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Every year the Siena College community comes together for a week-long celebration of the life and work of St. Francis of Assisi. This year, from Saturday October 1- Saturday, October 8, the College’s patron saint is being honored through service, scholarship and faith.
From October 3-4, the College celebrated with two services in remembrance of the Transitus of St. Francis, as well as his feast day.
The Transitus of St. Francis of Assisi was celebrated on October 3 with a candlelight prayer service and procession from the College chapel to the grotto. The Transitus marks the night Francis passed from this life into God on October 3, 1226. Siena students, friars, faculty, staff and community members gathered for the special blessing and ceremony.
On his feast day, October 4, the living memory of Francis was observed with a community mass in the St. Mary of the Angels Chapel. Officiated by Fr. Mark Reamer ’83, O.F.M., D. Min, Guardian of St. Bernardine of Siena Friary, this mass served as a reminder of the importance of St. Francis in today’s world.
Br. Ed Coughlin, O.F.M., Ph.D., president of the College, spoke on the strength of meekness, the importance of being humble of heart and the necessity to see the value in each person.
“The next time someone asks you what you do at Siena and you are tempted to say that we open doors, I hope you might also think about saying the reason why we open doors at Siena is because we have vision, it is always welcoming, including, respecting and caring for others. We are always making the choice to serve.”
