News // Vocation Office

Pray with Us

2009-06-10T11:07:00-04:00

Reflections from The Cross, Our Only Hope

If the teaching body in the Church exhorts, so powerfully and unanimously, all Christians to seek salvation in the Sacred Heart, we, consecrated as we are by our own constitutions to this Adorable Heart, should be foremost in this solemn act by the fervor of our souls and the entire offering of our whole being to the loving Heart of our Divine Savior. — Rev. Edward Sorin, C.S.C.

To speak about the heart is to speak about the very core of who we are, the very center of our being.

Traditionally, the heart is also the symbol of the emotions, most particularly the symbol of love. In a rich and powerful way these two ideas come together in the Sacred Heart. For, devotion to the Sacred Heart draws us into the core of who Christ is, which is ultimately divine love.

Fr. Moreau chose the Sacred Heart as the patron for the priests of Holy Cross because it drives at the heart of who we are called to be—men who are drawn to the Lord and his divine love and men who offer our lives to him in service of the Church.

Throughout most of my formation and early priesthood, I wondered if I had what it took to be a Holy Cross priest. This question was probably the strongest in my mind as I lay on the floor at my ordination while the litany of the saints was sung. What was I doing? What did I have to offer? And as I listened to the words and the beating of my own heart, it slowly came to me: right there on the floor was what I had to offer—only me and my beating heart. And in the end, that is all any of us has to offer to God—our very self and our own heart beating in time with Christ’s.

— Jeffrey Allison, C.S.C. (Reflection for June 6)

From The Cross, Our Only Hope: Daily Reflections in the Holy Cross Tradition, ed. by Andrew Gawrych, C.S.C., and Kevin Grove, C.S.C., Copyright 2008 by Priests of Holy Cross, Indiana Province. Used with permission of Ave Maria Press (www.avemariapress.com).

Come and See Weekend Fall 2009

2009-05-28T18:21:01-04:00

The Holy Cross Office of Vocations is pleased to announce the dates for our Come and See Weekends for fall 2009.

Come and See Weekends offer high school seniors and juniors an opportunity to spend a full weekend at Old College, the undergraduate seminary program for Holy Cross at the University of Notre Dame. Participants will join the men of Old College for daily Mass, prayer and classes and will learn about the Congregation of Holy Cross and its mission.

Parents are encouraged to attend and will be given a tour of campus, a presentation on Holy Cross and Old College, and have opportunities to ask questions about what their sons are discerning. Food and accommodations are provided for all participants and their parents at no cost.

Students and parents should plan to arrive at Moreau Seminary on Thursday between 3:00 and 4:00PM. Most occasions during the weekend will be casual though an informal outfit (khaki pants, collared shirt, and dress shoes) would be appropriate for Mass on Thursday and Friday evenings. Departure on Saturday will be between noon and 2PM.

The dates for the fall Come and See Weekends for high school seniors are:

September 10-12, 2009
November 12-14, 2009

In the spring there will be a Come and See Weekend for high school juniors:

March 25-27, 2010

For more information or to request a registration form, please contact us.

Pray with Us

2009-04-28T14:26:01-04:00

Reflections from The Cross, Our Only Hope

Peter became the Lord’s true and reliable disciple not during the days he followed in Galilee but after he disowned his Lord and wept and was given the opportunity not to become as he once was but to serve as he never had served. — Holy Cross Constitutions

Peter deserved to hear the words, “You’re fired.” Stubborn, self-righteous, and cocky, Peter made his share of mistakes during his three-year apprenticeship with Jesus.

But they had become friends, and Jesus was always able to cast a net deep into Peter’s heart and draw out the love and goodness that was in there. It was because of this love and friendship, however, that Peter’s betrayal of Jesus was all the more shocking and devastating, and no one felt it more than Peter himself. We can only imagine the guilt and shame this rock of the Church must have felt at what he’d done to his beloved friend.

But as we know, there is always more to the story when dealing with Jesus. What Peter was to discover on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, what we hopefully all discover in our lives, is that love is stronger than all the wrong we might do, that it is stronger even than death.

On the beach after his resurrection, Jesus asked Peter the only question that mattered, “Do you love me?” In their exchange, echoed three times, all was forgiven and set right, all was healed and made new. Jesus gave Peter back to himself.

