Catholic Campus Ministry Newsletter

C a t h o l i c C amp u s M i n i s t r y a t V I R G I N I A T E C H

1924 2024 CENTENNIAL

Celebrating 100 Years of Faith that Moves Mountains!

S p e c i a l E d i t i o n I s s u e

W W W . C A T H O L I C H O K I E . O R G

Top Left to Right: Deacon Christopher Colville (alum), Deacon Chris Barrett (former campus minister), Fr. Michael Isenberg (alum) Bottom Left to Right: Fr. Thomas Yehl, Y.A. (chaplain), Fr. Ramon Dominguez (alum and former chaplain), Fr. James Griffin (former chaplain), Fr. Richard Mooney (alum and two-time chaplain) Not Pictured: Bishop Barry Knestout, Bishop Adam Parker (alum), Bishop Bernard Shlesinger (alum), Deacon Mike Ellerbrock (professor), Deacon Jordan Evans (alum)

A Century on the Mountain: from the Chaplain

How great are the blessings that God has placed upon us! In 2024 we celebrated one hundred years of the Newman Catholic Campus Ministry. I continue to be in awe of all that is happening now on campus and, in a greater way, all that God has done these past hundred years in the lives of so many generations of students and community members. What began as a small mission with the first Newman Club has steadily ascended, culminating in a magnificent summit of blessings over the past century. I am grateful for all of our alumni who have participated in the building of this ministry, and I look forward to seeing how God continues to grow our ministry and our outreach on campus and makes Virginia Tech a source of new life in our local Church and beyond. The always beautiful fall days in the mountains of Blacksburg were especially brilliant around our Sunday October 20 centennial celebration (helped by a Thursday night football victory). Bishop Barry Knestout of Richmond celebrated a special Mass in Burruss Auditorium, where he asked for new blessings from God for our ministry. Joining the students for the Mass were many alumni and parents as well as Bishop Bernard E. Shlesinger III, auxiliary bishop of Atlanta, and Bishop Adam J. Parker, auxiliary bishop of Baltimore: both Catholic Hokies! Having 500 people for Mass with the bishop is always special, but it was particularly poignant to see alumni bishops, priests, and deacons. Bishop Knestout spoke about many of the vocations to priesthood and married life that have been formed here — several of which we have highlighted in this issue in honor of our momentous milestone. After Mass, many of the alumni gathered with the bishops for lunch at the University Club. Gazing out over the south end zone of Lane Stadium, I was particularly grateful to be a Hokie and to have the means to serve our students. I am grateful that the university is supportive of our work with students and allows our continued use of War Memorial Chapel. I am grateful for our Newman House, a place where the spiritual and social lives of students can come together. I am grateful for chaplain predecessors like Fr. Mooney, Fr. Griffin, and Fr. Grace who can speak to much of the past 50 years of our history. I am grateful that my community of Youth Apostles has been helping to lead this ministry since 2013 with Fr. David Sharland, my immediate predecessor, and Chris Hitzelberger, our current director. Most of all I am grateful for the grace of God, and I look forward to seeing this ministry continuing to ascend the mountains of faith, community, and service. If you are reading this, you were part of the past hundred years and now can be part of the next hundred years. We continue to grow and need your prayers and support. Every day I ask myself “What do we need to reach more students?” Our house is bursting at the seams with joyful students, and we regularly send them out to bring even more in. Pray that God may help us to discern his plan to build upon our ministry and serve our Hokie community in new ways. We hope you enjoy this special edition newsletter to commemorate the lasting legacy of our ministry and ask that you prayerfully discern supporting us as we continue inspiring new disciples with faith that moves mountains. Prayerfully,

Father Tom Yehl, Y.A.

“Heaven is a city on a hill, hence we cannot cast into it; we have to climb.” — Venerable Fulton Sheen

