Catholic Campus Ministry at Virginia Tech 2025 : Issue 1

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Ca t ho l i c Campu s Mi n i s t r y a t VIRGINIA TECH t

Spring Newslet ter Spring Newslet ter

"Love God, serve God; everything is in that." , . - S t . C l a r e o f A s s i s i

C o n t a c t U s : 2 0 3 O t e y S t r e e t B l a c k s b u r g , V A 2 4 0 6 0 ( 5 4 0 ) 9 5 1 - 0 0 3 2

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F o l l o w U s : @ c a t h o l i c h o k i e w w w . c a t h o l i c h o k i e . o r g

From the Chaplain Blessed Easter to you! What a momentous time in the Church we are living through. As I write this letter, it is the second week of Easter, and we have just watched the beautiful and solemn funeral rites and the internment at St. Mary Major for Pope Francis. I have been reflecting on how his last official act was to give the traditional Urbi et Orbi blessing, “to the city (Rome) and to the world.” It was a true witness of service that he carried on the traditional papal blessing to the world one final time. Beginning in February, we heard of the Pope’s illness and watched with prayerful concern as he went to the hospital and disappeared from the world stage while recovering. Looking back, these earlier events seemed to indicate that we were reaching the end and, in a way, prepared us for what finally happened on Easter Monday. How strange it has been that this final journey of our Holy Father paralleled in many ways our journey through Lent and our Lord’s journey to the cross. Our loving God seems often to give us signs and reminders that he is ultimately in charge. Our lives must intersect with the cross. The Paschal Mystery of our Lord’s Passion, death, and Resurrection is presented to us not as memory but as true reality. Our Easter joy is tinged with sadness at the loss of the Holy Father. Yet our hope in the Resurrection is only strengthened by the manner of his passing on Easter Monday. His death brings into focus what we believe Easter truly proclaims: there is eternal life after death. Those of you who are alumni may remember that we have a wonderful tradition of washing the feet of one another on Holy Thursday. We held a service this Holy Thursday before the beginning of Mass where I washed the feet of 12 of our student leaders, and they, in turn, washed the feet of other students, which started a chain until every foot in the congregation was washed. It is a simple yet very unusual moment for us to wash the feet of another. That night I read from Matthew 25 and had a student reflect on the importance of service prior to the start of the Triduum liturgies. In the past, this would have been a great moment to point out that the Pope had gone earlier that day to wash the feet of the poor or the imprisoned. This year’s Triduum, we were talking about service to the poor and washing the feet of one another, while praying for the Pope who was unable to do the same. Our student speaker that night, Sabrina, was one of our leaders who graduates this spring. This academic year, she was the primary planner of our six Alternative Spring Break trips, including our most recently added trip to Abingdon, VA. I hope you will enjoy reading about this new ASB and its impact later in this issue.

Servant Leaders Jules Fedak, Student Campus Minister Ben Rubinich, Asst. Student Campus Minister Hugh Grennan, Music Minister Nolan Conroy, Community Minister Margo Del Giudice, New Evangelization Minister

Megan Reese, Liturgy Minister Olivia Smaltz, Outreach Minister

RaeAnna Kelly, Communications Minister Clare O’Herron, Christian Formation Minister Cameron Pellei, Service and Justice Minister

Kathleen Calvin, Team Director Andrew DeCelle, Veteran Missionary Andy Eastman, Second Year Missionary Madelyn Bauer, First Year Missionary Nicholas Pluemer, First Year Missionary FOCUS Team

It is clear that our students have a true heart for serving others much like the late Pope Francis. May we look forward with hope this Jubilee Year to the example our young people will find in the new Pope.

Prayerfully,

Father Tom Yehl, Y.A.

