A potential cause for Sainthood for a Virginia father who unselfishly saved his special needs son amidst a life of devout faith

 

Virginia diocese investigates potential sainthood cause for Catholic father who saved his son

written by Anna Donofrio | The Arlington Catholic Herald 

 September 16, 2026

Thomas and Mary Ellen Vander Woude are pictured in an undated photo. It has been 18 years since Vander Woude, a Virginia Catholic, gave his life to save his son Joseph from drowning in a septic tank. Now, the Arlington Diocese is investigating his cause for canonization. (OSV News photo/courtesy Vander Woude family)

ARLINGTON, Va. (OSV News) — It’s been 18 years since Thomas Vander Woude gave his life to save his son Joseph from drowning in a septic tank. Now, the Arlington Diocese is investigating his cause for canonization.

Bishop Michael F. Burbidge released an edict Sept. 10, asking the faithful in the diocese to submit any information that should be considered as the diocese continues its investigation to Msgr. Paul deLadurantaye, chancellor of the diocese.

An edict is “the first public notification” that a cause for canonization is being considered, according to Msgr. deLadurantaye. The edict solicits information from those who knew Tom.

Any materials written by him will be “examined for theological accuracy, to make sure there’s nothing that contradicts the faith or moral teaching of the church,” according to Msgr. deLadurantaye.

The edict marks a significant moment in diocesan history. “As far as I’m aware, it’s the first cause the diocese has actually petitioned for,” said Msgr. deLadurantaye.

Diocese looking into Vander Woude case for last few years

For the last few years, the diocese has been investigating the Vander Woude case and moving the case through the processes of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints in Rome. The Tom Vander Woude Guild, a nonprofit promoting his cause for canonization, worked closely with the diocese during this time.

Offering one’s life for another is one path to canonization, which was introduced by Pope Francis in 2017. Martyrdom and living a life of heroic virtue are two other paths. 

“What Tom Vander Woude did in sacrificing his own life to save his son Joseph, that would certainly fit under the conditions of the offering of one’s life,” Msgr. deLadurantaye told The Arlington Catholic Herald, the diocese’s news outlet.

In the Vander Woude case, Bishop Burbidge named the diocese as the petitioner. The diocese has named as postulator, Waldery Hilgeman, who will guide the cause through the dicastery in Rome. It also has named as vice postulator Art Bennett. Vice postulators are located in the area where the cause originates.

Thomas Vander Woude is seen in an undated photo coaching a basketball team at Christendom College in Front Royal, Va., during his time as the head coach of the men’s basketball team. It has been 18 years since Vander Woude, a Virginia Catholic, gave his life to save his son Joseph from drowning in a septic tank. Now, the Arlington Diocese is investigating his cause for canonization. (OSV News photo/courtesy Vander Woude family

In collaboration with the Tom Vander Woude Guild, the diocese created a list of potential witnesses “who could give testimony to the life and the virtues and ultimately the offering of life of Tom Vander Woude,” Msgr. deLadurantaye said. “We noted that some people have reported what would seem to be favors, graces, miraculous events that occurred due to his intercession.” The favors will require further investigation, he added.

A request USCCB discuss cause at fall plenary

The diocese then sent the collected information, including a biographical report of Tom, to Hilgeman, the postulator, who issued a petition to Bishop Burbidge, “asking him to open the cause in a formal way,” and create an investigative tribunal. Bishop Burbidge has also requested that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops discuss the cause at their meeting this November.

For the Tom Vander Woude Guild, the edict is a groundbreaking moment after years of sharing Tom’s story.

“This is a big step in the process,” said Chris Vander Woude, the fifth of Tom’s seven sons and a board member of the guild. He described his reaction to the edict as “a combination of excitement and humility at the same time.”

For Father Thomas P. Vander Woude, pastor of St. Mary of Sorrows Church in Fairfax and the oldest Vander Woude son, the development is “something surreal,” he said. “You read about these things. You read about families and saints, but to go through the process … it’s humbling.”

Born April 24, 1942, Tom Vander Woude grew up on a family farm near Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He married his high school sweetheart, Mary Ellen Earley, Dec. 26, 1964. Several months later, he embarked on a journey to become a U.S. Navy pilot and would go on to serve in the Vietnam War. He later worked as a commercial airline pilot.

The couple moved their family to Virginia in 1981 after researching and reading about the fledgling Seton School in Manassas.

