Christendom College President Dr. Timothy O’Donnell welcomed students back to campus for another semester of in-person learning with his annual opening address on Friday, January 21, encouraging students to be “people of joy” and strive for holiness amidst the serious challenges facing America today.
“I urge you this semester: don’t be distracted by the winds and the waves that are swirling around the outside world. Keep your eyes this semester fixed on Christ,” said O’Donnell. “Although iniquity abounds everywhere, we have to be sure that charity does not grow cold. We still need to be people of joy, we still need to be people of love who care about other people — and that includes our enemies and those who persecute us. We need to love them and pray for them.”
During his address, O’Donnell called the pursuit of a Catholic liberal arts education “truly historic in this day and age” and encouraged students to look to the example of the late Dr. Brendan McGuire as they strive for excellence in their studies and in their spiritual lives.
“One of Professor McGuire’s favorite quotes was taken from Prosper of Aquitaine. He wrote: ‘even if the wounds of this shattered world enmesh you, and the seas and turmoil bears you along in one surviving ship, it would still befit you to maintain your enthusiasm for liberal studies unimpaired. Why should lasting values tremble if transient things fall?’” said O’Donnell.
Before delivering his address, O’Donnell outlined the college’s plan for the spring semester to the student body. As announced by O’Donnell in December, the college will follow the same COVID-19 safety protocols that proved highly effective in the fall, while following a more typical schedule this spring — including a spring break and an end of classes on May 5.
O’Donnell provided further updates to the student body as well, including the announcement that the college will have a record enrollment for a spring semester with 510 students studying at Christendom. That number includes 26 students who will also be studying in Rome, following the success of the college’s fall semester in the Eternal City — a semester that saw Christendom become one of only five American colleges to still study in Rome in 2020.
This impressive achievement comes in addition to other news, including a record number of applicants for the Best Week Ever high school summer program and the announcement that the Class of 2020 is 98.8% employed or in graduate school as of the end of 2020 — a testament to the college’s outstanding faculty, robust curriculum, and to the efforts of the career development office.
To conclude, O’Donnell also announced a variety of updates for the Christ the King Chapel project. The General Contractor, Hoar Construction, is beginning to wrap up their section of work, with the focus turning to interior work soon. This includes installation of the high altar, side altar shrines, stained glass windows, wood paneling, and eventually the wood flooring as well.
The Chapel’s bells, which were recently blessed in December, will be installed in the towers at the end of February/mid-March, along with the high tower crowns. Completion of the interior wood ceiling should be done by mid-February, when the Rose Window will begin to be installed as well.
For more information on the Christ the King Chapel project, visit chapel.christendom.edu.