Nearly 200 St. Joseph’s College students traveled to the Sisters of St. Joseph’s bucolic 200-acre motherhouse property in Brentwood Oct. 17 to focus on one of the College’s core values: service.
During the second annual day of service, students taught preschoolers at Shepherds Gate, played baseball with seniors at the St. Joseph Convent, interviewed residents at the Maria Regina Residence, did some gardening and helped paint a mural in the MDQ Academy private school. The service activities were based on the Sister’s of St. Joseph’s property.
The afternoon closed with a speech from S. Marie Mackey, a 1984 graduate of St. Joe’s.
The day of service resonated well with those living at the Maria Regina Residence. The day after the students served at the Sister’s of St. Joseph’s motherhouse, Michele A. Boccia, director of pastoral care at the Maria Regina Residence, penned a letter, thanking them for the impact they had on residents.
“The building is buzzing today with positive feelings from both residents and staff,” Boccia wrote. “I heard from so many people how much they enjoyed meeting such ‘fine young men and women’ and how you made them feel special by your genuine interest in their lives.
“You certainly lived our mission of bringing Christ’s healing, hope and hospitality to those you met,” she added.