Linda Jaczynski: Director, Center for Worship and Spirituality
John Edwards: Director, Center for Pastoral Ministry Education
Kate Giancatarino: Director, Center for Service and Social Justice
https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/mission/campusministry.html, 610-519-4080
Villanova Campus Ministry is inspired by the Augustinian values of truth, unity and love, and models its programs after St. Thomas of Villanova, who dedicated his life to serving those on the margins of society. We welcome and encourage all students to engage in the search for meaning and purpose - through prayer and liturgy as well as education, community, and service. Embracing people of all faiths, and those who do not identify with any faith tradition, we seek to provide spaces for students, individually and in community, to explore the intersection of personal beliefs, spirituality, justice, and compassionate engagement with the world around them.
Through its fulltime staff and graduate interns, Campus Ministry coordinates a diverse array of worship and prayer opportunities for the Villanova community. We pray together through daily and weekly Masses, a weekly Ecumenical Protestant worship service, Muslim Friday prayers, and opportunities for devotional and mindfulness practices, as well as special worship services marking major events throughout the academic year. Many students participate in worship leadership as liturgical ministers, pastoral musicians, and members of planning teams.
Students learn and grow together through weekly “Get Real” discussion groups, opportunities for individual spiritual direction, and a wide array of retreats that encourage reflection and understanding of personal faith. Campus Ministry partners with diverse Christian fellowship groups, Hillel, the Muslim Student Association, and the student-led Interfaith Coalition to create ecumenical and interfaith experiences that enable students of diverse religious traditions to know and learn from one another.
Seeking to embody the call of the Gospel, and inspired by Catholic Social Teaching, Campus Ministry provides opportunities for students, faculty and staff to act in solidarity with neighbors in need – locally, nationally and globally - through Service and Justice Education break trips, and weekly community service options. These service experiences are accompanied by opportunities to reflect upon the people and communities encountered in light of issues of social injustice, in order to deepen students’ ongoing learning.
Campus Ministers provide pastoral care and counsel, including helping students deal with value conflicts, grief, spiritual discernment, and many other issues connected with faith and life.
In all that we do, Campus Ministry prioritizes the development of leaders who embody the values of truth, unity and love, and thefostering of community life shaped by pursuit of the common good.
Campus Ministry is located on the first floor of St. Rita's Hall. Regular weekday office hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and appointments can be made in person or by phoning 610-519-4080. Detailed information on Campus Ministry activities can be found on the website: https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/mission/campusministry.html and in The Blue Book: The Villanova University Student Handbook.