Impressed by couple’s strong Catholic faith

“I was impressed by their strong Catholic faith and desire for their sons to attend a strong Catholic school,” said Anne Carroll, founder and executive director of the school. “We were small with unimpressive facilities, but Tom and Mary Ellen didn’t care about appearances.”

Tom immediately jumped into coaching, starting at Seton School and going on to serve as the athletics director and men’s basketball coach at Christendom College in Front Royal.

“He was not just a coach but also a mentor and helped to form virtue in the young men,” Carroll said.

After moving to Virginia, the family bought a 27-acre farm, raising horses and cows “hobby farm” fashion, according to Chris. “We baled hay in the summer to help pay for college education for the older brothers,” he said.

Chris said his dad practiced his faith in both ordinary and extraordinary ways. “We said the family rosary every night,” he said. “It was because of the faith of my mom and the resolve of my dad.” He described his father dropping to his knees in prayer, even “after a hard day of flying and baling hay.”

Tom also prayed a weekly Holy Hour — in the middle of the night.

Their dad’s spiritual leadership

“That is quite the example for sons to see (their) dad on his knees,” Chris said. His dad’s spiritual leadership extended into other areas of family life. “We weren’t allowed to play sports on Sunday because of my dad’s belief that that was God’s command,” he said.

Father Vander Woude said that his dad’s spiritual leadership continued even through his seminary days. “As I got closer to ordination, Dad and I had some really good heart-to-heart talks,” he said. “At the ordination, that was pretty emotional. … Dad and I couldn’t look at each other.”

Tom and Mary Ellen’s relationship inspired others, said Keith Henderson, chairman of the guild.

“They were a team like you wouldn’t believe — and such a strong, strong marriage,” he said.

The couple would go on to teach natural family planning to couples across the diocese.

In 1987, the family welcomed their youngest son, Joseph, who was born with Down syndrome.

‘He was the greatest gift to our family’

“We all say he was the greatest gift to our family,” Chris said. He said his parents “demonstrated to the brothers that he was going to be treated just like anyone else, and we were going to love him unconditionally.”

As a baby, Joseph struggled to learn how to crawl. So, Tom spent hours with his son, crawling on all fours and showing him how to move his arms and legs in sync. “There’s two images burned into the minds of me and my brothers: him on his knees, and him on all fours crawling with Joseph,” Chris said.

In 2001, the Vander Woude family helped establish the newly founded parish community of Holy Trinity Church in Gainesville. Bennett, the vice postulator, recalled his tireless devotion to supporting the Holy Trinity Parish community in its infancy

Thomas Vander Woude is seen in an undated photo. It has been 18 years since Vander Woude, a Virginia Catholic, gave his life to save his son Joseph from drowning in a septic tank. Now, the Arlington Diocese is investigating his cause for canonization. (OSV News photo/courtesy Vander Woude family)

Every Sunday, parish volunteers set up a “sanctuary” for Mass at a nearby high school while the church was being built. Tom volunteered every week, said Bennett, a former parishioner who also previously served as president and CEO of diocesan Catholic Charities.

“I always noticed he never complained, and he actually did most of the heavy lifting,” he added. “That’s my strongest memory of him: how he served with a smile.”

‘Dad passed away saving Joseph’

The day Tom died, Chris was at Mass at Christendom. “I got out, and my cellphone was blowing up,” he said. He called his brother Dan, who told him, “Chris, there’s been an accident. Dad passed away saving Joseph.”

While working with his dad to drain the family’s pool, Joseph fell through a lid covering the property’s septic tank. Without a second thought, Tom climbed into the tank and called for help. Pushing Joseph above the sewage to fresh air, he died in the suffocating methane gases.

Chris was thrown into shock after hearing the news. “For me, and for a lot of people who knew dad, he was never going to die,” he said. “He’s going to be 102 in a wheelchair.”

He began to have a rush of emotions and thoughts: “Joseph’s in trouble. I just lost Dad.” He said the family immediately drew to Joseph, in critical condition at the hospital, and his mom.

“She had just lost the love of her life,” he said. “He was the rock of our community, the rock of our family.”

The family received an outpouring of support from the local community after Tom’s death. Chris said many people began calling his dad a saint already. And while the church has not canonized his dad yet, “he died saving Joseph, which tells me he’s in heaven,” Chris said. “I can personally believe that.”

