PROVIDENCE — When visitors to the Catholic Campus Ministry Center at Rhode Island College walk through the door, they immediately ask about Butch, the center’s canine mascot.
According to Deacon Michael Napolitano, director of campus ministry at the college, the 10 month-old yellow Labrador is a a wonderful icebreaker for many students who are shy or afraid to approach BY BRIAN J. LOWNEY
Assistant Editor
PROVIDENCE — When visitors to the Catholic Campus Ministry Center at Rhode Island College walk through the door, they immediately ask about Butch, the center’s canine mascot.
According to Deacon Michael Napolitano, director of campus ministry at the college, the 10 month-old yellow Labrador is a a wonderful icebreaker for many students who are shy or afraid to approach the center with questions about their faith or dealing with college life. Once the students meet the friendly retriever, their doubts vanish and they feel comfortable enough to discuss their concerns.
“He is a campus minister,”?Deacon Napolitano emphasized, adding that Butch is being socialized before being returned in a few months to Guiding Eyes for the Blind in Yorktown, N.Y., where the dog will be trained to perform a lifetime of service for a visually impaired individual.
“It’s the best thing I ever did,” said the deacon of his role as a puppy trainer for the internationally acclaimed program.
The canine is often the center of attention for the dozens of students of all faiths who visit the Campus Ministry Center every day.
“It’s very ecumenical, all denominations are represented,” the popular deacon added. Known affectionately on campus as “Deacon Mike,” he was ordained in 1994 by Bishop Louis E. Gelineau.
Deacon Napolitano, who has served as director of campus ministry at RIC for 10 years, emphasized that the ministry center is supported by the annual Catholic Charity Fund Appeal. Last year, the center received $61,500 to minister to the spiritual needs of the college community. Rhode Island College provides office space.
In his role as campus minister, Deacon Napolitano offers spiritual counseling and organizes programs and religious services. He refers students with more serious issues to the appropriate college office, such as the Counseling Center.
“The college community is extremely supportive,”?the deacon said. “I try to be visible to the whole community and help in any way that I can.”
For example, Deacon Napolitano conducted a campus-wide Ash Wednesday Service and will offer the invocation at commencement in May.
“The office itself gives the students an opportunity to be themselves,” Deacon Napolitano continued. “They are very respectful when they come in. They treat it as sacred space.”
While the students, who are mostly commuters, visit the center to chat with friends and enjoy a light snack, they are committed to public service and helping those less fortunate. Deacon Napolitano recently accompanied 11 students on an Alternative Spring Break mission trip to Philadelphia, where the group volunteered in Project Rainbow, conducted by the Sisters of the Holy Redeemer.
The enthusiastic missionaries performed light maintenance in a home that the sisters operate for single mothers, worked in a daycare center, visited nursing home residents, and served in a soup kitchen for homeless men.
“It was the 11th time I’ve done it,”?Deacon Napolitano said, describing the experience as enjoyable.
The students also created a “giving tree” at Christmas and collected gifts in collaboration with the St. Vincent de Paul Society at St. Charles Borromeo Church, Providence, and conduct several food drives throughout the academic year to benefit the parish’s food pantry.
For freshman student Billy Burdier, 18, a parishioner of St. Charles Borromeo Church, the campus ministry center offers an inviting, relaxing environment where he has made many new friends since arriving on campus last fall.
“I usually spend a lot of time here,”?Burdier acknowledged, adding that he prayed to God that he’d obtain a workstudy position at the center.
“I said, ‘Please God, give me this job,’” the young man recalled. “I was really praying for it.”
As a workstudy student, Burdier answers the phone, makes deliveries to the food pantry and performs other tasks.
“Philadelphia was a great experience,” he recalled. “We got a chance to work with the elderly and young people. I received more than what I gave.”
Kim Juday, 25, who worships at St. Francis of Assisi Church, South Kingstown, described the Campus Ministry Center as her “home away from home.
“It provides spiritual and social support,” she said, noting that the center offers students a balance from the rigors of academic life.
“I’m always helping with getting things organized,”?Juday added, mentioning that she gained a wealth of experience by assisting with her parish youth group.
Aicha Ly, 20, a senior political science major, is one of the many non-Catholic students who visit the center every day.
Ly, a native of Senegal, West Africa, is of the Muslim faith.
“One of the reasons I come here is Deacon Mike,” she said. “I’ve never felt like an outsider. I’ve never felt uncomfortable. These are some of the nicest people I’ve ever met.”
Ly added that the students who visit the center are respectful and interested in learning about other faiths.
“You learn about the similarities that we share rather than the differences that over time seem meaningless,” she said.
For more information about the Campus Ministry Center at Rhode Island College, call Deacon Michael Napolitano at 456-8346.
