The Office of Mission and Ministry works in collaboration with other offices across campus to strengthen Viterbo University’s Catholic Franciscan identity and support areas of mission outreach. Our mission, vision, and identity focus on the dignity of each person and the Gospel mandate to help others.

Find Your Voice, Respecting All Voices: A Vibrant Catholic, Franciscan Education at Viterbo

Our Office of Mission and Ministry works to provide you with the unique opportunity to both earn a degree and explore your values or faith, if you choose.

As one of only 22 Catholic, Franciscan universities in the U.S., we are a place of shared transformative and intellectual life with the understanding that there is always more to learn.

You are encouraged to engage in conversations about values, explore your faith, and seek trust, with the understanding there will be differing viewpoints and perspectives. Our dedication to these ideas means that students of all faiths and no faith are welcome on campus and benefit from a unique Catholic, Franciscan education.

You can expect:

• Viterbo’s commitment to the Catholic Franciscan intellectual tradition. Faculty and students have the autonomy to explore and share in the pursuit of truth and reason.
• a commitment to service and Catholic social teaching. The Sr. Thea Bowman Center’s  mission is to foster understanding of human dignity and social justice. The university also hosts Service Saturdays  when Viterbo community members, students, and staff volunteer at area nonprofits.
• religious study. Because we are a Catholic university, you will take two religious studies courses. These courses provide students of faith and no faith with an overview of all religions to challenge their beliefs and deepen their understanding. One course teaches you to be a critical thinker about religion and the religious experience. The other explores world events and topics from the perspective of different Christian traditions and other world religions.
• the San Damiano Cross. All classrooms have a San Damiano Cross to remind students and staff of St. Francis and St. Clare’s commitment to peace, social justice, and hospitality.

Campus Ministry

Campus ministry serves as our vehicle for mission outreach by embracing persons of all faiths in a vibrant Christian community and preparing students for ethical leadership and faithful service rooted in the values of human dignity and respect for the world.

Our goals are to:

• develop the spirit of fraternity and campus faith community.
• create opportunities to share personal faith experiences.
• form the Franciscan Catholic conscience and educate for justice.
• facilitate personal growth and development.
• develop future leaders for Church and society.

Growth Opportunities for Catholic Students

Catholic students have many opportunities to grow in their faith, including:

• attending daily Mass held in San Damiano Chapel, conveniently located on the edge of campus and led by our university chaplain.
• our Catholic living and learning community, which brings together students of all majors who wish to explore the Catholic faith together. You will share a dorm floor, attend weekly Mass, perform mission outreach through community service, enjoy dinner, and build community while exploring and learning from one another.
• our full-time campus ministry team, located in the Sr. Thea Bowman Center, and available to answer questions and provide pastoral services to students and staff.
• Campus ministry, which hosts weekly prayer services, meals, and retreats that bring students and staff together for conversation and fellowship. These events are held throughout the week at times that work with students’ schedules.
• faculty-led study abroad and pilgrimage opportunities to Assisi, Italy and other sites. You will learn about other cultures while exploring parts of the world that have shaped Christian faith.

Prayers for Peace in the Middle East

Viterbo University echos the words of Pope Francis:

"Let the attacks and weapons cease, please, because it must be understood that terrorism and war bring no solutions but only death and suffering of many innocent lives.  War is a defeat, every war is a defeat.  Let us prayer that there be peace in Israel and Palestine."

Let us join together in praying for peace in the Middle East.

Two peoples, one land,
Three faiths, one root,
One earth, one mother,
One sky, one beginning, one future, one destiny,
One broken heart,
One God.
We pray to You:
Grant us a vision of unity.
May we see the many in the one and the one in the many.
May you, Life of All the Worlds, Source of All Amazing Differences
Help us to see clearly.
Guide us gently and firmly toward each other,
Toward peace.
Amen.

Rabbi Sheila Weinberg
Jewish Community of Amherst, Amherst, MA

In the Name of God, The Everlasting Merciful, The Cherisher
Of the Worlds and Worthy of all Praise,
Our Lord: You have created us and made us into Nations and Tribes
that we may Know one another (not that we may despise each other) so
Help us to love each other and take the hatred and anger from our Hearts
so that the People of The Book (Christians, Jews and Muslims)
In the Middle East may live in Peace and Justice.
Amen

Dawud Ahmad Assad
Council of Mosques, USA, New York, NY

God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, God of mercy and compassion,
God and Father of our Lord, Jesus, Christ, God of grace and reconciliation,
pour your power upon all your children in Israel and Palestine:
Jews, Muslims and Christians, Palestinians, and Israelis
Make the violence cease.
Let hatred be turned into love, fear to trust, despair to hope, oppression to freedom, occupation to liberation.
May the peoples of the Holy Lands beat their swords into ploughshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks, so that nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
May violent encounters be replaced by loving embraces, and peace and justice be experienced by all.
We pray for all those who have died in this senseless war, and for those who mourn their loss.
We pray for all those held hostage and for their families.
Guide the nations in their pursuit of justice and the common good.
Direct us as we walk in the shadow of Jesus: the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
AMEN.

Fr. Thomas Rosica