So it is with us. We know what it is like to fail, to disappoint ourselves and others, to bear the weight of sin and guilt. In each of these moments, over and over throughout our lives, Jesus whispers into our hearts his question, “Do you love me?”

When we murmur back our yes, however tentative, Jesus heals us and sends us, like Peter, on our way to serve others.

— Rev. Peter Jarret, C.S.C. (Reflection for April 26)

Three Ordained as Holy Cross Priests

2009-04-21T16:29:01-04:00

The Indiana Province of the Congregation of Holy Cross ordained three new priests Saturday, April 18. The Most Rev. John G. Vlazny, the Archbishop of Portland in Oregon, conferrred the Sacrament of Holy Orders on Vincent A. Kuna, C.S.C.; Charles F. McCoy, C.S.C.; and Aaron J. Michka, C.S.C.

“The International Holy Cross community is blessed to welcome these men who will bring hope and joy to many people through our ministries,” said Rev. Edwin H. Obermiller, C.S.C., director of the Office of Vocations for the Congregation of Holy Cross, Indiana Province / Eastern Province. “These ordinations are a time of gratitude and celebration for us.”

The ordinations took place at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the campus of the University of Notre Dame. Read more about Rev. Kuna, Rev. McCoy, and Rev. Michka on the 2009 Ordinations page. You can also view photos and a video of the ceremony on the 2009 Ordinations Gallery page.

Join in Discernment Reflections via Prayercast

2009-03-31T09:16:00-04:00

A powerful new opportunity for prayer and reflection about religious vocation can be found at the NDPrayercast.com website of the University of Notre Dame Campus Ministry. The audio download, “Discerning the Call,” is taken from a recent service of prayer for those discerning vocations in the Congregation of Holy Cross.

The prayercast features readings from Scripture, music from the Notre Dame Folk Choir and a reflection by Rev. Edwin Obermiller, C.S.C. director of the Office of Vocations for the Indiana and Eastern Provinces of Holy Cross. This prayer is offered as an opportunity to turn to the Lord in search of an open mind and willing heart to discern God’s will. Click now to share the music and meditation.

Pray with Us

2009-03-23T10:13:00-04:00

Reflections from The Cross, Our Only Hope

The Lord Jesus was crucified. But the Father raised him to glory, and Christ breathed his Spirit into his people, the church. Dying and rising with him in Baptism, his followers are sent to continue his mission, to hasten along the kingdom. — Holy Cross Constitutions

The love of God revealed in the Crucifixion, resurrection, and pentecost is the source of our hope, the food for our faith, and the catalyst for the zeal with which we pledge our lives to the mission of Holy Cross. How exciting, yet humbling, to be called to this mission which is very simply the mission of Jesus, our Savior. Our efforts, stemming from our prayer, brotherhood, and life in community, are not rooted in who we are but rather in who he is since they are really his efforts. Be it in the classroom, parish, homeless shelter, or in a land or culture foreign to us, we are all missionaries of his hope who proclaim the kingdom of justice, peace, and love.

The mission of Jesus, shared by all the baptized, is often misunderstood, rejected, or frustrated by conflicting values. Indeed, we are walking with him on the road to Calvary when we are mocked, ignored, or reviled for being preachers and teachers of the mission. Hope can be hard for us to sustain when we feel the kingdom impeded rather than hastened. Weariness can dampen our zeal or even create for us a Gethsemane of the spirit. In these times we are reminded that just as the mission is that of Jesus, so also is the strength for it. He sustains us. His unending love for us restores our hope and fires our zeal. And since God loved us first, we are capable of sharing, and yearn to share, that love with others. It is a love that hastens us along in our mission.

— David T. Tyson, C.S.C.

Come and See Weekend Spring 2009

2009-02-18T08:11:00-05:00

Come and See Weekends offer high school juniors and seniors an opportunity to spend a full weekend at Old College, the undergraduate seminary program at the University of Notre Dame, so they might get to know seminarians, their daily routines, and their thoughts about formation.

Participants will join the seminary community for daily Mass and prayer and will learn about the Congregation of Holy Cross and its mission.

