June 16, 2025 // Diocese

‘Forming the Next Generation of Saints’

Clare Hildebrandt

Reporter

Campus Ministry Association Offers Formation, Leadership

“Campus ministry isn’t just about planning events or running retreats – it’s about forming the next generation of Catholic leaders, thinkers, and saints,” said Rosie Chinea Shawver, executive director of the Catholic Campus Ministry Association. “It takes more than just good intentions. It takes ongoing formation, deep reflection, and a willingness to confront hard questions with both faith and intellect.”

From Monday, June 2, to Thursday, June 5, campus ministers from across the United States gathered at the University of Notre Dame to do just that – to grow in formation to better serve their students on their home campuses.

Put on by the Catholic Campus Ministry Association (CCMA), the Called25 conference included keynote addresses by nationally known speakers such as Gloria Purvis and Katie McGrady, who spoke on ideas such as educating for peace and ways to promote proper moral development. The three-day conference also afforded plenty of time for networking between ministers who serve at a wide variety of schools.

Overall, the conference “serves as a moment of renewal and recommitment for those serving on the front lines of evangelization in higher education,” Shawver said. “This gathering is about learning from one another, lifting each other up, and remembering that we’re part of something much bigger than our individual campuses.”

She continued, saying: “In a time of immense cultural change and spiritual hunger on college campuses, this gathering marks a national recommitment to the mission of evangelization in higher education. … The conversations sparked here will shape the future of Catholic campus ministry for years to come.”

Bishop Rhoades celebrated the conference’s opening Mass at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Monday, June 2, and also joined the group for adoration.

In his homily, he implored the campus ministers to “testify by witnessing to His love.”

“It’s our mission as his disciples, as missionary disciples, to testify by witnessing to the love by which He came and saved us. Jesus did not come to the world with the force of the world, but with the force of the cross. This is our role as well,” he said.

Holy Cross Father Pete McCormick, assistant vice president for campus ministry at Notre Dame and an attendee of the conference, told Today’s Catholic: “At first glance, campus ministry might appear simple, but the reality is far more complex. … College students are navigating a rapidly changing world, and if we are to minister effectively, we must be attentive to those shifts,” Father McCormick said.

“Engaging intellectually with the ideas presented at Called25 helps ensure that our pastoral practice is not only rooted in Tradition but also responsive to the contemporary needs of students.”

Rebecca Siar, campus minister at University of Illinois, told Today’s Catholic that she felt a sense of rejuvenation at the conference as she prepares for the upcoming academic year.

“I learned at Called25 that we’re all doing this together, which is so helpful. … It can be isolating on the different campuses as campus ministers, but we’re all experiencing similar struggles. I got to talk with so many different campus ministers and swap ideas with them.”

Siar added: “There can be frustration when working with college kids – it is not always easy – but it’s needed now more than ever. There is so much noise in the world right now, and when students come to college, they are often searching for truth, searching for their own identities. At the conference, it was affirmed that our role is to help them discover their true identities as beloved sons and daughters of the Father.”

In the end, the campus ministers prayed for a fruitful school year as they look to continue their mission of building the faith of students on college campuses.

“We all prayed together,” Siar said. “They are really my fellow laborers in the vineyard.”

Clare Hildebrandt is a staff writer at Today’s Catholic.