Office of the College Chaplains
Hope, Faith, Justice and Community
A place where faith and spirituality aren’t static, but evolve and grow with each generation.
Grounded in God’s love, Holy Cross graduates will have the interior freedom, sense of purpose and the imagination to participate in the creation of a hope-filled future for all.
Here, the Catholic, Jesuit spirituality is not confined to tradition alone; it’s a journey of discovery, self-reflection and purpose that welcomes and inspires students from all faiths and backgrounds. And one that doesn’t end at commencement. Through transformative programming for students and alumni as well as faculty and staff, the Chaplains support you in exploring profound questions like Who am I? and What do I stand for?
Whether you’re embarking on a retreat at the Joyce Contemplative Center or immersing yourself within a community, every experience is meant to deepen your understanding and enrich your spirituality. Each conversation and every reflection invites you to explore a path that aligns with your spiritual journey and equips you to live with compassion, purpose and a commitment to justice — values that will shape your life far beyond your time at Holy Cross.
Grow Your Faith
Spiritual Journeys
There are several resources and programs that promote our Catholic and Jesuit identity.
Student Programs for Urban Development (SPUD)
Build relationships with others through ongoing volunteer service. Working with more than 30 community partners, join 400 volunteers who answer the call to be for and with others throughout Worcester. The work SPUD engages in ranges from serving meals and working at food pantries, to tutoring children, visiting seniors in nursing facilities, mentoring youth in detention or supporting recently arrived immigrants and refugees.
Spring Break Immersion
There is no typical day for the nearly 200 students who travel to approximately 20 sites across the country during the week of Spring Break. Rather than setting out to “make a difference,” our students set out to wonder how people are doing. The program aims to emphasize the “with” in the phrase “people for and with others.” We hope that participants return to campus with a deeper appreciation for accompaniment, mutuality and shared human experience.
Retreat @ the JCC
Take a deep breath in and exhale, whether with a loved one or in your quiet reflection. Alumni retreats at Holy Cross range from silent meditations to marriage preparation, each offering time for prayer, reflection and renewal. You may leave Holy Cross as a student, but you carry with you the tools of discernment forever—and there’s no better place to nurture that journey than the JCC.
Faith, Justice, Community and Hope
Faith
Nearly 200 students serve in liturgical and music ministries, responding to their baptismal call to offer their God-given gifts to the worshipping community at Holy Cross. But that isn't the only way to deepen your faith here. Other multi-faith opportunities include Daily Mass and annual lessons and carols.
Justice
Solidarity is learned through contact with the injustices others suffer, which then gives rise to intellectual inquiry and moral reflection. Holy Cross offers multiple opportunities to examine that, whether through the on-campus chapter of PAX Christi, the Spring Break Immersion Program or Student Programs for Urban Development, the largest student-led service and justice organization on campus.
Community
Building community is a core pillar of growth, and there are several ways to find your's on campus. Cura Communities
gives students an opportunity to gather weekly in small groups to discuss everything from family to faith and friendships. Spring Break Immersion Trips are a way to expand that community through a faith-based program with the mission to develop a "well-educated" solidarity for our students in the Jesuit tradition.
Hope
Throughout your four years at Holy Cross, the class chaplains look forward to accompanying you individually and as a group as you deepen your faith life, regardless of your religious tradition. As part of our ministry to the College, the chaplains are available to meet one-on-one with individual students to discuss any concerns, questions or difficulties they may have. Students can also rely on each other through opportunities like Circle of Hope conversations.
Interfaith Opportunities
Food & Faith is an annual event that happens annually the week before Thanksgiving. It's a time to celebrate food traditions from different cultures representative of the campus community. Members of faculty, staff and local bakeries contribute food that corresponds with faith traditions. A different menu is offered each day. This event is for all members of the campus community.
Holy Cross is a safe and welcoming community where discussions of purpose and meaning take place among students from a range of faith traditions.
Traditionally held the first day of spring semester, Holy Cross welcomes faith leaders from a variety of religious communities which can include Protestant, Orthodox, Eastern Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu communities.
The multi-faith event is a special service consisting of readings, reflections from the community faith leaders, music and a candle lighting ritual. The prayer is followed by an international food festival showcasing ethnic foods from restaurants in the Worcester community.
Rabbi Cohen ‘ 72 visits campus for a week during the fall semester to celebrate the Jewish faith. His visit concludes with Shabbat dinner. The meal takes place in Campion House and includes Torah study and an opportunity to engage in conversations.
Contact the Chaplains
Marybeth Kearns-Barrett ’84, M.Div.
Director, Office of College Chaplains
Megan Fox-Kelly ’99, LICSW M. Div., M.S.W.
Associate Director, Associate Chaplain
Marty Kelly, M.T.S.
Associate Director, Associate Chaplain
Emily Rauer Davis ’99, M.Div.
Associate Director, Associate Chaplain
Rev. James Hayes, S.J. '72 M.A., M.Div.,S.T.L., M.S.
Associate Chaplain
Omondi A. Andrew, M.A.
Assistant Chaplain
Salena Ibrahim, M.Div.
Assistant Chaplain
Mary E. LaVigne LCSW, M.A., M.S.W.
Assistant Chaplain
Joseph Penny, M.A.
Assistant Chaplain
Laurence Rosania, M.A.
Assistant Chaplain/Director of Liturgy and Music
Laura Nelson, B.A.
Hospitality Director
Paula Shanley, M.S.
Office Coordinator