May 6, 2025 // Bishop

Saint Francis Graduates Called to ‘Lead with Surrender’

Clare Hildebrandt

Reporter

It was a surreal moment for graduate Olivia Godfroy to participate at Mass in a cap and gown surrounded by her friends, family, and faculty of the University of Saint Francis. The people standing at her sides transformed her life, particularly her relationship to prayer throughout the past four years.

The Saint Francis community came together on Friday, May 2, for a baccalaureate Mass celebrated by Father Patrick Hake, the university’s chaplain, and then held its graduation ceremony the following day, Saturday, May 3, at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.

This year, the university awarded a total of 545 degrees to 408 undergraduate students and 90 graduate students, according to a news release from university officials.

Father Hake shared his pride in the graduates during the Mass, which was held at the university’s North Campus. He also earnestly urged graduates “to live lives of beauty” after leaving the halls of their alma mater.

“Saint Francis has made you all beautiful, beautiful works of art,” Father Hake said. “You must continue to live beautiful lives. I want you to ask these questions: ‘What makes my heart thrive and grow? What makes my life more beautiful? And what makes me more like Christ?’ Ultimately, what makes you beautiful is the perfect love of Jesus. His perfect love given unto us brings forth beauty in every aspect,” Father Hake exclaimed.

He added: “And as you all leave University of Saint Francis, your alma mater, the mother of your soul, take time to gather fragments … of your experiences. Remember your friendships, remember the lessons, remember the challenges. Remember those quiet moments of grace. Let them continue to feed you on your journey.”

“God’s goal in your life is to make you beautiful, to make you Christ-like saints. Let him do that in your life after Saint Francis,” Father Hake concluded.

Students such as Godfroy, a health and exercise science major, listened intently during the Mass.

“Celebrating Mass started the graduation weekend on the right foot,” Godfroy told Today’s Catholic. “I enjoyed celebrating it with family, friends, and faculty – they all have shaped my four years, both academically and spiritually. I also really enjoyed Father Patrick’s homily. … I will take his word [about living a beautiful life] into my professional career and my personal life,” Godfroy said.

The following day at the Coliseum, Godfroy walked across the stage with feelings of triumph. 

“It felt like all my hard work paid off when I walked across that stage. It was a celebration – one that included my closest friends in college and some friends from high school,” she said.

Reflecting on her four years, she said she is particularly grateful for the growth in her prayer life.   

“Saint Francis introduced me to some amazing people that changed my prayer life immensely,” Godfroy said. “Whether it was attending a worship night, student-led Bible study, or going on a mission trip to Kentucky, Saint Francis gave me opportunities to journey outside the realm of my comfort zone. USF shaped me into the person I am today.”

At the graduation ceremony on May 3, Jason Shanks, CEO of the National Eucharistic Congress Inc., gave the keynote address. His advice to recent graduates was to not shy away from openness and vulnerability with God. Greatness, according to Shanks, lies in your ability to surrender.

“Graduates, the world will ask you to lead with strength,” Shanks said according to a university news release.

“But don’t be afraid to lead with surrender. Be vulnerable. Be open. Make time for silence. Let your life be rooted in prayer. Let your faith speak not only through what you accomplish but through what you endure, what you entrust to God, and what you allow Him to transform. Your weakness may be the very place where someone else finds hope.”

Shanks talked about his vulnerability during a battle with COVID-19, which led to being in a medically induced coma for 45 days. After his family invoked the intercession of St. Jude, he said, he began to recover. 

“It was in that complete surrender, in that helplessness, that God moved most powerfully,” Shanks said.  “When the noise falls away, when the masks come off, we are left with what matters most – our identity as beloved sons and daughters of God.”

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