The practice of Campus Ministry dates back as far as 1729 when Oxford University students John and Charles Wesley founded the first “Holy Club.” The club focused on Bible study, prayer, fasting, and the pursuit of holiness, hence the nickname. In addition to the members’ “acts of piety,” the group also engaged in “acts of mercy,” spending significant time ministering to people in the local prison. Almost 400 years on, the role of campus ministry is much the same. Providing students opportunities to explore their faith, perform service to the marginalized and underserved, and build community, Campus Ministry is a hub of sorts, an epicenter which attracts students and faculty alike to congregate, share, strengthen ties, learn that there’s more to education than academics and more to faith than just oneself. We invited the Director of Campus Ministry Mr. Will Healy, Campus Minister for Christian Service Mr. Tabi Arrey, and Peer Ministers, Ansen Smith ’25 and Luke Roberto ’26 to help see more of what this unique department at Catholic Memorial does and why it is so beloved.
The question is set. All the panel needs to do is demonstrate its truth, hence Quod Erat Demonstrandum.
Is Campus Ministry the heart and soul of Catholic Memorial and if so, why?
Will Healy: At the start of every school year, Campus Ministry kicks things off with the Freshman Experience and in middle school with Team Building Day. That brings almost half of our students in a couple days before formal classes actually begin. That’s a very obvious indicator of the importance of Campus Ministry and the role we play in bringing everyone together as a brotherhood. It shows that Campus Ministry is absolutely central to what we’re trying to do, here, as a school community.
Ansen Smith: I’d say, yes, because Campus Ministry brings people together. It has helped me connect a lot better with the underclassmen, rather than just seeing them in a hallway and walking past. I’ve gotten to know them personally. That’s important.
Luke Roberto: The Campus Ministry office is the first place I go every morning when I walk in the door.
Unless I’m running late to morning prayer, I always swing by. And often the first two words are “Mr.,” “Arrey,”: either “Mr. Arrey, I need something” or “Mr. Arrey, how are you doing?” I feel like that’s what makes Campus Ministry so vital to our community. It is a welcoming space, no matter what time of day, that’s always the place you can go when you walk in the door. And for me, it’s often the place I leave from in the afternoon as well.
Tabi Arey: You think about heart and soul and it’s a question of relationality. It’s all about connections. And that’s exactly what we do. We’re here to be the bridge between new and old, ideas, faiths, or backgrounds. So, when you think about Campus Ministry and it’s three pillars: faith, community and service that’s exactly what we’re doing here. And why is that important? When you think back to the pandemic, and how isolated people were…to this day we’re still feeling the effects of that period of isolation, because something was missing, and it was a connection with other people. That’s why it’s really important to have this office that can focus on making sure we stay connected to one another, and to the world.
What about Campus Ministry has changed over the years? And what still continues to this today?
Healy: I don’t know how old Campus Ministry is at CM. I know that there are several aspects of what we do in Campus Ministry that go back decades like the breast cancer walk which is in its 23rd year, I believe, and BERSI (Blessed Edmund Rice Solidarity Initiative) is well over a decade old. There’s that bit of soul that makes us uniquely Catholic in that we care about the whole person and provide opportunities to give back to the world, to remember that there’s more to being a CM Knight than competing on the field and achieving academically.
Smith: I’m grateful for CM, because they look at the good side of you. When I was applying to the middle school, here, my grades weren’t where I wanted them to be. And when I came for my interview, the person I met with talked about my grades, but said that they could see that I was a good person. Fast forward three years, and I’m participating in clubs and other activities that I’d never believe I’d be doing thanks to this idea of seeing me for what I am, and I think that spirit has always been in Campus Ministry.
Arrey: I would say, you’re thriving. I was talking with your mom the other day and we are both very proud of how much you’ve been able to achieve and the kind of responsible, young man you are becoming.
Smith: Thank you, Mr. Arrey.
Roberto: When we look at where the word Catholic derives it means “universal.” When we look at this program, we think of the universal nature not only of our school, but then where our school is coming from. As we saw on our Founder’s Day Mass, we acknowledged and recognized the Christian Brothers: those with us today like Brothers Cavet and Phelps, and those who came before us. That’s where we come from. That’s where this program derives. And it’s built on those same pillars that Mr. Arrey mentioned. And it’s really cool that the school still teaches and emphasizes that we came from Blessed Edmund Rice. And that’s what the mission of our school is.
