The deep friendships among Dominican saints throughout history were the focus of the keynote address for Founders Week 2022. Sr. Jenn Shaaf, O.P., D.Min., spoke about “Holy Friendships and Academic Mentors” as Founders Week got underway on Monday, September 19, 2022, in the Lawrence Room of Rosary Hall. Sr. Jenn paused throughout her presentation to give students in the audience time to discuss parallel relationships in their lives and to reflect on how the historical examples could lead them to look at contemporary issues in a new light.
Sr. Jenn stressed that the Dominican pillars of study, prayer, and service were lived out by these saints. “Possibly, most importantly, we see that they are able to live out their calling through their community — the support of mentors, the leaning on each other and recognizing that gift of friendship, the humble calling for justice, the dreamers and the artists who are encouraged by their communities, and the leaders who are called forth,“ she said.
Sr. Jenn is the Assistant Chaplain of St. Thomas More Chapel & Center at Yale University in New Haven, CT, and a member of the Dominican Sisters of Blauvelt. Founders Week is the annual celebration of Dominican University New York’s heritage and the Dominican Sisters who established it. Activities include guest lectures, a preaching in action project, and the presentation of the Spirit of the Founders Award to two deserving students.