of the members of the group who made the trip in the spring of 2023 came up with the idea of a month-long campus event to highlight some of the things they learned while traveling through Italy.
The event is also intended to celebrate the 800th anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi receiving the stigmata.
“We joked about needing a month to cover everything we learned, and that’s when the Month of Miracles was born,” said Melissa Garrity, an Administrative Assistant in SFU’s Social Work and Psychology departments.
Support from Campus Ministry and an Excellence-in-Education grant helped bring the event to fruition.
The Month of Miracles began Sept. 4 and will continue through the first few days of October. Each morning during this period, all those with an SFU email account receive information about a different “saint of the day,” as well information about on-campus activities related to the celebration.
A variety of spiritual and educational activities are being offered throughout the month such as praise and worship, nature walks and discussions.
Some of the highlights include a blessing of student-athletes, a blessing of pets and a living rosary. Scheduled recreational events include a golf outing and fishing derby.
The month-long event is being held in conjunction with “Marked with the Wounds of Christ: An Academic Conference on the Stigmatization of St. Francis.”
The conference is a joint initiative hosted by SFU and its sister school, Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio.
The three-day conference, which runs this week (Sept. 12-14), includes multiple livestream sessions. The event’s keynote address will be delivered by Bill Cook in the DiSepio Center, Room 213/214, on Sept. 13 at 4 p.m.
Cook is a former professor of History at the State University of New York at Geneseo.
A Mass at the campus Grotto is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 14, to commemorate the stigmata of St. Francis. The month-long celebration will conclude on Oct. 4, the feast day of St. Francis.
