During the week of October 1-5, Viterbo celebrated St. Francis Week, which is a week celebrating the life and legacy of St. Francis of Assisi. It is filled with various events for students and community members to be involved in.
St. Francis Week has been celebrated for around three decades. Dr. Emily Dykman, the Chair and professor of Religious Studies and Theology and director of the core curriculum, says she does not think she has missed a celebration since she was a student 30 years ago. She remembers, “We would have Mass at Maria Angelorum Chapel at St. Rose Convent, and the music would be supplied by the various choirs on campus. Some years there were presentations in the evening and delivery of bread to the neighborhood.”
This year’s St. Francis Week provided different events to attend. Some of the events included a lecture on the life of St. Francis, a celebration and lunch in the courtyard, the Transitus celebration, the pet blessing, and a Feast Day Mass. Additionally, the Feast Day was also Family Day, and some of those events were infused with Franciscan values. Dykman attended many events. She even complimented the concert choir’s performance during the lunch and celebration. Dykman explained she “was also able to attend the tree planting that took place in honor of Darryle Clott who has been involved in Holocaust education in the La Crosse area for 20 years.”
Ava Stoeckly, a third-year English major at Viterbo and Lumen’s very own editor, was also able to participate in St. Francis Week events. Stoeckly ran the Lumen table at Franny Fest along with some of her colleagues, and she says that she was grateful to meet new people and for all the suggestions community members gave for the newspaper. “From a student perspective, I think Franny Fest is a celebration of the honoring the university’s Franciscan heritage and giving back of the legacy of St Francis [of] Assisi. It gives everyone [an] opportunity to come together and have a good time,” Stoeckly says.
Additionally, Dykman mentioned a difference from past years. This year, the Franciscan lecture was embedded into the weekly speaker series that is part of the VUSM 100 class. This caused even more attendance at the event and brought a variety of people together to learn about St. Francis.
Both Dykman and Stoeckly encourage students to attend events during St. Francis Week. Dykman says that “[p]articipation in Franny Fest and the events that surround it are a great way to better understand the traditions and rituals make Viterbo’s community unique. Each event is intentional in teaching something important about the life of St. Francis.” Stoeckly adds, “I think it’s very beneficial for especially first year students to [see] how grateful we are as a community to celebrate and continue this legacy of St. Francis of Assisi, since it can be a little scary for your first year, but I think the benefits to that is there are many [more] opportunities than students think.”
