October 20, 2016
The young and the energetic: New Dominican chaplains embrace the calling
By CHARLES C. JOYCE
When it comes to today’s students and the world they live in, the chaplaincy team at Providence College has no illusions. It’s a world far more secularized than a generation ago. Societal, family, and peer pressures are constant. The road to success and happiness seemingly is filled with more doubt and detours than ever.
“There is such a temptation to live college life in a superficial way,” said Rev. Philip Neri Reese, O.P., assistant chaplain.
Father Philip Neri and his peers, College Chaplain Rev. Peter Martyr Yungwirth, O.P. and Rev. Dominic Verner, O.P., assistant chaplain, project a realistic view — but one also filled with confidence and optimism — of campus life in their role of meeting the spiritual needs of PC’s 3,900 students and the greater College community. Ordained as Dominican priests in the last three years, they are in tune with the challenges of a secularized world, yet united in their resolve to help students find their way and “know they are loved,” said Father Peter Martyr.
PC is the first full-time assignment for each of the chaplains, who studied together for a period at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. Father Peter Martyr, who is 32, arrived first, in January 2015, as an assistant to then-College Chaplain Rev. James Cuddy, O.P. ’98. He was named chaplain in January 2016, after Father Cuddy was assigned to a parish in New York City. Father Philip Neri, 31, a visiting instructor in philosophy, joined the chaplaincy team last January. Father Dominic, 30, a full-time assistant, was assigned to PC in June, a month after his ordination.
“This is a good opportunity for the three of us to make spirituality practically real for all students. We have a lot of energy … and we’re able to live on a little less sleep,” said Father Peter Martyr with a laugh.
He also is excited by the synergy and commitment among the rest of the chaplain’s office staff, composed of campus ministers Sister Anne Frances Klein, O.P., Kelly Hughes ’11, Bob Pfunder ’09, and Heidi Fraitzl ’14; Mark Colozzi, the new director of liturgical music; and Jane Larson McGuirk, senior office assistant.
Father Peter Martyr is the newest in a line of 19 Dominicans who have served in the lead chaplain’s role since the mid-1930s, beginning with Rev. John B. Reese, O.P. Father Reese’s successor, Rev. Charles H. McKenna, O.P., is the longest-serving College chaplain on record, holding the role from 1938-1955. Four Dominicans were appointed College chaplain more than once, and several former chaplains remain active at PC and/or reside on campus.
A native of Maryland who entered the University of Maryland with thoughts of becoming an aerospace engineer, Father Peter Martyr said it was his work in hospital ministry, particularly at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore in the summer of 2014, that best prepared him for the chaplain’s role. The experience made him realize “there are a lot of people suffering deeply … so many coming from broken backgrounds.”
As chaplain, he wants students — of all beliefs and faiths, not just Catholic — to know not only that they are welcomed and valued by the chaplain’s staff and the College, but their lives will be more fulfilling if they have a relationship with Jesus.
“My role is to help them meet Him and establish a relationship, not in a ‘hokey’ sense, but in a real way … in the sense of a life of virtue. I want to help students become charitable and help them cultivate virtue, so that they can become wholesome and live out a good and holy life,” he said.
There is no such thing as a “typical” day for the PC chaplain, who is the second-youngest of nine children. Students frequently drop in, either for a one-on-one meeting or for confession, and their circumstances and emotions vary sharply, said Father Peter Martyr. No two meetings are the same, but some duties remain constant, such as celebrating Mass, attending committee meetings, meeting with Campus Ministry student leaders, and performing administrative tasks like scheduling priests’ Mass assignments and approving time sheets. Amid the long and hectic day, he makes a point of attending the nightly Office of Readings and Vespers service with fellow Dominicans.
“My life with the Friars is nourishing,” said Father Peter Martyr, who noted he also prays to the Holy Spirit for daily guidance, especially in new situations.
One of the ways the chaplain’s office attempts to meet students at their level of spiritual exploration and need is through the Peer Ministry Program, now in its second year and coordinated by Father Philip Neri and Kelly Hughes. Trained upper-class student mentors meet in pairs with 10-12 students to talk about the intersection of faith and college life. Last year, there were approximately 20 peer ministers and 100 student participants. This year, the coordinators expect more than 200 students will work with a group of 34 peer ministers.
The discussions are raw and real, covering any topic students broach, such as family crises, the drinking culture, and social media messaging. “It’s where the rubber meets the road,” said Father Philip Neri, emphasizing that the value of the program is the opportunity to share.
“Peer Ministry exposes them to something better and provides them a community that’s deeper. Having a place to come talk about difficulties is important,” said Father Philip Neri, who grew up in Maryland and attended Dickinson College in Pennsylvania. While the program largely targets first-year students, “we welcome everybody, wherever you might be as a student. We believe you will be safer and happier if you grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ.”
Father Dominic sees today’s students as pilgrims on a four-year journey, with its joys and delights, its trials and setbacks. It is the chaplain’s role to make sure students are “not defined by their mistakes” and that the innate goodness of each person is affirmed. He interacts with students in numerous capacities besides celebrating the sacraments and face-to-face meetings, including directing the Right of Christian Initiation for Adults program, advising numerous groups within Campus Ministry, and leading retreats.
An Indiana native who majored in electrical engineering at Purdue University, Father Dominic champions the chaplain’s role as a “servant of hope” to students. Hope is “under attack” in contemporary society, and thus it is critical for the chaplain to help students understand that, like everyone, they are called to sanctity and eternal happiness. The two biggest obstacles to hope are that students doubt it is for them and that holiness will make them happy, he said.
“We must help people discover the richness and beauty of the faith, to see God’s plan … and deeply encounter the love of God.”
This story originally appeared in the Fall 2016 issue of Providence College Magazine.
