By Sarah Gallaher | Staff Writer
The Catholic Student Association became the first Catholic organization on campus after its official charter in 2008. Now, CSA members hope to expand their influence through new member recruitment and events held on Baylor’s campus.
According to the St. Peter Catholic Student Center website, CSA works alongside the church to “promote the intellectual and spiritual growth of our community through events geared toward faith, service and fellowship.” The organization kicked off the semester with its weekly walking rosary, where students meet outside Alexander Hall to pray in fellowship.
Colleyville sophomore and CSA treasurer Mary Marshall said the organization is the perfect place for Catholic students to find their community at Baylor.
“CSA was chartered as a bridge between St. Peter Catholic Student Center,” Marshall said. “There’s a surprisingly large amount of Catholics at Baylor, especially for a Baptist college, which is great because that gives us a lot of opportunity to reach out.”
CSA consists of five officers who help achieve the organization’s main goals. Houston junior and CSA vice president William Murphy said he works alongside the student activities team to plan on-campus meetings that guide students in their faith.
“What students can expect from our organization is a series of meetings that revolve around adjusting to college life at Baylor and also growing in your Catholic faith while at Baylor,” Murphy said.
However, CSA’s presence on campus goes beyond events and meetings. Over the past 14 years, CSA has made progress on including Catholic students in the religious aspects of Baylor. Roanoke sophomore and CSA student engagement officer Faustina Beltran said she was excited about the recent implementation of a Catholic section of Chapel.
“Another blessing we’ve had at Baylor for Catholic students is recently, they added a Catholic section of Chapel, which has been really great just to get more students involved who are Catholic and to give them a Catholic Chapel experience,” Beltran said. “For those who are not Catholic and may be interested in Catholicism, it’s a great way to just become introduced to the sacraments and to St. Peter’s.”
The Catholic section of Chapel was first offered to students last semester in response to Catholic students asking for a more inclusive section to fulfill the required credit. The class meets weekly at St. Peter Catholic Student Center to partake in Eucharistic adoration and daily Mass.
Colleyville sophomore and CSA member Rose Marshall said the smaller number of Catholic students at Baylor is not necessarily a bad thing.
“I think part of Baylor not being Catholic really binds students together,” Marshall said. “It really is … your own community of faces you know here at campus.”
However, the impact of CSA is wide, with around 70 active members. The relationship between administration and CSA allows Catholic students to pursue their faith as they would at a traditionally Catholic university.
As vice president, Murphy expressed his appreciation for all Baylor has done for CSA to make Catholic students feel at home.
“We might not agree on the same things, both of our denominations, but they do allow us to worship in that way,” Murphy said. “And I think we’re very privileged to have this kind of relationship with Baylor, and we really appreciate it.”