Serving at Mass

“Often before I serve at Mass, I remind myself that it is how I can serve God in a tangible, direct way. In addition, altar serving has given me a much deeper understanding and appreciation of the Mass. I’m grateful to God and to our ministry for the opportunity to grow in service in this way!” — Kieran Sweeney “Being an EMHC has allowed me to love and understand Jesus more in my service of him every week. Serving Jesus like this teaches me how to better be his hands and feet on this earth.” — Felicity Wolf “Coordinating Mass on Sundays has given me the opportunity to serve God in a way I never have before. I enjoy helping set up War Memorial Chapel so that the community can come together in love for God. I'm grateful for all of the coordinators for volunteering their time on Sundays!” — Keira Salvanera “Altar serving at Mass is a wonderful opportunity for me and my brothers to participate in the liturgy. Being so close to the consecration of the Eucharist and assisting the priest during the distribution of Communion are both a great honor and a privilege. I have been altar serving at Mass since I was in the fifth grade, and I am glad that I can continue to serve here in Virginia Tech’s Catholic community.” — Conan Ugaz At the heart of the Catholic Campus Ministry is a spirit of service, and nowhere is this more visible than in the quiet, reverent roles students take on during the Mass. Whether serving as altar servers, Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, or coordinators, each student brings a unique perspective to this shared ministry. These acts of service are not just tasks — they are moments of grace and communion. As St. Teresa of Ávila once said, “ Christ has no body now but yours, no hands, no feet on Earth but yours .” In every small action and simple gesture, our student ministers live out this calling, serving God and their peers with humility, love, and devotion: “Being an EMHC for the CCM has given me such joy in administering the Body and Blood of Christ to the faithful who hunger for him. It is an honor to be entrusted with such a sacred office of the Church, and it has granted me a greater appreciation of my ability to receive Jesus every day.” — Julia Burant

“ Faith in Action is Love. Love in Action is Service. ” – St. Teresa of Calcutta While most college students head home to relax over spring break, 78 of our Catholic Hokies chose something different — something deeply rooted in faith and mission. Through our Alternative Spring Break (ASB) program, a group of 13 students and three staff members traveled to Abingdon, Virginia, for a week of service, reflection, and spiritual growth that left a lasting impact on everyone involved. “As a freshman, I was assigned to work in Abingdon for my very first ASB,” shared student Andrew O’Kane. “It was an amazing experience.” Each day, the group split among three job sites: assisting with cleaning and repairs at the Jubilee House Retreat Center and Christ the King Parish, doing odd jobs at the Elder Spirit retirement community, and helping with yard work and student engagement at St. Anne’s Catholic School in nearby Bristol. The trip was a mini Catholic Hokie reunion as the pastor of Christ the King and the chaplain of St. Anne both have strong ties to our ministry. Fr. Masla of Christ the King is a Catholic Hokie alumni, and Fr. Tom Lawrence of St. Anne was a seminarian and deacon at St. Mary’s in Blacksburg. At St. Anne, the Hokies quickly became part of the school family. “They sat with our students at lunch, played (very high energy) football at recess, joined (even higher energy) hockey games in PE, shared their faith in the classroom, and worked hard to mulch our school grounds,” said Nicole Hughes, Assistant Principal at St. Anne.

“They weren’t just visitors; they were role models,” said Hughes. “Their presence reminded us that following Christ isn’t just about words — it’s about how we live, how we serve, and how we connect with others. They showed our students that faith isn’t boring; rather, it is the foundation of a meaningful, joy-filled life.” Meanwhile, at Elder Spirit, Hokies connected with residents by sharing life stories and laughter. “I was told countlessly that our group made their days just by being present,” said O’Kane. Evenings during the trip were filled with reflection, adoration, confession, and daily Mass, making the trip feel not only like a service project but also a spiritual retreat. “These Hokies embodied what it means to live a life of faith in action.” – Hughes

Andrew O’Kane Class of 2028

“The presence of the Holy Spirit on our ASB brought a new light to the task at hand. I’m sure it was due to God’s help that we touched so many hearts.” – O’Kane

The students stayed at the Jubilee House Retreat Center — fittingly named for the Jubilee year in which it was completed. This sacred space has long been cared for by Catholic Hokie alumni Bob and Karen Vaughan, who retired this year after more than a decade of dedicated service. Bob managed bookings and maintenance, while Karen oversaw cooking, cleaning, and landscaping. Together, they live the mission they preach: “We believe Jesus is present in every human, and we receive the real presence of Christ at each Mass,” they shared. “We are always working for him.” Their legacy of hospitality and quiet faith continues to bear fruit. Since the trip, students have visited Abingdon to cultivate the relationships they built with St. Anne’s and the Jubilee House community — proof that this was not just one week of service but the beginning of something enduring.