Parents are welcome to attend and will be given a tour of campus, hear a presentation, and have opportunities to ask questions about what their sons are discerning. With advance notice, simple accommodations can be arranged for parents through the Office of Vocations.

Students and parents should plan to arrive at Moreau Seminary on Thursday between 2 and 4PM. Most occasions during the weekend will be casual through an informal outfit (khaki pants, collared shirt, and dress shoes) would be appropriate for Mass on Thursday and Friday evenings. Departure on Saturday will be between noon and 2PM.
The next Come and See Weekend is scheduled for high school juniors:

March 26-28, 2009

Next fall there will be two more Come and See Weekends for high school seniors:

September 10-12, 2009
November 12-14, 2009

For more information or to request a registration form, please contact us.

Holy Cross Launches YouTube Channel

2009-02-16T08:07:00-05:00

The Holy Cross Office of Vocations announces the launch of a new YouTube channel to facilitate greater awareness of the lives and work of the Priests and Brothers in the Eastern and Indiana Provinces of the Congregation of Holy Cross. This channel will feature videos that highlight different aspects of the lives of Holy Cross Religious. Videos include commercials from the University of Notre Dame highlighting the work of Holy Cross priests, samples of homilies by or about Holy Cross, and a series of short interviews with the men of Holy Cross.

The new YouTube channel may be found at http://www.youtube.com/cscvocations.

Pray with Us

2009-02-11T16:18:01-05:00

Reflections from The Cross, Our Only Hope

Our commitment is an invitation for our fellow Christians to fulfill their vocation, and for ourselves it is a concrete way of working with them for the spread of the gospel and with all for the development of a more just and human society. — Holy Cross Constitutions

So much of our modern society rejects the idea that the human person does in fact have a vocation—something to which God calls him or her. Intent on defending a secular and individualistic view of freedom, our culture teaches that we determine our own path in life and make our own choices.

Our beloved Pope John Paul II knew better. When he told the story of his own vocation to the priesthood, he entitled the work Gift and Mystery. These two words perfectly capture not only the reality of God’s call, but also our experiences of vocation. God’s call is sometimes mysterious, difficult to discern, and we often feel unworthy of it. But this does not make it any less real. In fact, it is precisely because it is mysterious, and because we are unworthy of it, that God’s invitation to share in his life and mission can be experienced as true freedom, indeed, as a joy-filled gift.

As priests, brothers, and sisters, we in Holy Cross consecrate our lives in witness to the reality of God’s call. In attempting to answer faithfully his call to us, we hope to convince all people that they, too, are called by God. Whether it be as a husband or wife, father or mother, doctor, teacher, civil servant, businessperson, or any number of other callings, God invites all of his faithful people to holiness and to a share in his life and mission. This universal vocation beckons all to work together in joyful hope for the coming of God’s kingdom.

— Stephen Koeth, C.S.C.

New Book, Ideal for Lent

2009-02-02T08:00:00-05:00

New Book of Holy Cross Reflections Focuses on Lent

An inspiring new collection of Holy Cross reflections is coming to bookstores. The Gift of the Cross: Lenten Reflections in the Holy Cross Tradition follows on the success of The Cross, Our Only Hope, published last year. The Lenten meditation book features daily reflections by members of the Holy Cross community. They have their finger on the pulse of Holy Cross spirituality and apostolic activity; the stories emerge from the ministry of priests, brothers, and sisters, including Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., and Sister Mary Ellen Vaughn, C.S.C.

The vision of the community shines through, with themes of divine providence, dedication to the Eucharistic fellowship and worship, education of both the mind and the heart, and an apostolic zeal to make God known, loved, and served.

This affordable book is perfectly suited for use during the Lenten season through wide distribution in parishes, schools, universities and many other settings. It may be ordered through Ave Maria Press.

