College Connection Program unites college-bound students with Catholic presence on campus

April 22, 2009 - 12:00 PDT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA ADVISORY

CHICAGO, IL (APRIL 22, 2009) - SerraUSA's College Connection Program is designed to connect incoming college freshmen with the Catholic presence on or near their campus with the goal of helping them stay active in their faith into young adulthood and be open to hearing God's call to serve the Church.

After seven years in development, the USAC board of Serra International approved the College Connection program in January 2009 as a premier vocation outreach program and national initiative to help boost Catholic campus ministries to college students. Over 50 Serra Clubs across the nation are participating in the program this year. The clubs' members coordinate with their local Catholic high schools and parishes to obtain the names of graduating seniors and provide them with information about the Catholic presence at their college of choice. More than 15,000 packets will be given to college-bound seniors through the month of July. The clubs in turn give these students' names to the campus Catholic ministry officials, so they can invite them to Catholic events and liturgies. The program has generated positive responses from students, parents, campus and diocesan officials about its effectiveness in reaching this critical age group that is most likely to leave the faith.

"Members of Serra are known for praying for and supporting priests and consecrated men and women. Since the founding of Serra in 1935 we have worked with the Vocation Directors to develop and implement many programs to encourage grade school age youth. But, until recently we have not had a program, like College Connection that focused on the Catholic young adults in colleges and universities," says Homer Radford, Vice President of Vocations for SerraUSA. "The College Connection program fills the need to help keep these men and women close to the Church as they launch a new phase in their life."

More than 1.2 million Catholic students enter college life each year. Ninety percent of them attend a secular campus where it is difficult for Catholic ministries to reach them without knowing who they are. According to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., if campus ministries reached just 10 percent more of the nearly five million Catholic college students across the U.S. and kept them active in their faith, it would add approximately 500,000 practicing Catholics to dioceses across the country.

"I can't think of a better way to make an impact on the Church and the world than by reaching people who are at the very beginning of their careers and connecting them deeply to their Catholic faith," says Father David Konderla, Director and Pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Center at Texas A&M University.

Rev. James J. Bacik, who ministers to students at the University of Toledo, and author of "Empowered by the Spirit" Campus Ministry document for the U.S. Bishops in 2006, said getting the names of Catholic students coming to the university from Serra Clubs is "like gold in our pockets. It is of great help in our ministry. These students are the future leaders of society and of our Church."

Robert McCarty, Executive Director of the National Federation of Catholic Youth Ministers, said the College Connection program responds to the U.S. Bishops' goals for Catholic Youth Ministry: "To call young people to live as disciples of Jesus Christ," and to "draw young people to responsible participation to the life, work and mission of the faith community."

For more information about the program, contact Homer Radford, Vice President, Vocations,816-356-1760,hradford2@comcast.net

Contact

SerraUSA
http://www.serraus.org
IL, 60801 US
Homer Radford - communications contact, 763 502-0792

Keywords

College Connection

Category

Catholic Organizations

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