Mountaintop Moments

1924 “Pop ” Owens founds the Newman C l ub a t VT

The Rise of Our Ministry

When Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College opened in 1872, the Catholic community in Blacksburg was receiving sporadic visits from the priest of St. Mary’s in Wytheville. In 1911 St. Mary’s Wytheville built a small mission chapel in downtown Blacksburg to serve the growing Catholic population of students and townspeople. In 1924 Mess Steward John Joseph "Pop" Owens of the class of 1879 founded the Newman Club at Virginia Tech. The original club started with 11 members but grew to 38 by 1927. The Newman Club became associated with the Federation of Catholic Clubs in 1932. During World War II, the ministry received its first campus minister, Rev. Conrad Marrama, while the university served as a temporary military base. In 1966 Monsignor Sadie celebrated the first Mass at War Memorial Chapel, where it is still celebrated today. Rev. George Whilcox became the Campus Minister of Newman in 1969. Since then, all priests appointed as campus ministers to the community have been assigned directly to Newman, no longer splitting time between St. Mary’s Blacksburg and the university. When diocesan borders changed in 1974, Blacksburg became part of the Diocese of Richmond. That same year, the first Sunday Supper was held at the Newman House. To best serve the growing community, the Newman Board was founded in 1983, consisting of students and members of permanent families in the community and led by Rev. Richard Mooney, a VT alum. The Board eventually transformed into what we know today as the student Servant Leader team, which continues to play a central role in running the ministry. In the late 1990s, Rev. Jim Cowles started plans for the expansion of the Newman House to meet the growing needs of students. He was succeeded by Rev. Jim Griffin who oversaw the fundraising of 1.2 million dollars for the project. In 2002 the completed construction of the house added much needed office space, a larger kitchen, a renovated chapel, and the Great Room for social events. During Rev. John Grace’s chaplaincy, the Newman community placed an even greater emphasis on service. This led to the creation of the Newman Outreach Project, which sent students on service trips during winter and spring breaks. Our ministry still sends about a hundred students on NOP trips annually. In 2013 Rev. David Sharland became the chaplain of the ministry, representing the Youth Apostles, and Chris Hitzelberger, a lay member, took on the role of Campus Minister. This brought a time of enhanced focus on liturgy and the sacraments as well as the introduction of FOCUS missionaries to the campus. Rev. Thomas Yehl, Y.A. was appointed chaplain in 2023 and continues to offer the sacraments daily. The ministry currently serves an average of 700 for Sunday Masses, 70-80 students at daily Masses, and 350 students in FOCUS bible studies. Additionally, the ministry had a record breaking number of sign ups for Fall Retreat this past academic year: 165!

1949 E l l a Russe l l beques t s her home to the mi n i s t r y

1966 F i r s t Mass at War Memor i a l Chape l ce l ebra t ed by Msgr . Sad i e

1974 F i r s t Spaghe t t i D i nner ( Sunday Supper ) a t the Newman House

2002 Expans i on to the Newman House i s comp l e t ed

2013 Youth Apos t l es beg i n mi n i s t er i ng at VT

Scan the code to read the full history compiled by Tyler Herod, Class of 2024.

Two Sisters, Two Paths Twin Sisters’ Journey from Campus Ministry to Faith-Filled Callings

I’m very grateful for my time in the Catholic Campus Ministry at Virginia Tech and the growth of my relationship with God during college. As a freshman, I decided to join a small group bible study. This was a new experience for me, and the group became an important place to share my heart and to be challenged to grow in my Catholic faith as I began to claim it more deeply as my own. There were many key moments in my journey of faith over the next four years — retreats, returning to confession after many years, going to Eucharistic adoration for the first time, alternative spring break and winter break trips, becoming a Servant Leader, and more. Through it all, the Lord opened my heart to receive him more and more. I’m grateful for the gift of sharing this experience with my sister, Eleni, and for the opportunity to grow in my relationship with God alongside her. One day, we both decided to stay at the Newman House for daily Mass, which was something we had never done before. That day became a new beginning, and we started attending Mass each day. Even though we now live far away from each other, I am continually amazed how the Lord unites us through the Eucharist. “It is such a gift to walk the way to heaven together!”

Sr. Caeli Gloriae, SV Bachelors in Public Relations in 2016

I didn’t directly perceive the Lord calling me to religious life during my years at VT, but I now see more clearly what he was doing in my heart during that time. I marvel at the providence of God and his thread of grace through it all. The Lord led me to become a FOCUS missionary after graduation, where I encountered the Sisters of Life and his invitation to religious consecration in this charism of life. While I was a missionary, the Lord inspired me to pray, “Give me the desire to want what you want more than what I want,” and he began to stir new desires in my heart. I experienced an invitation to give him permission in my heart and my life. I entered the Sisters of Life in 2019, and now live at St. Anthony's Convent in Catskill, NY. I will be forever grateful for the ways that I learned to pray during college, as this relationship with Jesus has changed my life forever.

