Campus Ministry

This year we had the awe-filled opportunity to journey with eight students as they prepared to receive sacraments of initiation to become Catholic at the Easter Vigil. Four of them were catechumens– unbaptized individuals who received all three sacraments of initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, and First Eucharist)-- and the other four were candidates who were already baptized Christians in other denominations and professed their faith and were received in full communion with the Catholic Church and then received Confirmation and First Eucharist. 

After my UDSAP summer, as I entered my senior year at UD, I truly did not know where my experiences and degree were leading me. Wanting to explore my options, I attended the Post-Grad Volunteer Fair where I was introduced to the Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest. JVC Northwest is guided by similar values that we held during the summer Appalachia program, values of community, social and ecological justice, spirituality and reflection, and simple living. Feeling the call to continue to live these values fully, I applied to serve with JVC NW to see where it could lead. It felt as though my year of service found me. 

El Salvador is a country with breathtaking landscapes and a vibrant culture. It's the smallest country in Central America, but it has a population of approximately 6.5 million people. Salvadorans are friendly and hospitable. They carry within them a beacon of light that serves as a sign of hope and inspiration for those seeking peace in a troubled world.

Just like Christ endured isolation and loneliness in his darkest hour, it is all too common for people who identify as neurodivergent to feel marginalized and unaccepted. We have been socially conditioned to believe that there is a “typical” way that people think, behave, and communicate, and when there is a deviation from this “norm” it is easy to dismiss, ignore, or even mistreat God’s creation.