The Gift of the Cross: Lenten Reflections in the Holy Cross Tradition, ed. by Andrew Gawrych, C.S.C., Copyright 2009 by Priests of Holy Cross, Indiana Province. Used with permission of Ave Maria Press (www.avemariapress.com).*

Life at Old College Profiled in Notre Dame’s Scholastic Magazine

2009-01-30T01:28:00-05:00

Housed in the oldest building on the campus of the University of Notre Dame is the Congregation of Holy Cross’ undergraduate seminary program that carries the same name as the building it inhabits, Old College. The December issue of the University of Notre Dame’s Scholastic Magazine featured a profile of the life of these seminarians in Old College written by Jessica Farmwald. This article written by one who does not live in the house gives a fair representation of the men and the life they live at Old College.

Read the full article > (PDF, 6 pages)

Spirit of Holy Cross Award given to Rosalinda Sanchez Garcia of Guadalupe, Mexico

2009-01-26T01:16:00-05:00

This past year the Indiana Province of the Congregation of Holy Cross inaugurated the Spirit of Holy Cross Award to acknowledge the critical importance that collaborators play in living out the vision of Blessed Basil Moreau. Rosalinda Sanchez Garcia is among the first eight award recipients—a group spanning the world from East Africa to Latin America to several individuals in the United States.

A parishioner of Parroquia Nuestra Madre De La Luz parish in Guadalupe, Mexico, Rosalinda Sanchez Garcia is a trained and professionally educated social worker. In her personal life, she is a dedicated wife, mother, and woman of faith. As well, Rosalinda is integral to the social service ministries at her parish and the development of the Holy Cross seminarians who assist in this area.

Among the many programs that Rosalinda coordinates are several week long student plunges for high school and college groups from the US, a program that provides assistance to needy students in area schools, and the parish Caritas program that collects food for the hungry and provides meals for the elderly. Holy Cross Seminarians regularly work with Rosalinda in her outreach programs and, through her supervision, they have developed as modern day disciples who “must have the competence to see and the courage to act.” (Holy Cross Constitution #2.14)

Holy Cross thanks Rosalinda for her efforts to carry out the mission of our founder, Blessed Basil Moreau, C.S.C., who sought to make God known, loved and served in education, parish and mission settings.

Holy Cross Blog Launched

2009-01-20T05:18:00-05:00

The Holy Cross Office of Vocations announces the launch of a new blog site to facilitate greater awareness of the lives and work of the Priests and Brothers of the Congregation of Holy Cross. This launch coincides with the feast of Blessed Basil Moreau, C.S.C. on January 20th, 2009. Fr. Moreau, who was beatified in September 2007, founded the Congregation of Holy Cross in LeMans, France in 1837. It was the hope of Blessed Basil Moreau to organize his fledgling community to help re-evangelize the Church in the wake of the French Revolution. From its earliest days the Holy Cross community was sent forth to be educators in the faith by founding and serving universities, colleges, high schools, parishes, foreign missions, and various other ministries. Today there are more than 1700 priests, brothers, and seminarians serving the Congregation of Holy Cross in fifteen countries on five continents.

This new blog will serve as a way to introduce the Holy Cross community to those who are just learning about us. It will also allow those who have known Holy Cross for a while to learn about new developments and work happening in the community.

The new blog may be found at: http://cscpriestsandbrothers.blogspot.com

Holy Cross Celebrates Fifty Years in East Africa

2009-01-16T09:39:00-05:00

On November 4, 1958 four Holy Cross priest arrived in Entebbe, Uganda, as the first of many Holy Cross priests, brothers, and sisters who would come to serve in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania over the course of five decades.

The District of East Africa celebrated fifty years of Holy Cross ministry in East Africa on January 3 and 4 with Masses at Virika Cathedral, jubilee meals at St. Mary’s Minor Seminary and St. Paul’s Major Seminary, a march with the Uganda Police Band, and a football (soccer) match at Buhinga Sprots Grounds. Present at the celebrations were the Papal Nuncio to Ghana, Archbishop Léon Kalenga Badikebele; the Superior General of Holy Cross, Rev. Hugh Cleary, C.S.C.; Provincial of the Indiana Province, Rev. David Tyson, C.S.C.; and the Superior of the District, Rev. James Burasa, C.S.C..

The presence of Holy Cross in East Africa has been a blessing in the lives of many of the people served, but also for the many Holy Cross religious whose lives have been changed by the experience of serving there. Today 90 percent of the Holy Cross religious serving in East Africa are from East Africa. At the same time, the ties between Holy Cross institutions in East Africa and those around the world are stronger than ever.

