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A generous donation from one couple will help Franciscan University of Steubenville expand in a big way. The school will soon open a dedicated hub in the nation’s capital, Washington, DC, where it will engage its students in the cultural and political work for which the city is known.
The University website reports that the DC location will be called the Ward and Kathy Fitzgerald Franciscan University Homeland Mission (FUHM), named for the couple who recently donated $10 million to the school. The money was used to acquire residential buildings and learning facilities, with enough left over to establish an endowment to help fund FUHM’s programming and operations. Franciscan University is confident that its DC offerings will be available for years to come.
“Ward and Kathy Fitzgerald share Franciscan University’s zeal for the Gospel, and they have a special concern for the spiritually poor in the corridors of power,” said Father Dave Pivonka, TOR ’89, president of Franciscan University. “Their generous gift will enable Franciscan to form students and others called to bring the heart of Jesus to the public processes in the important arena of our nation’s capital.”
Challenging students to work for change
Administrators are hoping to bring the school's Gospel-infused core values of “encounter, conversion, and community” to the political and social atmosphere of Washington, DC.
Among the various programs included will be internships and job placement activities, building professional networking and personal development opportunities, and offering continuing education and Catholic faith formation programs.
Furthermore, those behind the program noted hopes that bringing the Church’s witness to the political process will become a means of drawing more to the faith. Its programs and events are described as challenging for students and will teach them to work for “systematic change” at the federal level, in order to place “the sacred human dignity of all people at the center of its work.” Father Pivonka explained:
“The Franciscan charism of ongoing conversion, which invites everyone to continually and humbly draw closer to Christ, will be key to carrying out this mission. The Franciscan University Homeland Mission will invite others to deeper conversion through three pillars grounded in the University’s mission: Evangelization and Joyful Presence, Intellectual and Personal Formation, and Support for Human Dignity.”
