Featuring: John Querio ’99
My time at Princeton was enriched immeasurably by the privilege of participating in the Aquinas Institute and the Catholic community at Princeton. As a freshman from California, Princeton and the East Coast were completely new to me, and a bit intimidating to tell the truth. Yet from the very beginning of my time there, Fr. Tom Mullelly welcomed me and my classmates with open arms, a firm handshake, insightful homilies, and comforting pep talks as if from a football coach. I always looked forward to 4:30pm Mass in the University Chapel, as spending that time with the Catholic community was a great way to end the weekend and prepare for the next week’s activities and challenges.
One particularly fond memory I have of my time with Aquinas was from Holy Week during my senior year. Fr. Tom decided the congregation should process around the campus for Holy Thursday Mass, and he asked my friend and I to fill in as altar servers. We were both deep in the throes of finishing our senior theses, but we set aside the time and found it to be a uniquely fulfilling experience. I’m told this tradition continues under Fr. Zack’s leadership, which is very gratifying.
My Catholic faith was not only deepened by my experience at Aquinas during my years as a student at Princeton, but it continues to shape me today. Almost a decade ago, my wife and I were married in the Catholic Church, and both of my children are baptized Catholics. Going to Mass every Sunday is one of the highlights of our family life, as are the various opportunities for faith-based service that we try to pursue. My son is about to receive the sacraments of First Reconciliation and First Communion, and my daughter will begin her religious education classes toward the same goal this fall.
I give to Aquinas both because of everything it gave to me during my time as a Princeton student and because of all the wonderful things I know it is doing today. Whenever I return to campus for Reunions, I always enjoy attending the Alumni Mass and catching up with Fr. Zack about the latest Aquinas initiatives and activities. The Aquinas speaker series is a real testament to how Aquinas has only deepened in its faith mission since my time there, and that is only the tip of the iceberg.
I hope you will join me in contributing whatever you can to Aquinas, so that it can continue and strengthen its mission of outreach to Catholic students at Princeton and to the wider world.