SXU service trip travels to Belize

Nine SXU volunteers built a home for needy people

Chicago June 2, 2010) Nine Saint Xavier University students and staff recently traveled to Belize with a Sister of Mercy to help build a home for needy people as part of the Third International Mercy Service Trip.

In accord with the University’s mission and core values of providing service to those in need, the group volunteered with the Building for Change program through Hand in Hand Ministries in Belize City to build a basic 16x16 home for a woman and her mother who previously were residing in an uninhabitable structure. The group also volunteered to work with local children affected by HIV at Hand in Hand’s Outreach Center and learned about Belize’s social, economic and political climate.

"My visit to Belize was a life-changing experience,” said graduate student Danelle Schuch of Oak Lawn. “We had an opportunity to work with an amazing organization, Hand in Hand Ministries, to make a real difference in someone's life. It was all worth it and I would do it again in a heartbeat."

The trip also visited Sisters of Mercy at Saint Catherine’s Academy in Belize City, the Mayan temples at Altun Ha and the island of Cave Caulker for snorkeling. Additionally, the group took time for daily prayer and reflection about their experiences, how it affected their faith and what they learned.

The following students attended the trip: Tara Becker, freshman, Burbank; Lauren Hennessy, sophomore, Orland Park; Kayla Jacobs, sophomore, Sterling; Julie Keller, sophomore, New Lenox; Alejandra Reyes, junior, Blue Island; Danelle Schuch, graduate student, Oak Lawn; and Jessica Usher, sophomore, Chicago. Also in attendance were SXU staff members Esther Sanborn and Brian Kelley and Sister of Mercy Sr. Kathleen McClelland.

SXU’s Office of Mission and Heritage sponsored the trip. For more information, please contact Sr. Joy Clough in the Office of Mission and Heritage at (773) 298-3981 or clough@sxu.edu.

-SXU-

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Jay Foot, Executive Director of Media Relations
O: (773) 298-3937
C: (773) 617-3632
foot@sxu.edu

SXU celebrates heritage with Mercy Day

All-University event honors SXU’s founders and sponsors, the Sisters of Mercy

Saint Xavier student William Sheppard, president of the Student Organization for Veteran Affairs, ringing the Academy Bell with Director of Campus Ministry Esther Sanborn during Saint Xavier University’s Leadership Commissioning ceremony during the 2009 Mercy Day celebration. The Ceremony honored members of the University community who will serve in leadership roles this year.

Chicago (Sept. 25, 2009) Saint Xavier University celebrated its heritage and core value of service this week with Mercy Day, an observance honoring the Sisters of Mercy who founded and sponsored the University as well as marking the beginning of Mercy-imbued education in Ireland on Sept. 24, 1827.

The Chicago campus’ celebration took place on Sept. 24 and included the dedication of the 49th Street Gateway Arch, named in honor of Saint Xavier’s old campus at 49th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue. Several of Saint Xavier’s “Golden Grads,” women who remember the original arch on the Cottage Grove campus, attended the ceremony.

All were encouraged to participate in the commissioning of leaders from all segments of the University community. At the Academy Bell near the University’s main entrance, representatives of the Sisters of Mercy, trustees, administration, faculty, staff, students and alumni were commissioned and blessed for their service of leadership during the coming year.
Earlier in the day, student stories and photos from last spring’s International Mercy Service Trip to Belize were exhibited in the SXU Diner.

Students, staff and faculty prayed for the continuing vibrancy of the University’s Mercy legacy of education and faith at a Mercy Day liturgy in McDonough Chapel. Public Safety Coordinator and recently ordained Roman Catholic Deacon Robert Landuyt offered a Mercy Day reflection. The Orland Park campus also held a prayer service.

Saint Xavier’s Sisters of Mercy and Mercy Associates held a “Meet the Women of Mercy” luncheon to discuss their commitments to Mercy and to the University.

The day concluded with a lecture from author and poet Bishop Robert F. Morneau, who spoke as part of Saint Xavier’s Catholic Colloquium lecture series. Morneau discussed “Hungers of the Human Heart: A Catholic Poetic Perspective,” which addressed human longings for meaning, intimacy and commitment.

Mercy Day celebrates the opening of the first House of Mercy in Ireland on Sept. 24, 1827, marking the beginning of Mercy service to people who are poor, sick or uneducated. Each Mercy Day, Saint Xavier University joins Mercy-inspired institutions around the world to recall its Mercy heritage and renew its commitment to such core values as respect, integrity and service.

Photo 1: Saint Xavier student William Sheppard, president of the Student Organization for Veteran Affairs, ringing the Academy Bell with Director of Campus Ministry Esther Sanborn during Saint Xavier University’s Leadership Commissioning ceremony during the 2009 Mercy Day celebration. The Ceremony honored members of the University community who will serve in leadership roles this year.

Photo 2: Saint Xavier University’s “Golden Grads,” women who attended the University’s old campus at 49th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue, walk under the new 49th Street Gateway Arch with current students at the Chicago campus during the 2009 Mercy Day celebration.

-SXU-

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Jay Foot
Executive Director of Media Relations
(773) 298-3937 or foot@sxu.edu