Anna Donofrio is a staff writer at The Arlington Catholic Herald, news outlet of the Diocese of Arlington. This story was originally published by The Arlington Catholic Herald and distributed through a partnership with OSV News.

The story of vocation growth & success from Charlotte, North Carolina and Kansas & Virginia too

 

‘It’s always the Holy Spirit’: Meet 3 dioceses seeing large numbers of priestly ordinations

Multiple dioceses throughout the U.S. are bucking national trends and seeing large numbers of men discern into the priesthood.

Seminarians in the Diocese of Charlotte stand together prior to their ordination, March 14, 2025. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Diocese of Charlotte

By Daniel Payne

August 16, 2026

What drives a young man to discern into the priesthood — a supportive family, a vibrant parish, a proactive pastor, an outspoken bishop?

Father John Eckert’s response: “Yes.”

Eckert, the vocations director for the Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina, chuckled a little when describing the myriad paths that a young man may take when finding his way to holy orders. But, he said, “it’s always the Holy Spirit at work. It’s always cooperating with the grace of God.”

The Charlotte Diocese is among those in the U.S. seeing high numbers of seminarians and priestly ordinations. The diocese in western North Carolina saw a record 10 young men ordained to the priesthood earlier in 2026; that followed six ordinations in 2025 and seven in 2024.

“We’re blessed in the Diocese of Charlotte,” Eckert said. “It’s a beautiful moment.”

The priest just wrapped up his first full year as vocations director there. He said one of the strengths of the diocese is in its vibrant faith life, which he attributed partly to the “evangelical Bible-belt roots” of the region.

“This is Billy Graham territory,” he joked.

The diocese itself bears out that witness, he said. “The Church is growing like crazy down here,” he said. “We have wonderful families. We have faithful, hardworking priests. We’ve had five bishops who keep on striving to bear the Gospel message and bring that to every corner of the diocese.”

The growing ranks of the priesthood is proof of that high spirit, though Eckert said it can be tricky to tease out just what contributes to years of high ordinations. One of the diocese’s strengths, he said, is its own “in-house college seminary.”

“It’s so wonderful that if we have a young man interested in the priesthood, we can actually just bring him to this place and show him where the initial years of formation will take place,” he said.

The school offers prospective seminarians a chance to see “a group of men living this out, being very intentional about their prayer life, striving to grow in love of Our Lord.”

Charlotte Bishop Michael Martin, OFM Conv, told EWTN News that when seeing such high levels of devotion to the priesthood, “we often have to just marvel at God’s work.”

Priests in the diocese, he said, excel at offering candidates to the priesthood “the opportunity to see a healthy, holy, good person that they can see themselves becoming.”

Families, meanwhile, have become “far more open” to communicating to their sons that they would be “honored to see [them] consider the priesthood.”

“That dynamic has come about because the presbyterate gives a good example,” the bishop said. “It makes families, and parents in particular, more willing to be able to create that environment in their own families.”

Both Martin and Eckert said that at a certain point Church leaders simply have to acknowledge the work of the Holy Spirit. “To fully try to understand it is important,” Martin said, “but in some ways it’s best just to appreciate and enjoy it and be grateful for it.”

Eckert, meanwhile, cited as an example 1 Corinthians 3:6, in which Paul tells the Church at Corinth about its faith: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.”

The priest spoke joyfully about his work in the diocesan vocations office, though he downplayed his own role in bringing men to holy orders. He recounted with a laugh what a speaker told a group of vocations directors at a recent conference: “Gentlemen, get over yourselves. Nobody ever entered seminary because of their vocations director.”

Priestly vocation ‘seen as a natural, fulfilling life’

Father Garett Burns, the director of vocations promotion in the Diocese of Wichita, Kansas, admitted that the Midwestern diocese is “blessed with a strong culture of vocations.”

“For example, this past May six men were ordained to the priesthood,” he said. “We’ve been blessed to generally have a steady number of ordinations each year. There have been 22 priestly ordinations since 2020 and 44 priestly ordinations in the last 10 years. We will begin this academic year with 50 seminarians in formation.”

He said that it is “difficult to capture succinctly” why a diocese might have such abundant vocations, describing every Catholic’s vocation as a “mystery of grace.” But he said promoting vocations throughout every aspect of Church life — including in families, schools, and parishes — has borne steady fruit.

