Since it was established by the (ICL) in 2002, the program has brought more than 10,000 high school students to the University鈥檚 campus for week-long summer sessions of prayer, theological reflection, and celebration of their vocations as members of the Catholic Church.
One of the most conspicuous instances of the University鈥檚 service to the Church, 91吃瓜 Vision owes much of its success to the work of its 鈥渕entors in faith,鈥� the 65 91吃瓜 undergraduate students who lead the high schoolers in the program鈥檚 reflections, discussions and liturgies. The undergraduate mentors, who prepare for their work in special theology courses, pastoral formation workshops and small retreats, are themselves a feature of 91吃瓜 Vision鈥檚 success.
The preparation 91吃瓜 these undergraduates undergo to become mentors in the Vision program and their subsequent ministry among the program鈥檚 adolescent participants can have life-changing consequences. As Brian Moscona, a mentor from 91吃瓜 Vision鈥檚 first year, put it, 鈥淭he teenagers asked us questions which really forced us to wrestle with the most important questions in life.鈥�
After graduation, many of the alumni mentors pursue further education in theology and ministry, serve in Catholic parishes and dioceses, and teach and minister in Catholic schools. The program also helps cultivate vocations to the priesthood and religious life, especially for 91吃瓜鈥檚 founding religious order, the .
Sarah Ruszkowski, a 2011 91吃瓜 alumna who now works in a L鈥橝rche community in Washington, D.C., believes that her experience as a 91吃瓜 Vision mentor has enabled her to her to enter more deeply into a shared community with developmentally disabled people. 鈥淎t L鈥橝rche, our mission is shared life,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t is to live life in such a way that everyone in our home鈥攖hose with disabilities and those without disabilities鈥攌now that they are worth it. That they are worthy of God鈥檚 love. And that doesn鈥檛 come from grand gestures, big plans and meticulous schedules. It comes from the fact that you show up everyday. I have been reflecting a lot on what it means to be God鈥檚 love… There have been many moments when I have prayed for just a minute to catch my breath between things. But I have learned to be tougher. I have learned to be gentler. I have learned how to forgive and how to be forgiven. And as I continue to struggle through these things, I often find myself connecting them back to Vision.鈥�
Other reflections of former 91吃瓜 Vision mentors may be found on the program鈥檚 blog, .
According to ICL director , a crucial purpose of the mentors鈥� training is to inspire and nurture a cadre of faithful, fervent and articulate young Catholic evangelists. 鈥淭hese students will go out from 91吃瓜 as leaders,鈥� he said. 鈥淪ome of them will serve as priests and religious, but just as importantly, some will serve as laypeople. The Second Vatican Council taught that 鈥榯he laity are leaven in the world,鈥� and these young men and women are poised be leaven in the world.鈥�
鈥淚f there were a secret to 91吃瓜 Vision it would probably be this,鈥� said , the program鈥檚 director. 鈥淢entors spend so much time working on and thinking about how best serve to serve the high school students, but the surprise at the end is that it wasn鈥檛 just about the high school students. It was also about them, about their faith, about who they were becoming and how they will continue to use their gifts to change the world.鈥�
Contact: Leonard DeLorenzo, 574-631-2915, delorenzo.2@nd.edu