Bob and Karen Vaughan Cornerstone Hokies

“I think service is a very important aspect of our faith that is often overlooked,” O’Kane reflected. “Jesus called us to go and serve the hungry, thirsty, homeless, naked, sick, imprisoned, and deceased... and that’s a challenging thing to do. But this trip helped me grow in so many virtues. I am extremely excited to see what fruits will come from my next three ASB trips.”

Go Forth and Make Disciples... C l ass of 2025 Mi ss i onar i es

Despite an incredibly fruitful encounter with Christ during my first two years of college, I was a little unsure what putting my faith into practice would look like as a transfer student at Virginia Tech. However, that worry was quickly thwarted upon arriving in Blacksburg as I realized there was something incredible at work with the Holy Spirit on campus. My friend Ryan invited me to a Bible study and after only a few short weeks, I immediately felt at home. By my second year, I kept the ball rolling and led an Alternative Spring Break trip to Emmitsburg, Maryland, and started a Bible study with the help of the FOCUS missionaries. One missionary, Andy — my discipler — inspired me to discern mission, and after attending the FOCUS Interview Weekend, I realized that God had been calling me to become a FOCUS missionary all along. Looking back on my college years, I know that God has been working on me through the people and opportunities he has put in my life: friends, teammates, Youth Apostle brothers, and compelling adventures. I'm confident I’m meant to bring the message of the Gospel to college students out of gratitude for the incredible formation and fraternity that I was so lucky to have.

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My experience with the Catholic Campus Ministry was truly life changing. Coming into college, I remember desiring to know a little more about my faith, while still wanting to have a typical college experience. However, after more and more time went on, I found the typical college weekend activities to be more fruitless, while at the same time getting to know great people in the CCM. Seeing examples of holiness and intimate relationships with Christ lived out in my peers made me realize that holiness is something attractive. Through their help and example, I grew in my own faith, and am growing more every day. Fast forward two years, and here I am as a senior, discerning the next step after college. Over the course of college, I was blessed to take on leadership in the forms of spending two years on the Servant Leader Team for the CCM as well as leading a

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Bible study. This not only helped me drastically grow in my faith but taught me how to help others do the same as well. It was during the start of senior year that the Lord was strongly putting on my heart to pursue mission after college. After much discernment, I decided on the Youth Apostles Mission Program. Youth Apostles is a community based out of Northern Virginia dedicated to serving young people. They also help run the campus ministry at Virginia Tech, which inspired me to join several years ago. Around this time of discernment, we found out some of the missionaries were leaving and their roles needed to be filled. Although reluctant at first, I knew the Lord was calling me to step up and help fill them. I am really looking forward to the next year I will spend in Northern Virginia getting to serve the youth. God willing, I hope to evangelize the high schoolers I will be working with like I was evangelized here at Virginia Tech. The Lord gave me a great gift of a community here at college, and I am excited to try and help him give that same gift to high schoolers at the Catholic School I will be assigned to.

Meals on Main food security and companionship for kids

St. Mary’s Glean Team food security

CCM Service Squad

Appalachian Service Project community construction

25 Volunteers weekly

“The ministry has exploded in charity this year as we’ve worked with more and more excellent volunteer organizations to express our love for those around us. We’re constantly on our toes trying to find more events and slots to keep up with the demand for volunteer opportunities!” – Cameron Pellei, Service and Justice Minister

Sleep In Heavenly Peace building beds for kids

To Our House Shelter for the Homeless

100 Hours of service a week

The Big Event VT Service Project

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

Pray for Our Newly Ordained Alumni

Rev . Joseph Connor D i ocese of Ar l i ngton

Rev . Jordan Evans D i ocese of Ar l i ngton

Rev . J im Harbour D i ocese of Ar l i ngton Ordination to the transitional Deaconate on April 26

Rev . Samue l Hi l l D i ocese of R i chmond

Ordination to the priesthood June 7

Ordination to the priesthood June 7

Ordination to the priesthood June 7

As we joyfully celebrate the ordinations of our alumni, we’re reminded of the incredible impact campus ministry can have on a young person’s life. Their "yes" to God began with countless moments of formation, prayer, and community — made possible by the generous support of people like you. By becoming a monthly donor, you help us plan our yearly budget with confidence, ensuring we can continue to offer retreats, Bible studies, and liturgical ministries that form future priests, religious, and lay leaders for the Church.