President Keith Elder Ph.D., MPH, MPA, holds the rope of the Academic bell The Xavierite
Saint Xavier University (SXU) hosted their annual Mercy Day Celebration on Sept. 25 in front of the Warde Academic Center for the Student Leader Commissioning ceremony to ring Saint Xavier’s 153 year old Academy bell in the tradition of Sisters of Mercy.
A celebration of Mass was also performed in McDonough Chapel. “It combines both Mercy Day and Catholic universities’ custom to celebrate a Mass of the Holy Spirit at the beginning of a new academic year, “ said Jenn DeVivo, Ph.D., in an email sent out to the SXU community.
DeVivo continues to state in the email, “Mercy Day is a worldwide day of celebration for the Sisters of Mercy. On September 24, 1827, Venerable Mother Catherine McAuley opened the doors of the first house of Mercy on Baggot Street in Dublin, Ireland.”
All classes were canceled at noon to provide students with the opportunity to attend mass.
“Mercy institutions and ministries throughout the world recognize this day when Catherine McAuley realized her dream of creating a place where the poor, especially women and young girls, would find safe lodging and instruction in their faith and in skills that would lead to honorable employment. This work at the House of Mercy eventually led Catherine to establish the Sisters of Mercy in 1831,” explains the SXU website.
Faculty, staff, and students were honored with the opportunity to ring the Academic bell in recognition for their leadership roles that they have committed to honoring and representing in the academic community and year.
President Keith Elder, Ph.D., MPH, MPA, gave a speech in the beginning of the ceremony. He stated, “Knowing that Catherine McAuley founded the sisters of mercy had a steadfast commitment to service in a humility about her role as a leader, we at Saint Xavier are committed to carrying out this legacy and serve of leadership.”
After the ceremony had ended, Elder was questioned about his reaction to the event.
“I think it went quite well,” Elder commented. “I really, really like these events because it gets us back to our foundation and our mission, so to see the students really excited and participating in this is really encouraging. We are fundamentally tied to our mission, and the more we get to exhibit that and live that, the better it is for students in the community.”
“One for celebration of our leaders on campus and their commitment to service leadership, which is fully aligned with our mission of serving one another and serving our community.”
The Academic bell has a long history with Saint Xavier, as it had not only survived the Chicago fire, but predated the disaster, having been built in 1871. After the university was rebuilt, the bell was transferred in 2004 to Saint Xavier’s current location.
During Saint Xavier’s early days, the Academy bell was used to regularly call the Sisters of Mercy into prayer and teachings. The bell is also a symbol of Mercy to the campus site, says the SXU website.
Senior Bryana Mendez, majoring in Psychology and president of the Psi Chi, The International Honor Society of Psychology, rang the Academic bell, participating in the Mercy Day celebration as the representative.
“This was my first time,” said Mendez.” I’ve only been a part of Psi Chi and part of other student organizations, but sort of leading in it was really nice and reaffirming to me because I think a lot of us work hard for these things to finally to get the recognition and reassurance on behalf of the university and every staff member that’s here is really endearing. I really enjoy it alot.”
The annual celebration of Saint Xavier’s heritage continues to honor the historical values and traditions of Sisters of Mercy, as the community unites in recognition of the acts of leadership service.