Under spectacular August skies, a new class of Saints began its Holy Cross College journey Friday, Aug. 21, on a day that also marked a major milestone for the College.
Holy Cross welcomed the first residents of Holy Cross Hall, opening its first new campus building in more than a decade.
The $12 million, 29,000-square-foot residence hall expands the College’s residential capacity while creating new spaces for community, study and faith formation. The building will house 110 male students and three Resident Assistants. A chapel inspired by Our Lady of Guadalupe will be completed this fall, and the hall represents the first step toward development of a new residential quad.
Later in the day, the focus shifted from a new building to a new beginning.
At the Matriculation Ceremony, President Dr. Marco J. Clark drew on his own experience as a first-generation college student to acknowledge a question familiar to many students arriving on a college campus: Do I really belong here?
Clark recalled feeling like a “fish out of water” when he arrived at college. He told students that Holy Cross offers something more than a degree or preparation for a career, describing the education awaiting them as “truly soul-sized.”
Student Government Association President Carlos Vera reinforced that message through the Gospel account of the Wedding at Cana, comparing the water in the story to the knowledge and experiences students will receive at Holy Cross and its transformation to wine with the wisdom that can emerge through faith.
His message to the newest Saints was simple: “You belong here.”
Clark then called students toward the larger mission of a Holy Cross education: to develop a lifelong love of learning, become courageous citizens who seek a world where love and justice prevail, lead with integrity while lifting up others and become disciples who bring hope to the world.
“Consider the greatness of this mission,” Clark said, invoking Blessed Basil Moreau, “and the wonderful amount of good which you can accomplish.”
New students then joined Vera, Vice President Abigail Fouts and Chief of Staff Joseph DeFranco in the Matriculation Pledge, committing themselves to the education of their hearts and minds and embracing the call to become scholars, citizens, leaders and disciples.
Following a blessing from Fr. Michael DeLaney, C.S.C., students approached the sun-dappled Millennium Archway and passed beneath it as faculty, staff, students and families welcomed them into the Holy Cross community.
By the time they passed beneath the Millennium Archway, the message of the day had become clear: Holy Cross is not simply asking students to earn a degree. It is inviting them to become scholars, citizens, leaders and disciples capable of bringing hope to the world.