The diocese has an abundance of Eucharistic adoration, he said, including perpetual adoration. Such chapels present opportunities for young people to spend time in silence before Christ, he said, and “these moments are where vocations grow and flourish.”

Priests and bishops in the diocese, meanwhile, are “deeply committed to the Lord.”

“When priests love their priesthood and enjoy each other, that is attractive to young men,” he said. A local seminary program has also borne fruit, he said, allowing young men to form a close, core connection with the Church “at home.”

The priest said he hesitates to offer advice to other dioceses, admitting that there is “no universal solution” given the unique histories, gifts, and challenges of each diocese. But expanding opportunities for Eucharistic adoration, he said, offers “one viable option that promises to deepen the culture of vocations.”

Father Noah Morey, the vocations director in the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, echoed the assessment of his fellow vocations directors: “It’s not just one thing, it’s everything,” he told EWTN News.

The Arlington Diocese saw seven new priests ordained in 2026; it recorded 12 ordinations in 2025. Morey noted that when it comes to ordinations, “it’s not about numbers, it’s about quality.” But he said the Arlington Diocese has a “strong culture of vocations” that has helped produce exemplary priests over the years.

The diocese has promoted vocations since its founding in 1974. Its first leader, Bishop Thomas Welsh, “really fostered that culture” in part by bringing a Poor Clares monastery to the diocese.

“Our bishops have all taken a hands-on approach of fostering vocations in young men from a young age,” Morey said. Bishops in Arlington regularly attend seminary events and meet personally with aspiring priests, he said.

Eucharistic adoration is prolific throughout the diocese, meanwhile; several years ago, Morey said, current Bishop Michael Burbidge asked every pastor in the diocese to institute 40 hours of Eucharistic adoration annually.

The diocese also holds St. Andrew dinners several times a year, which allows young men to speak to both the bishop and diocesan priests about their potential discernment.

“I tell the young men, it’s a very low-commitment event — you’re not signing your life away!” he said. “You just show up for a free dinner with the bishop.”

A yearly “Quo Vadis?” summer camp offers another opportunity for young men to have face-to-face discernment with Church leaders.

An active, vibrant priesthood in the diocese also helps foster vocational discernment, he said. “If a young man sees a priest who’s in love with the Lord, that’s really attractive to the priesthood,” he said.

And faith-filled and encouraging families are equally to credit for fostering vocations in young men, Morey continued.

He offered a baseball analogy to describe the process by which young men find their way to the priesthood. “The families are the starting pitchers,” he said. “The priests are the middle relievers. And the vocations director is the closer.”

Globally the Church has continued to see lower vocations; the most recent data shows a continued drop in priests, with significant declines in Europe and the Americas, though Africa and Asia saw notable increases.

In the first 15 months of his pontificate Pope Leo XIV has continued to emphasize the importance of vocations. In June 2025 he told vocations ministers at the Vatican that their job consisted of “forming men capable of loving, listening, praying, and serving as a community.”

The pope said God “continues to call and remains faithful to his promises.” He urged leaders to help bring about the creation of appropriate conditions “to hear [God’s] voice.”

In Charlotte, Bishop Martin said the best response to an increase in vocations is to be both joyful for the gift and determined to help it flourish.

“There’s something in God’s design that’s beyond even what I can say,” he said. “I can provide some insights, but at the end of the day, this is the work of the Holy Spirit.”

Eckert, meanwhile, said an increase in vocations is a blessing no matter where it develops.

“The job that I think we all have is being intentional in our discipleship of Jesus Christ,” he said. “I pray for myself and all my brother vocations directors out there. Whether it happens in Peoria or it happens in Charlotte, it’s good for all of us.”

In this Virginia diocese, a successful Hispanic Diaconate Program

 

Arlington celebrates first ‘harvest’ from its Hispanic diocesan diaconate program

written by Marietha Góngora V. 

Jose Amaya, Marco Orozco, Roberto Silva, Rodrigo Ponce, Miguel Correa and Javier Aguilera, aspirants for the Diocese of Arlington's permanent diaconate program, stand for the calling of aspirants during the Mass of Admission Candidacy for Holy Orders at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington, Va., Feb. 1, 2026. While other Hispanic men already serve as permanent deacons in the diocese, the new curriculum was created specifically for Hispanics. (OSV News photo/Jim Hale, courtesy Arlington Catholic Herald)

ARLINGTON, Va. (OSV News) — After completing the two-year aspirancy stage of the Diocese of Arlington’s Hispanic Permanent Diaconate Program, the first group formally presented themselves as candidates ready to continue their formation process, which is expected to culminate in four years with their ordination as deacons.

