Campus Ministry
Future Students
Campus Ministry
Events
Campus Ministry supports all students to discover and grow into their fullest, truest, and most authentic selves. We are rooted in the Roman Catholic understanding that each person is made in the image and likeness of God with unique gifts and perspectives. Through our programming we encourage students to develop their gifts and share them with the world in service to others.
We are inspired by the fullest sense of the word “catholic” which means “universal” and “whole” and we welcome students of all faith expressions through radical hospitality and openness. We are also connected to other chaplains and spiritual caregivers on campus through the University of Waterloo Multi-Faith and Spirituality Resource Team.
Through weekly student mass, meditation, outreach opportunities and special events, we build a community of support to walk with students on their journey of growth and becoming.
Liturgical Life
Sunday Liturgies
We celebrate mass every Sunday in Notre Dame Chapel at 7:00pm from September to June. Students play an active leading role in our liturgies as mass hosts, lectors, servers, Eucharistic ministers, choir members and musicians.
Sacrament of Reconciliation
Reconciliation is offered the hour before each 7:00pm mass by our celebrant. Communal reconciliation services are held during Advent and Lent.
Holiday Liturgies
As a community, we celebrate Advent, Lent, and Holy Week when it falls during classes in the winter term. Though not a liturgy, our Pancake Tuesday celebration (when we distribute over 350 plates of pancakes to the campus community) is a highlight of the year!
Lenten Season
During the Lenten season we offer additional liturgies and prayer opportunities like morning masses and communion breakfast, stations of the cross, and the rosary.
Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults
The RCIA program is offered on request to students interested in becoming fully initiated in the Catholic faith.
Service Outreach
SJU Acts
SJU Acts connects students to our community partners (St. John’s Kitchen- a Working Centre project, and Tiny Home Takeout) through weekly volunteering opportunities in the Fall and Winter terms. In the Spring term, students support the Tiny Home Takeout Garden on an ad hoc basis. See the SJU Acts page for more information.
Community Cupboard
Campus Ministry hosts the St. Jerome’s University Community Cupboard found in the lobby of Notre Dame Chapel. The nonperishable food items in the cupboard are available to all members of the campus community.
Donation Drives
Each year, Campus Ministry supports local community organizations through donation drives. Often around Advent and the new year, this is an opportunity for our student community to donate food and clothing items.
Spiritual Life
Meditation
Each Monday from September to June, Campus Ministry offers a 20 minute meditation in Notre Dame Chapel at 7:00pm.
Bible Study
Offered in the fall and winter terms, Bible Study is an opportunity to delve deeper into Christian scripture by asking questions and discussing the implications for our life of faith.
Adoration
At least once a term we host an evening of song, adoration and prayer, usually in conjunction with opportunities to practice the sacrament of reconciliation.
First Year Retreats
Retreats are an opportunity for first year students to get off campus, to reflect on their goals for the term, and to connect with one another and upper year leaders. These are an excellent re-set which are offered in fall and winter terms.
Creation Spirituality Days
Throughout the year, Campus Ministry invites students to encounter God and connect to their spirits through creation-based retreat days and meditations. These are offered both on and off-campus in all terms.
Prayers for Peace
During the fall and winter terms, Campus Ministry hosts opportunities for the campus community to pray for an end to conflicts and the building of a just peace throughout the world.
Inter-University Chaplaincy
Throughout the year we join with students from the chaplaincy communities at McMaster, Guelph and Laurier and their chaplaincy communities in leadership, retreat and prayer opportunities.
Special Events
Each term, Campus Ministry marks world events and observances with programming and initiatives including month of remembrance events, celebrations of Pride Month and engagement with synodal processes of the Roman Catholic church.
Truth & Reconciliation Efforts
Campus Ministry works towards the University’s commitment to reconciliation by offering prayer opportunities, educational programming like the Kairos Blanket Exercise, and participating in university reconciliation events.
Lectures in Catholic Experience
Campus Ministry provides student-focussed programming and discussions around the St. Jerome’s lecture series, Lectures in Catholic Experience. See the LCE page for upcoming events.
Ecumenical and Interfaith Initiatives
Campus Ministry partners with other Christian chaplains each year to mark the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity with opportunities to explore and celebrate the diversity of Christian worship and belief. The Daughters of Abraham series bring together Christian, Jewish, and Muslim female-identifying students for small group interfaith conversations to increase understanding across religious differences.
Leadership Opportunities
Campus Ministry Planning Team
The CM Planning Team is a group of students who meet regularly with the Director of Campus Ministry to plan and execute spiritually-based programming. These students also participate in spiritual formation and host our 7:00pm masses.
Retreat Leaders
These are upper year leaders who have themselves participated in the First Year Retreat. They are trained in facilitation and group team building exercises and commit to being a leader for at least one of the First Year Retreats.
Liturgical Volunteers
These are students who support our 7:00pm masses as lectors, Eucharistic ministers and servers. All are invited to participate in these ministries.
Choir Members and Musicians
Students share their musical talents with our 7:00pm masses, led by the Choir Director. Choir members and musicians come together to practice songs at 6:00pm on Sunday evenings in Notre Dame Chapel.
Meet our Campus Ministry Team
Sean Hayes – Director of Campus Ministry
Sean Hayes joined the St. Jerome's team in December 2020 as the new Director of Campus Ministry. He comes from Villanova College in King City, Ontario, where he has served as their Director of Campus Ministry and a religion teacher over the last 19 years. Sean holds a BA in History and Education from Central Connecticut State University, and a Masters in Theological Studies from the University of St. Michael’s College, Toronto. In addition to his roles as a teacher and a campus minister at Villanova, he has administered youth ministry programs in two Toronto-area parishes, served as a school chaplain in the Durham Region Catholic District School Board, and served for fifteen years with the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association (OECTA), where he provided adult teacher training, spiritual formation and retreat facilitation. Sean is especially looking forward to meeting and supporting our students, and continuing the tradition of a welcoming and inclusive Campus Ministry experience.
Erika Toffelmire
Erika Toffelmire is a graduate of St. Jerome’s University with a BA in Arts, majoring in Peace and Conflict Studies. Upon graduation, Erika was a Settlement Support Worker for two years at Romero House, an organization which supports refugee claimants in Toronto before returning to the University. As the Student Leadership and Service Coordinator, Erika assists with Campus Ministry programming, mentors student leaders, collaborates on local service opportunities for all members of the community, and supports student leadership initiatives in Campus Ministry and Student Affairs.