Our mission sends us across borders of every sort. Often we must make ourselves at home among more than one people or culture, reminding us again that the farther we go in giving the more we stand to receive.

Holy Cross Constitutions

Pray with Us

2009-01-10T16:18:01-05:00

Reflections from The Cross, Our Only Hope

Since God alone provides the means for the successful accomplishment of any task, it really seems evident that a person needs to be called by God to be a teacher if that person is going to be able to be effective. — Blessed Basil Moreau, C.S.C.

Teaching is a path to sainthood, or perhaps martyrdom. Either way, being an educator—especially a Catholic educator— is a vocation that demands devotion and humility if one is truly to educate both the heart and the mind.

During my firth months of teaching high school, I had one particularly frustrating evening. As I was correcting papers, I came to the realization that several of the students had blown off an assignment that I had worked hard to create. Disheartened and drained by long and thankless days, I cried out to God, “What am I doing wrong?” I walked down the hall and talked to Fr. Sean McGraw, C.S.C., and at his suggestion, I retreated to our chapel, Bible and gradebook in hand.

There, before the Blessed Sacrament, I prayed the words of the parable of the sower and the seed. Christ told his followers that the seed they spread throughout the world would find many different kinds of soil, some rich and some rocky, but their charge was simply to spread the good news with reckless abandon. I realized that it would not be through my strength that these seeds would take root, but only through the power of the Holy Spirit. His was the mission, his would be the strength, and from him alone would come the grace to persevere in teaching each of the names staring at me in my gradebook. This, for me, is the divine call not only of teaching, but of all vocations—cooperating with God’s grace, spreading the good news, and then getting out of the Holy Spirit’s way.

— Nate Wills, C.S.C.

100th Anniversary of Fr. Peyton’s Birth

2009-01-07T12:51:01-05:00

During 2009 Holy Cross Family Ministries will conduct a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of birth of Servant of God Father Patrick Peyton, CSC.

Fr. Peyton, CSC, (January 9, 1909–June 3, 1992) also known as the Rosary Priest, was a priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross. In the post-WWII years, Fr. Peyton worked tirelessly to promote the family recitation of the Rosary. He founded the Family Rosary Crusade, a global ministry to families and for prayer. A remarkable off-shoot of this organization was Family Theater Productions, a radio and film production studio based on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California, and dedicated to the same message as the Crusade, “The family that prays together, stays together.”

Father Peyton’s most sacred insight, the goal toward which his whole fascinating life was directed, was to encourage families to come together daily to pray the Rosary. He saw so many benefits to this simple practice. In light of this, Holy Cross Family Ministries invites all families to honor these hundred years since the birth of Fr. Peyton (January 9th, 1909) with a family Novena of Rosaries. Make your Rosary for the intention of world peace and any particular petitions dear to the hearts of your family members.

Prayer for the Beatification of Servant of God Father Patrick Peyton, CSC

Dear Jesus, Father Peyton devoted his priestly life to strengthening the families of the world by calling them to pray together every day, especially the Rosary. His message is as important for us now as it was during his life on earth. We beg you, therefore, to hasten the day of his beatification so that your faithful people every-where will remember his message that the family that prays together stays together, will imitate him in his devotion to your Mother and ours, and will be inspired by his holy life to draw ever closer to you with childlike confidence and love. Amen

Pray with Us

2008-12-11T16:14:01-05:00

Reflections from The Cross, Our Only Hope

At the last moment, an angel awakens Joseph the Protector and says to him: “Arise, and take the Child and His Mother, and fly into Egypt; for it will come to pass that Herod will seek the Child to destroy Him.” The order admits of no delay; the next moment, Mary and Jesus, under the protection and guidance of Joseph, are on their journey, directing their steps towards Egypt. — Rev. Edward Sorin, C.S.C.

Our faith makes us aware of our weakness. In the course of a lifetime we learn that when we depend upon our own strength, we fail. Eventually, we realize that we can do nothing except by the grace of God. This is an essential spiritual insight. But the example of St. Joseph reminds us of a further spiritual truth upon which we may ordinarily reflect too little: in Christ we have strength beyond our imagining. The lives of the saints testify that however unimpressive we may look, and whatever our circumstances may be, we can be pillars of strength for the kingdom of God.