As I started my time at Virginia Tech I knew I would attend Mass as I always had, but I didn’t know if I would get involved further than that. One of the first weekends, I planned to go to a welcome event, and as I walked across the parking lot, someone spotted me and welcomed me in; I never turned back. Diving deeper into my faith, I experienced more frequent confession, adoration, many retreats, and service events. I joined multiple groups to share faith, and I truly felt like I was starting to have a personal relationship with the Lord. Knowing there were people alongside me, helping me to grow, was both inspiring and positively challenging. I had known since I was in elementary school that I wanted to be a teacher, but I had only experienced public schools both as a student and a teacher. At a Sunday Supper, I had a conversation with a Dominican Sister where the idea of working at a Catholic school was highlighted in a new light. I knew I had grown so much personally, and I was on fire to share that. I quickly changed course and applied to work exclusively at Catholic schools. I am in my eighth year as a Catholic school teacher, and I couldn’t imagine it any other way. A few years ago at my school, a priest visited and was talking with the students about becoming saints. He asked them, “Who can help you get there?” The first student’s response was “my teacher.” The role I have, the gift I have been given, can’t be taken lightly. God has entrusted me to teach these students and “to entrust means that God believes in you [and] trusts that you are capable of receiving the gift.” (A Meditation on Givenness)

Eleni Back Bachelors in Human Development in 2016; Master of Arts in Education, Curriculum and Instruction in 2017

I gave him the gift of my sister and the plans I had, and he gave me back the most beautiful extended family of Sisters. The Lord has also revealed how close we can be with people even in the midst of physical distance and lack of communication. This can only happen when those people are fully seeking God and his directions. Looking back on the past 13 years, I would tell others to lean into all the experiences in front of you — let the Lord speak. Also, be open to the way he is speaking to you through those you encounter. The Lord has great plans for us, and while they might not look like our own, they will ultimately lead you to become a saint. Through the highs and lows of navigating new realities with my sister, my desire for heaven has grown; I’m beyond thankful for that gift. God has also entrusted me with the gift of my twin sister, Sr. Caeli Gloriae. After college my sister and I were physically apart for the first time. I walked with her in her journey as a FOCUS missionary and then her discernment of religious life. When she entered the convent, the reality was that my life with her would look differently. It was easy to focus on the difficult pieces, such as lack of communication, but the hardest part was the uncertainty. There were so many unknowns and things that would be revealed over time, which pushed me to have greater trust in the Lord’s plans for our lives. “These past five years have taught me to surrender in a new way. You give something to God, and he gives you back more than you can imagine.”

Returning “Home” to the Mountains

Catholic Hokies Then.....

Makayla and I met the first week of our freshmen year at Virginia Tech, walking from Sunday Mass to brunch at D2 dining hall. We became close by joining a study group that quickly became the perfect excuse to spend hours together. As we began dating and fell in love, we were encouraged to discern intentionally. Community members demonstrated what a Christ-centered marriage looked like, and Sunday Supper talks challenged us to explore other vocations through discernment groups and grow in different dimensions of our faith. Through an openness to other vocations, such as the priesthood or consecrated life, Makayla and I became more open to God’s calling for our lives and understanding of the meaning of vocation.

Chris and Makayla Puzio

Through involvement in Youth Apostles and Women Youth Apostles respectively, we learned a lot about commitment. Both communities

class of 2020 and 2019

encourage small but meaningful commitments that serve as stepping stones to more serious commitments. For example, Makayla and I both made commitments to attend daily Mass as often as possible, which made further commitments to prayer, to service, and to each other feel within our reach. Feeling called to marriage, we were engaged after the Easter Vigil of our junior year with plans to marry the week after graduation. Unfortunately, the pandemic disrupted our graduation and wedding plans, but we felt inspired to begin our lives together. While it wasn't the wedding we expected, we had the whole community praying for us and watching via livestream as we celebrated our wedding Mass at St. Mary’s in Blacksburg. After our wedding, we moved to northern Virginia for work and to be close to our respective Youth Apostles communities. As we faced the challenges of new jobs, a pandemic, and navigating married life, we came to rely even more on community life and the practices of prayer, Mass, and service that we developed at the campus ministry.