Arrey: And to your point, I look at it as continuity and reform. We may not have had the offices we have today, or that we had five years ago when we joined, but it’s been growing steadily. And, I think it really speaks to the nature of the church, a moving church that moves with the needs of the people, and also the nature of the Holy Spirit as the principle of dynamic unrest. So, I think, Campus Ministry may not be the same as it was, but I think the core mission and the core values are the same in that spirit of continuity.
How does Campus Ministry differ from theological studies at school? Is it an extension of theology? The practical manifestation of the discipline?
Arrey: I always go back to one of my favorite friends, Joseph Ratzinger [Pope Benedict XVI]…rest is soul. He said, theology is useless if it doesn’t change your life. So, the whole point of theology is to lead a better life. I say to students, we learn these things, not because it’s good to know them, but because we benefit from the experiences of our forefathers and see how they lived their lives. In Acts 2:42, it speaks about a community of believers. They shared everything. They prayed together, they ate together, they did everything together. Not only is Campus Ministry an extension of what we do in the classroom, it’s an imperative that it should be that way, because if we cannot live out the theology we learn, then there’s a disconnect.
Roberto: When we think about theology class to campus ministry, we learn about the heart and soul of theology, we learn about Christ himself, we learn about scripture, we learn about the teachings that are applicable to our faith. But you can’t fully understand that without living it. Campus Ministry is apostolic in nature. We don’t live a life of faith just in church or in the classroom. We live it with the people on the margins of society. We live it walking together in the breast cancer walk. We live it together, laughing in the Campus Ministry office. We live that together. As Mr. Arrey said, we are relational beings.
Healy: When you think about the original name for Christianity: “The Way” it was because it was the way of being for the early believers in the same way it is for us. It’s not slogans. It’s not a teaching but a whole way of life. And I think as long as we keep striving to let that influence us – as faculty members designing programming, and as you guys (acknowledging the students) are stepping up and taking your leadership opportunities – we’ll stay true to that mission to that way of being that Christ shows us and that the saints show us.
What is the idea behind students becoming peer ministers and why are they so important to the school?
Healy: The peer ministers are what makes campus ministry work. This year, we were close to having 120 peer ministers. And there’s really nothing that attracts the interest of the younger students more than when one of their brothers, someone that they look up to is able to speak directly to them about leadership, about being a person of love about being a person of service. Our faculty tries hard to build relationships with the students. But we also recognize the reality that a message is going to be delivered more effectively when it comes from one of their brothers. Peer ministers make everything work. If they aren’t there to deliver the talks, aren’t there to facilitate conversations or aren’t there just to shoot hoops with the underclassmen it’s not going to have the impact that we are hoping for.
Arrey: Pope Francis talks about if ministry is to be effective, the shepherd must smell like the sheep. There is no better way of ministering to a high school student as having a fellow high school student stand up and say, “Hey, we think this would impact you in a way that you have no idea…this is what it did to me when I did it. And I think if you do it, you will have something similar to this experience.” Because in a sense, the peer minister is the shepherd and his fellow students are the sheep.
Luke and Ansen, do you think you would be as much of a man for others if you weren’t involved in campus ministry?
Roberto: The idea of growing not only physically but as a person is something we work on our whole lives. Being a man is who we are. But becoming a better man, a man of service and a man of character has to do with faith. Campus Ministry helps us develop our faith so that we can become better men. Campus Ministry is not just a club. It’s more. There’s someone else involved, and that person is Christ. And I think it’s important to think about, when we embark on all of these journeys, when we do acts of service, go on retreats, reflect, play games with our brothers, it’s important that we think about why are we doing that? And I think the answer is this question. It’s to be a better man. As I was taught by my dad, faith isn’t just something that you experience for an hour on Sunday. Faith is the way you carry yourself. It’s the way you live your life. Campus Ministry allows that to bleed into the rest of our school day, the rest of our school experience here at CM, that’s what it’s all about.
Smith: Again, I feel like I wouldn’t have the connection I do with some of the underclassmen were it not for Campus Ministry. I feel, as someone who’s about to step into the role of a senior, it’s important to have good connection with the underclassmen to be that older mentor. Being involved with Campus Ministry has kind of helped me step out of my comfort zone and helped start a conversation with people who I don’t know. And for that, I’m very grateful.