These six men were recognized in a joyful Mass for the Admission to Candidacy for Holy Orders, celebrated by Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington Feb. 1. The Mass at St. Thomas More Cathedral was attended by hundreds of parishioners, including family and friends of the candidates for the permanent diaconate.

‘Mind and heart for faithful service’

“Know of my prayerful support and confidence in you. I trust your sincerity and your intentions as you come forward today and resolve to form your mind and heart for faithful service to the Lord and his Church,” said the homily written by Bishop Burbidge, which was read in Spanish by Father Joel D. Jaffe, who leads the diocese’s Hispanic diaconate program.

“May God who has begun this good work in you, bring it to fulfillment,” wrote Bishop Burbidge.

During Mass, the six candidates affirmed before the bishop their intention to complete their formation to be made “ready to undertake ministry in the Church” as permanent deacons in due course.

Growth of Spanish-speaking community

Father Jaffe, who also serves as pastor of Christ the Redeemer Church in Sterling, Virginia, told OSV News that this program was designed to respond to the growth of the Spanish-speaking community in Arlington.

Members of this program follow a curriculum designed for Hispanic men, with courses in Spanish and the support of bilingual priests who assist in their formation.

“It is a joy for me to see six men listening to God’s call to serve at another level and to sacrifice a lot for the community, for the Church and for the mission of our diocese. I am very happy about that,” Father Jaffe said.

After the Spanish-language Mass, Bishop Burbidge told OSV News that the candidates — Javier Aguilera, José Amaya, Miguel Correa, Marco Orozco, Rodrigo Ponce and Roberto Silva — are “very dedicated, and they’re working hard.”

Growing in knowledge of the faith

“They are taking very seriously their formation, which is intellectual formation because they have to grow in their knowledge of the faith,” he said. “They have to learn the tools on how to teach it and preach it.”

Javier Aguilera, who was accompanied by his wife, Norma, and other members of his family, originally from El Salvador, described the Feb. 1 Mass as “unforgettable.”

“All Masses are beautiful, but this one has been very special for me, it has touched my heart deeply,” said Aguilera, who had double reason to celebrate, as it coincided with his 58th birthday.

For her part, Norma said that faith has been strengthened within her home. “I feel that I have learned a lot from what he is doing, and I am doing other things that I didn’t do before, such as Lauds and Vespers,” she told OSV News.

Success of formation process

For Bishop Burbidge, the spiritual life of these men is undoubtedly a fundamental part of the success of their formation process.

“We just don’t need deacons. We need holy deacons. And so a big part of the formation is helping them to become disciples and help them in their prayer and in their relationship with the Lord, because they can only give what they have,” he told OSV News.

As the bishop stated in his homily, amid their studies and obligations, the candidates’ “highest priority must always be their spiritual life and their growth in holiness,” underscoring their commitment to the call to the permanent diaconate.

More than following Ten Commandments

Referring to the Sunday Gospel, in which Jesus “conveys to all of us how to grow in all holiness as he teaches us the Beatitudes,” the bishop warned that holiness is “more than simply following the Ten Commandments.”

“You are promising to form your mind and heart for faithful service. You are to be a dedicated learner so you may be formed in the truth and the faith you are preparing to teach, proclaim and preach,” the bishop said in his homily, read by Father Jaffe.

Bishop Burbidge, who urged the candidates to trust fully in the Lord, in his grace and mercy, without forgetting to seek the help of the Blessed Virgin Mary, affirmed that by giving us the Beatitudes, Jesus “radically turns upside down worldly values and standards and teaches us the virtues and spiritual practices that serve as the perfect guide for how best to be disciples of the Lord, to follow his ways, to grow in holiness, and to be counted among the ‘blest.'”

Support of family, parishioners, formators

In his homily, the bishop also expressed his gratitude “for the support and encouragement they receive from their spouses, children, family members, fellow parishioners and formators,” referring to Father Paul D. Scalia, episcopal vicar for clergy and director of the Formation Program for Permanent Deacons in the Diocese of Arlington, and Father Jaffe.