Two years later, I was fortunate to find a remote job that allowed us to move anywhere in the world. Through much prayer and discernment, we decided to return to the Blacksburg/Christiansburg area to build up and support the community that once supported us. Makayla now works part-time for the campus ministry, and we have weekly opportunities to invite students into our beautiful mess of family life with our children, Lucy and John Paul. Our involvement in the Catholic Campus Ministry as well as Youth Apostles and Women Youth Apostles deeply impacted our faith and shaped our understanding of commitment. Thankfully, they provided the support we needed to grow as individuals and as a couple. I feel particularly grateful for those who encouraged us to discern well in making small, meaningful steps that prepared us for the bigger commitments of life. These practices nurtured our faith, deepened our trust in God, and laid the foundation for our vocation to marriage that we hope will bear much fruit.

John Paul and Lucy Puzio

“The higher we go, the better we shall hear the voice of Christ.” — Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati

...And Catholic Hokies Now

The Newman House has been home base to our ministry since it was opened in 1963. It holds special memories for all of our students and alumni — whether they were a member of one of our folk groups, a bible study leader, a Sunday Supper frequenter, a volunteer for one of our service projects, a Newman Dance attendee, or a member of our Leadership Council. The house currently hosts daily Mass, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, small group bible studies, community dinners, discernment groups, Praise and Worship nights, volleyball tournaments, tailgates, and more. Students consider the Newman House a home away from home, and we aspire to maintain this place of comfort and refuge for all Catholic Hokies as the ministry expands. The Great Room, which was added to the Newman House in 2002, currently acts as a multi-purpose room for daily Mass and all large events. The regular set-up for Mass is often broken down and reconfigured to accommodate the many community events offered throughout the week. We are also frequently at max capacity for daily Masses and Sunday Suppers with overflow seating spilling into adjacent rooms. Our ministry is quickly outgrowing our current facilities with no signs of slowing down. To best serve our students and carry out our mission, we need your help. In 2023, the property next door to the Newman House was listed for sale, but our ministry was unable to make a competitive offer to purchase the land due to funding limitations. As we continue to serve more students, we know that building an addition to our current structure or acquiring another plot to expand the property is an imminent need. The St. Joseph Building Fund was established by our Knights of Columbus Council to secure the funds necessary for this future building project. In honor of our 100th anniversary as a ministry, we ask you to prayerfully discern making a donation to this fund, so we are prepared for the next opportunity to expand the Newman House for the next generation. St. Joseph Building Fund

Give a gift now!

CENTENNIAL 1924 2024

“God has created me to do Him some definite service.” - St. John Henry Newman

F r . Tom Yeh l , Y . A . Chap l a i n chap l a i n@c a t ho l i chok i e . o r g Ch r i s H i t z e l be r ge r D i r e c t o r o f Campu s M i n i s t r y d i r e c t o r@c a t ho l i chok i e . o r g

A Community Grounded in God

The Catholic Campus Ministry played a huge role in the discernment of my vocation! It was like a home away from home. I remember my time at college as a period of striving to figure out my identity and mission. “Who am I?” There are so many ways to answer that question: a Hokie (what does that even mean?)... a business major (who switched majors three times). But the Newman community kept me grounded — I’m a Catholic. And that helped me answer the next question: “What is my mission?” I was reminded that I’m part of a bigger story — the one God is writing. I have a unique role to play beyond what I could have ever envisioned for myself. My advice to college students or young adults who may be exploring God’s call for their lives is to remember that God knows you better than you know yourself. It took me a while to really surrender to God and say, “I’ll go wherever you lead me. Help me to want what you want.” I was becoming disillusioned, almost in denial that I wasn’t finding my heart’s deepest desire in my studies. Much to my chagrin, in almost every business class, we were reminded that “the business exists in order to maximize stockholder wealth.” Meanwhile, I was still trying to answer the more fundamental question: “Why do I exist!?” Finally, at a loss, I started to pray for guidance, and I noticed something interesting. When I tried to envision a career in business, there was hardly an ounce of desire in my heart. But when I began to envision a vocation as a priest, to my great astonishment, a spark of desire was ignited within. I sensed that God was calling me not to maximize the monetary wealth in stockholders’ bank accounts, but the spiritual wealth in the hearts of his people.

Fr. Chris Masla class of 2013, pastor of Christ the King and St. John the Evangelist

There’s an expression I’ve become fond of: “We go to God together.” Newman, for me, is a community oriented toward God in prayer and worship — a community that generously shares what God has given to us with others. As a priest I want to keep us oriented “God-ward” through reverent liturgy, increased opportunities for confession and Eucharistic adoration, and simply being present where I see good fruits, such as Family-first Friday gatherings.

“Mountains...become the symbol of the ascent of the human person to the Creator.” — St. John Paul II