Welcome to the 2025-2026 school year and SBI’s eleventh year of ministry to Hope College! Thanks be to God, the year is off to an amazing start.
Student Leader Retreat
About twenty-five students participated in SBI’s third annual student leader retreat, which occurred right before the official start of the semester. The leadership team of the Hope Catholics student group, Genesis and Exodus leaders, as well as FOCUS Bible study leaders were invited to participate. You Have Only One Problem, a new book of short meditations by Connor Gallagher of TAN Books, served as the basis for the group discussions. It focused on the central idea of surrendering to God’s will as the center of Christian life from which all ministry flows.
Freshmen Meet-and-Greet
Nearly one hundred incoming Catholic freshmen along with their parents joined the Saint Benedict Institute in the A. Paul Schaap Science Center atrium for a meet-and-greet on move-in day. We began with fellowship and greetings from our executive director, Dr. Jared Ortiz, before we introduced our new team of FOCUS missionaries, who whisked the students away for an icebreaker. (Rumor has it that root beer floats were involved.) The parents remained to listen to SBI’s chaplain, Fr. Nick Monco, O.P., who gave an overview of SBI’s spiritual formation offerings. Then Deacon Brian Piecuch, SBI’s development director, spoke on donations, while Anthony Schena, a parent of three Hope College Catholic students, encouraged parents to tithe to SBI so that their children can have a vibrant church experience during their college years. The gathering ended with Q&A.
First Week of Class Events
Our FOCUS missionaries and Hope Catholics organized a slew of first week activities, including an ice cream sundae party, First Day of School pictures, games, runs to Culvers and Goodtime Donuts, pickup pickleball, and (of course) Mass.
On-Campus Mass
Finally, we are happy to report that Winants Auditorium was packed for our first on-campus Sunday Mass. Deo gratias!
Community members: Please join us for Mass! You can find our schedule of services here. Please note that Mass is cancelled when Hope College is on break. You can find Hope’s academic calendar at https://hope.edu/catalog/info/academic-calendar/.