Father Jaffe, who has worked with the Hispanic community throughout his priesthood, told the Arlington Catholic Herald, the newspaper of the Diocese of Arlington, that “being able to help the bishop create and lead this program, and then help all these men feel inspired to serve as deacons, is a joy.”

After Mass, in an interview with OSV News, Bishop Burbidge highlighted the Hispanic community’s willingness to serve in his diocese.

‘Vibrant growth’ of Hispanic communities

“We are so blessed in the Diocese of Arlington in the vibrant growth of our Hispanic communities — and their spiritual and pastoral needs must continue to be met. But as we grow, we need assistance. And deacons from the Hispanic community would provide wonderful ministry to an ever-growing community,” he said.

According to the bishop, considering the rigor of the formation program for deacons, they thought “it would be best to have a cohort where they could support each other, learn in their language, and pursue the coursework that would be most meaningful to the ministry that they’ll be doing, God willing, one day as deacons.”

Bishop Burbidge said he was pleased to have a strong group of deacons, although he anticipates that they will need more and more Hispanic deacons. “We thought this program could be inviting for other men to consider, but we started small because this is new for us, and God willing, it will continue to grow,” he added.

‘A historic moment’ for diocese

Joel De Loera, director of the Hispanic Apostolate of the Diocese of Arlington, said that this “is a historic moment” for the diocese “because it is the first time this program is being offered in Spanish, and it is in response to the great need in our Hispanic community and demonstrates Bishop Burbidge’s great pastoral care for the Hispanic community.”

“They have the opportunity to fulfill their calling, their vocation to the diaconate, and it is a great blessing that our bishop has responded to this impulse, which I think is from the Holy Spirit, especially in these times when we are experiencing so much difficulty and anxiety in our Hispanic community,” De Loera said. “It is a prophetic sign of hope for our times and for our diocese.”

Marietha Góngora V. is a correspondent for OSV News.

Catholic Campus Ministry Priest evangelizes at a campus coffee shop with sign: "ask me a question"

 

‘Hello! I’m a Catholic Priest!’ How one coffee shop ministry is attracting student seekers

written by Kimberley Heatherington

Father Richard Miserendino, Catholic campus ministry chaplain at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Va., pictured in a Oct. 16, 2025, photo, poses while waiting to talk with students outside the campus coffee shop. (OSV News photo/Mary Shaffrey, Diocese of Arlington)

(OSV News) — “Hello! I’m a Catholic Priest!” greets the cheerful, large-font sign taped to the back of the laptop computer of Father Richard Miserendino, chaplain of the University of Mary Washington’s Catholic Campus Ministry and a priest in the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia.

The notice also invites passersby at the campus coffee shop — in Fredericksburg, Virginia, about an hour from Washington — to ask him a question, chat, or just say hello.

Everyone has heard of faith sharing, even if Catholics can sometimes find the concept more than a little intimidating.

So, is this cafe evangelism?

Evangelization is admittedly an essential component of any Catholic priest’s professional toolkit, but Father Rich — as he is affectionately nicknamed — would probably also tell you that his usually twice-weekly station at a small, round patio table with chipped paint is not equivalent to a pulpit — and evangelization is not always his first or only mission while he’s sitting there.

Sometimes, it’s just to listen.

In the course of a couple of hours on a recent bright and clear fall day — the first after the 110-plus-year-old secular university’s fall break, when the leaves were turning and a jacket seemed like a good idea — Father Miserendino exchanged brief greetings with dozens of students who walked past.

Others, however, took a seat — and it’s then that the priest’s ministry of presence was especially evident.

A former U.S. Marine was adapting to civilian challenges in the wake of an intense deployment. Another student recently lost a grandparent. A young man wearing a white cowboy hat and clutching a cellophane-wrapped bouquet of bright flowers was on his way to present them to his girlfriend, to mark the six-month anniversary of their relationship.

Different people with different stories — but each trusted the bespectacled and affable man in a clerical collar with their confidences as they sat or stood in the early afternoon sunshine.

“Sometimes, they’re a bit more theological. Sometimes they’re a bit more heart — you know, things that people are working through,” Father Miserendino, who began his alfresco ministry about a year ago, shared with OSV News. “Sometimes people are just lonely, and they just want to talk. And so, it varies.”

