Featuring: Jill Chessman ‘83
When I came to Princeton I started going to daily Mass at noon in the University Chapel. These Masses provided a quiet break in my day for prayer, a practice I still continue. I also loved the quiet, reverent Saturday Midnight Mass in the Chapel. Good friends followed from there. Aquinas was one of the few places where I could meet people from across many disciplines, including graduate students. I am indebted to Aquinas for providing a sacramental and communal life for me while I was on campus, so that I could grow in a closer relationship with Our Lord.
This foundation led me to get involved in leading (and co-founding) what would become Princeton Pro-Life, which I saw as a natural extension of my faith. The conversations that came about because of those efforts in the early ‘80s had real effects on campus in my time, and I am humbled to discover the ways they continue to shape the lives and beliefs of students and alumni up to the present moment.
I support the Aquinas Institute because I can see that the ministry continues to take seriously its mission to nurture the faith of Catholics on campus. College is the time to reach them – make strong Catholics and they will change our nation and the world. With Aquinas now located directly across the street from Firestone Library, students have easier access than ever to the faith-bolstering programs there, not to mention the other engaging events on campus. Two years ago I attended a breathtaking Solemn Sarum rite Vespers in the University Chapel, and I was recently at a talk by Cardinal Sarah in McCosh 50, which was standing room only. Clearly there is a revival of the Catholic Faith going on at Princeton, and Aquinas is behind it.