Stags will soon have one more opportunity to attend Mass each week at Egan Chapel. Fairfield University’s Campus Ministry has made the decision to hold an additional Mass on Sundays at 5:30 p.m. after an overflow of attendees at existing services.
The addition of the 5:30 service will provide more flexibility for those who choose to attend Mass. Senior Angeline Miraglia feels the new earlier Mass time is “a great idea.”
“With the increased number of students attending Mass, this will provide an additional opportunity for students and community members to participate based on what time fits their schedule best,” Miraglia said. “I like to have time in the evening to prepare for the upcoming week, so I will definitely be attending the 5:30 Mass!”
According to Rev. John Savard, S.J., ‘78, the director of campus ministry, the new Mass time will make its debut on Feb. 23. This comes one week before Lent, the 40-day period of rest and prayer observed by Catholics, begins on Ash Wednesday.
“As we were coming up to lent and we already have a full chapel at the 7:30 p.m. on Sunday nights, we decided we needed another time,” Savard said. “Especially as people may be more apt or maybe a few more people are coming to Mass. And to give people other options.”
The change comes after several months of increased attendance at on-campus Mass, as well as Shabbat and Jummah services. A previous Mirror article described last semester’s Sunday evening Masses as standing-room only, requiring extra chairs to be brought in. This spring, students are continuing to show up.
Campus Ministry currently offers Sunday Mass at 11:00 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Next weekend, an earlier Mass will take the place of the usual evening Mass to accommodate for the Super Bowl taking place that Sunday.
The following weekend is President’s Day, which Savard anticipates will result in a lower attendance while students are away. Yet, the Sunday after is expected to be a success. Savard attributes the recent noticeable increase in attendance at Mass to “a return to community” among students.
“We’re always wondering what the impact of Covid had on people and I’m wondering whether it was really that sense of isolation that it brought and people are now finding out how life-giving community is,” he said.
Savard mentioned that he’s seen groups of students coming to Mass together after meeting up around 7:15 p.m. in their residence halls, a practice that he encourages. He described students coming and leaving together, as a community.
“I think that it’s part of a faith tradition that is really also a friendship tradition – going to church together,” Savard said.
Campus Ministry also has new events in store for this semester, including weekly Monday night viewings of The Chosen, a television series about Jesus. Savard describes it as something students may want to add to their routine for Lent. It’s also an example of building community, a common theme for Campus Ministry this year.
“I think that some people can look at our world and kind of see it falling apart and yet people are looking at their faith as something holding them together,” Savard said. “People have their own private devotions, a prayer, saints they might call upon for help or acceptance and things like that. But there’s also part of our faith that’s really communal. We always talk about the body of Christ but it’s that we do this as a community, as a group. So the public proclamation of our spirituality happens at Mass.”
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