Going into the deep, at the coffee shop

The UMW Catholic Campus Ministry features both the St. John Bosco Center — its official “headquarters”, with a large multipurpose room for Sunday Mass and social events, a daily Mass and Adoration chapel, student lounge, kitchen, conference room, and staff offices — and the next-door St. Dominic Savio House — used for preparing people for entry into the Catholic Church, Bible studies, and other events. But catching the sometimes-fragmented attention of students can still be a challenge.

“We do a lot of stuff on campus,” Father Miserendino explained, mentioning a recent Eucharistic procession — the rugby team gave way as it passed — as well as public Eucharistic adoration.

“But it’s amazing how — in the cell phone age, with earbuds in, and everybody’s looking at their phone — you can have big billboard signs that say, ‘Catholic Campus Ministry’ and they’re going to walk right by.”

Father Miserendino said that, as he pondered his outreach predicament, a Gospel passage — Matthew 4:19 and Mark 1:17 — came to him.

“So how do I go where they are? Jesus says, ‘I’ll make you fishers of men’ — and that’s always stuck with me,” he recalled. “If I’m going fishing and I’m constantly fishing in this one spot and there’s no fish — try moving the boat, you know?”

“I don’t think I’m the first priest to try something like this; I think there are others,” admitted Father Miserendino. “But I’ve always wanted to do it. I’ve got to get my computer work done — send out emails; the bureaucratic part of the vocation,” he said. “But I can do that as easily out there as I can in the office.”

Ministry of accompaniment, not confrontations

He was, however, duly warned about the potential success of the idea with the student body of approximately 3,800 from 33 states and 15 countries, around a quarter of whom Father Miserendino estimates are Catholic.

“I was given the impression coming in that they would, you know, break my bones to make their bread,” he laughed. “And it would just be adversarial around the clock.”

But that never happened.

“It became this thing where I was like, ‘Wow, this actually is really working. People are coming up, and they’re asking me questions,'” said a still somewhat surprised Father Miserendino, who praised the support of university administration. “It’s been really edifying to see that this generation of college students, it’s not adversarial. There’s a lot of really great openness to asking questions.”

“I would not say that every conversation I have leads to immediate conversion where somebody says, ‘Oh my gosh — now I’m going to be Catholic.’ But,” he added, “usually it’s the start to another conversation, and another conversation.”

Relationships develop gradually.

“The interesting thing is, sometimes people will see you for a couple of days and they’ll wave, or you’ll get a couple of head nods, or whatever,” observed Father Miserendino. “And then after three or four days, that’s when they’ll finally work up the courage to come talk to you. It’s a labor of love, and it takes time — but you’ve got to be out there, being present.”

And while American college campuses are often portrayed as fiery ecosystems of confrontational political and social advocacy, that hasn’t been his experience.

“It’s not as much driven by current events as you might think. Very few people ask me about politics,” Father Miserendino noted. “And nobody has ever tried to buttonhole me on a hot topic. They really want to know about the human topics.”

Ministry through ordinary conversation

The length of his chats basically depends upon the subject matter.

“The longest, I think, was two-and-a-half hours — it was about God and gender and everything in between,” said Father Miserendino. “But more often, it’s like, ‘Hey, you know, I don’t really believe in God or I don’t really practice — but I have had some questions.’ That type of thing. And then maybe after a while, if you drill down, then they’ll ask some more topical questions.”

Such conversations have resulted in Mass attendance — even with a large Catholic church just a few blocks away — and commitment to classes for becoming Catholic through the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, or OCIA.

“One of the things that our culture is starved for now is community,” suggested Father Miserendino. “I get to become a part of these people’s lives, and evangelize through the ordinariness of conversation. Just being present and being open to it is good, in the sense that it invites them to come on their own terms.” 

Asked if he’d like to see others imitate his effort, Father Miserendino doesn’t hesitate.

“My hope would be that more people would be willing to give it a try — and they’d find it less adversarial than they’d probably expect,” he said. 

He admits that might not, however, be true of every college campus.

“But I think priests in general — and lay faithful — would find that there’s a great hunger out there for it, and that people are often more curious,” he said. “And if you are willing to just have a patient conversation and teach from the perspective of, ‘It’s not your fault that you don’t know these things; here’s what we believe,’ I think that would bear great fruit.”

“It’s not some special charism that I’ve been given,” concluded Father Miserendino. “We just have to kind of bring the faith to where the people are. You can do it too.”