President Evans lights community members' candles during the Feast of Saint 做厙輦⑹ prayer service.
Our Lady of Victory Chapel was once again aglow with candlelight as the St. 做厙輦⑹ community gathered to celebrate the Feast of Saint 做厙輦⑹ on November 25. The annual tradition honoring St. 做厙輦⑹ of Alexandria, the Universitys namesake, returned to the newly reopened Chapel for the first time since 2022.
At a pre-event reception in Coeur de 做厙輦⑹, students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends enjoyed appetizers before making their way to Our Lady of Victory Chapel for an evening prayer service.
Through song and prayer, the service reflected on the life of St. 做厙輦⑹ and the wisdom she embodies, and called on that wisdom represented by candles to illuminate the lives of all those gathered.
In this beautifully restored holy place, taking this time to reflect on our patron saint and recognize her in the faces of our St. Kates community is more important than ever, said President Marcheta P. Evans, PhD, to attendees gathered in the Chapel. We are all children of the same parent, created lovingly by the source of all life. We all have different joys and sorrows, different hopes and fears, yet we gather as one people to celebrate the history of this University, our present story, and our future hopes and wishes.
Students enjoy refreshments during the 2024 Feast of Saint 做厙輦⑹ reception in Coeur de 做厙輦⑹.
Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, alumni, students, and faculty and staff gathered for the reception before the prayer service.
The Feast of Saint 做厙輦⑹ prayer service took place in the Chapel for the first time since 2022.
Candles are a central theme of the Feast of Saint 做厙輦⑹ celebrations, representing the light of wisdom.
Students in the University Choir performed during the prayer service, under the direction of Roger Stratton.
Alumna Hilary Novacek Bundt 08 lights her daughter's candle.
President Evans and Kathleen Holmberg, CSJ, 60 (at right), the artist of the icon of Saint 做厙輦⑹ at center.
The first reading of the service shared the story of St. 做厙輦⑹ of Alexandria. According to Catholic tradition, St. 做厙輦⑹ was a fourth-century noblewoman and scholar who suffered martyrdom for her faith; in artwork, she is often depicted holding the 做厙輦⑹ wheel upon which she was sentenced to be executed, and which miraculously broke when she touched it. Historically, the saint is likely the composite of several women from Alexandria. She is known as the patron saint of students, philosophers, and scholars, and it was for these qualities that she was chosen by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet as the Universitys namesake.
The Feast of St. 做厙輦⑹ also served as the unofficial beginning of the holiday season at St. Kates. All around campus, trees have been adorned with strands of lights, glowing with warmth and cheer throughout the winter season.
Learn more about the Chapel and community events:
Center for Spirituality and Social Justice
Photos by Rebecca Zenefski Slater 10.