Like St. Joseph, we should use our strength to protect others. For the weak and fearful, we should be a refuge. The innocent and idealistic should find in us shelter from cynicism and exploitation. Wherever we find holiness, we should guard and foster it. Imagine how safe you or I would feel in the physical presence of St. Joseph. In Christ we can, in all humility, give such comfort to one another. And this is possible for any of us. Who among us has not known, for example, an elderly, seemingly frail Christian woman before whom Satan’s legions would quail? When an angel spoke a word of warning to him in a dream, Joseph the Protector acted immediately and decisively to defend those entrusted to him. In that way he preserved and sustained all that was most precious in the world. In Christ, we may do the same.

— Charles B. Gordon, C.S.C.

From The Cross, Our Only Hope: Daily Reflections in the Holy Cross Tradition, ed. by Andrew Gawrych, C.S.C., and Kevin Grove, C.S.C., Copyright 2008 by Priests of Holy Cross, Indiana Province. Used with permission of Ave Maria Press (www.avemariapress.com).

Undergraduate Seminary Hosts Weekly Mass for Vocations

2008-10-28T07:00:00-04:00

Old College—the undergraduate seminary for the Congregation of Holy Cross—hosts a weekly mass for Vocations on Tuesday nights at 9:00PM. The Mass, held at the Log Chapel on the campus of Notre Dame and affectionately called the “Log Chapel Mass,” is an opportunity for students from Notre Dame, St. Mary’s and Holy Cross College to gather together and celebrate the Eucharist. Additionally, those gathered for Mass pray for an increase in Christian Vocations and also for more Vocations to Religious Life and Priesthood, especially in the Congregation of Holy Cross.

The Mass has been an Old College tradition for the last several years. In addition to serving in the various Liturgical functions at the Mass, the undergraduate seminarians also plan all the music for the mass. Several of the men sing in the choir or provide accompaniment on the guitar and piano.

After the Mass, a social is held in the 1st floor of the Old College building. Students from all three campuses are welcome to attend. For more information, please contact Fr. Kevin Russeau, C.S.C. at krusseau@nd.edu.

Campus Ministry Director, Rev. Bill Dorwart, C.S.C., at 58, enlists in the Navy for third time

2008-10-17T07:00:00-04:00

He turns 59 next month and last week enlisted in the U.S. Navy for a third time. He was 17 years old the first time around and needed a signed note from his parents.

Rev. Bill Dorwart, C.S.C., director of campus ministry at the University of Portland, is returning to the military because he believes that is where he is most needed.

“I can’t think of a more important place to be, especially at wartime,” Dorwart said. “That’s what draws me back now. If we weren’t at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, I’d be happy to stay at the University of Portland.”

Dorwart first joined the U.S. Navy as a high school graduate who grew up in Sidney, Nebraska, population 6,000 – about the same as that of an aircraft carrier where he would eventually be stationed.

The year was 1967, and the United States was mired in combat in Viet Nam. Dorwart needed signed approval from his parents then because he was under the age of 18.

He joined the Navy, in part, as an alternative to being drafted by the U.S. Army. He had been exposed as a young man to Air Force bases near Sidney, and he was intrigued by the “adventure of it.”

“I’d never seen the ocean before,” he added.

Dorwart’s first stint in the Navy was as an aviation electronics technician on an aircraft carrier. His first assignment was in the Mediterranean and he served in the Navy for four years before getting an honorable discharge.

It was during that first military assignment that he learned to appreciate the work of chaplains. That led him to the University of Notre Dame, where he enrolled in the seminary program and graduated in 1976.

He then spent a year in Bangladesh, returned to Notre Dame for graduate school and was ordained a Catholic priest in 1980.

Next came several years as a parish priest, and in 1985 he re-entered the Navy and served as a Chaplain with the Marines in Okinawa because “I wanted to be where the need was.”

Later, he served on the U.S.S. Midway, home-ported in Japan, and from there sailed to the Persian Gulf as part of the Desert Shield and Desert Storm military engagements. This was the first aircraft carrier to travel into the Gulf waters, he noted, “and we were the only one not to lose a plane” in Desert Storm.

