It’s not unusual to see a bishop conferring the Sacrament of Confirmation on young people. What is a little more unusual is to see a bishop confer this sacrament on a college campus. On Sunday, April 6, Bishop Timothy Senior did just that as he confirmed two college students attending Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster. In what is thought to be a first, the Confirmation was celebrated in the campus chapel, with close to 40 students and family members attending the noon Mass.
Matthew Downs and Thomas Fay, both students at the college, approached Father Stephen Logue, campus minister, earlier this year, asking to receive the sacrament. In addition to the Confirmation, Leyla Muminova, who is a freshman from Uzbekistan and will be joining the Church at the Easter Vigil this year, received the third scrutiny from the bishop.
“One of the main reasons why I decided to receive Confirmation is due to my dad passing back in December of 2021. Since then, I have been thinking about the afterlife and slowly came back into the Church. Once college began, I decided that there was no better time to truly start getting involved in earnest as I started a new chapter in my life,” said Fay.
Downs, in sharing his story, said he “decided on getting confirmed in the winter of this year. This was a long time in the making. Back when I was in eighth grade, I was going to get confirmed in May. However, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and I never ended up getting to it. Eventually, I fell away from the faith until the end of my sophomore year. It was then that I really accepted God’s message, but it wasn’t until last summer that I made my way back to the Catholic Church. I had already been baptized and had my (first Holy) Communion, and I decided that it was time to get confirmed.”
Having Bishop Senior celebrate their Confirmation was extra special for Fay and Downs, who both said it was an honor.
During his homily, Bishop Senior said the celebration of the sacrament at F&M is a great indication of the impact of Catholic Campus Ministry. He said that Confirmation, when a person receives the gift of the Holy Spirit, is an enlivening of the faith, which is also a reflection of our Lenten journey.
“Our sacraments that we’ve all gone through have given us that strength for the journey of faith. It is also a deepening of our relationship with Jesus. Lent really gives us that opportunity…,” said the bishop.
Following the Mass, students from the campus Newman Club enjoyed lunch and conversation with Bishop Senior. They reflected on being Catholic on a secular college campus and the bishop shared words of encouragement with the students, telling them to stay strong in their faith and rely on their faith when facing life’s challenges.
Don Ang, a junior and president of the Newman Club, said having the bishop visit them shows how much the Catholic community on the campus has grown.
“When I was first here, there were only two regulars (attending Mass). But now we have a Newman Association, we have a club, and this year we have two Confirmations and somebody who is converting to Catholicism, so that really shows the growth.”
“I think these programs are extremely important as without it, I do not believe that I would have had the push to get back into my faith with the support that I received,” added Fay.
Downs commented that “college is full of things that are not in line with what the Catholic Church teaches. For example, at many parties, there are temptations, which if indulged, would harm my faith. The Catholic Campus Ministry is phenomenal. The weekly Masses and opportunities for weekly Confession are great. Also, the Masses are more tailored to college students, which has helped increase the number of people who are attending Mass now.”
“The conversation with the bishop was amazing. He really, really went out of his way and gave his time to have a few extra words with us. It really means a lot when he said to us to keep our faith strong, and to keep going with what we do on this campus,” Ang added.
To learn more about Catholic Campus Ministry in the Diocese of Harrisburg, visit https://www.hbgdiocese.org/youth-and-young-adults/campus-ministry/.
(Photos by Rachel Bryson, The Catholic Witness.)
By Rachel Bryson, The Catholic Witness
