Dear Friends:
I am pleased to share with you the Fall 2018 issue of STM Magazine. I know that you will find in these pages a snapshot of the dynamic Catholic life that is lived daily at STM.
The fall semester was marked with joy and sadness. On Labor Day weekend, we welcomed our first-year and returning students at the Mass of the Holy Spirit as well as at various activities throughout the weekend. The excitement surrounding the beginning of a new academic year was soon tempered on September 23rd by the death of Father Bob, our beloved Chaplain of twenty-five years. Hundreds of alumni, faculty, students, community members and friends honored his memory by attending the viewing hours in the Golden Center Courtyard and the Mass of Christian Burial in STM’s Chapel and Lecture Hall, while hundreds more watched via livestream. Archbishop Leonard P. Blair was the principal celebrant for the Mass which was marked with outstanding liturgical music; a beautiful eulogy given by Kerry Robinson '94 M.A.R., former director of development at STM and friend; and a moving homily delivered by Fr. Bob’s long-time friend, Father Joseph Donnelly. As the interim Chaplain, I am most grateful for the outstanding cooperation given by our assistant chaplains and entire STM staff during the time of Fr. Bob’s illness, his passing and the days surrounding his Rites of Christian Burial — all in the midst of their own personal sorrow.
A week after the death of Fr. Bob, the STM Community was brought together again to celebrate the eightieth anniversary of the Saint Thomas More Chapel. The weekend focused on the growth of Catholic life at Yale in the past eighty years, particularly the twenty-five years under the leadership of Fr. Bob. His untiring efforts for the development of the Thomas E. Golden Jr. Center; the expansion of the organization’s staff and programs; his outreach to Yale, the Archdiocese of Hartford and the worldwide Church, made for a memorable celebration.
We are currently in the process of finalizing what we believe will be a permanent tribute to a man who’s life and ministry meant so much to so many. In the meantime, I ask for your continued generous support to STM and its mission. Fr. Bob was aware that he could not do this work alone and was always profoundly grateful to all who partnered with him to make a difference in Catholic life at Yale. Please consider his legacy by making your annual contribution in the envelope in this issue.
Thank you for your continuous prayers, support and encouragement for all that we accomplish at STM. Please be assured of our prayers for you and your loved ones as well as our best wishes for a joyful Christmas Season and countless blessings in the New Year.
Monsignor Gerard G. Schmitz
Interim Chaplain