Dorwart left the Navy in April 1991 after six years and with a second honorable discharge, eventually making his way to the University of Portland in August 2004. He was appointed director of campus ministry in 2006.

A gentle and soft-spoken man, Dorwart is passionate about serving young people and the importance of faith. He once wrote about tending to the spiritual needs of young men and women after a horrific `fire aboard a ship that lasted 18 hours and claimed the lives of six sailors – including two young Catholic men, whose charred bodies were found locked together.

“They were clinging to life with each other during their last breath,” he said.

It’s these types of experiences—and the fact that nearly 30 percent of the Navy and Marine Corps are currently Catholic with only about seven percent of the Chaplain Corps being Catholic—that draws Dorwart back.

“I love working with young people at the University of Portland,” he says, “and it will be hard to leave.”

On Sept. 24, Dorwart learned that his first assignment will be for 12 months on the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. It is a British and U.S. military base on a 13-square-mile island that supports military activities in that part of the world. The only residents of the island are largely Navy and Air Force personnel who are assisting those in the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf.

After that tour of duty, Dorwart will be assigned to the USS Ronald Reagan, an aircraft carrier home-based out of San Diego.

Dorwart stresses that the work in the Navy is similar in that he is working with the same age group.

Dorwart will preside over Mass on campus on Oct. 5. The following day he leaves for his new military assignment.

“Here at the University our mission is wrapped around young people and their development,” he says. “Out there, the mission is more focused on national defense.”

“I know what those people are going through, and I want to be there for them.”

Paul Myers, University Health Center director, among first recipients of The Spirit of Holy Cross Award

2008-10-08T07:00:00-04:00

Paul Myers, director of the University of Portland’s Health Center, is among the first recipients of The Spirit of Holy Cross award.

The Congregation of Holy Cross, Indiana Province, announced the award recipients to seven lay collaborators and one Bishop who serve with the Congregation in eight different locations throughout the world. The award was created to acknowledge the critical importance that lay collaborators of Holy Cross play in living out the vision of Holy Cross founder, Blessed Basil Anthony Moreau, C.S.C., to make God known, loved and served in education, parish and mission settings.

The award will be given each year on September 15, the solemnity of Our Lady of Sorrows, the feast day of the Congregation. The inaugural year for the award coincides with the one-year anniversary of the beatification of Blessed Basil Moreau in Le Mans, France on September 15, 2007.

Myers was cited for his deep passion for the mission of the University and Congregation of Holy Cross. He has participated in several Holy Cross programs in Le Mans, France, the birthplace of Holy Cross. In 2005 Myers co-chaired Living the Mission; an international conference on Holy Cross in Higher Education. Myers says that over the years working with Holy Cross, he has been able to discover new avenues and depths to his faith life, and has found ways to integrate his faith more directly into his daily work life at the University. This has helped him to educate the hearts as well as the minds of thousands of students at the University of Portland.

“Thousands of lay collaborators assist in fulfilling the important work in each of our Holy Cross apostolates each year,” said Rev. David T. Tyson, C.S.C., Provincial Superior, Congregation of Holy Cross, Indiana Province. “The Spirit of Holy Cross Award has been created to provide a special opportunity to recognize extraordinary effort in living out the mission set forth by our founder over 170 years ago. We thank these lay collaborators and all who are helping to make a difference on behalf of Holy Cross each day in communities throughout the world.”

Other recipients for the 2008 Spirit of Holy Cross Award serve in education, parish and mission settings:

Patricia O’Hara, Dean, Notre Dame Law School, Notre Dame, Ind.
Janell Bunten, St. Ignatius Martyr Church, Austin, Tex,
Nick Colarelli, Sacred Heart Parish, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Michael McQuaid, André House, Phoenix, Ariz.
Bishop Joseph Willigers, M.H.M., Jinja, East Africa
Isabel Donoso, Santiago, Chile
Rosalinda Sanchez Garcia, Nuevo Leon, Mexico

Recipients will be recognized by the local communities of the Congregation of Holy Cross and will receive a proclamation of gratitude signed by the Provincial Superior on behalf of the entire Indiana Province.