Listed below are several clubs that the Irish Rover staff recommends to students who are interested in diving deeper in their faith. We hope this will be a helpful guide as you navigate your first year on campus. 

Right to Life

At Right to Life (RtL)—the largest non-academic, student-run club on campus—we resolve to promote a culture of life in the Notre Dame community through prayer, service, education, and community. Guided by Church teaching and animated by the Holy Spirit, we wholeheartedly believe that all life has value, from conception to natural death. 

Our mission is twofold: first, through club programming, Right to Life seeks to build up a community of passionate, pro-life leaders who are unafraid to defend the sanctity of human life at every stage. Whether at lectures with prominent pro-life speakers, RtL bonfires and dances, service events around the South Bend community, or at our weekly Mass to pray for the sanctity of life, Right to Life seeks to be the voice for the voiceless—a true force for good. 

Secondly, Right to Life strives to foster a culture of life by supporting student mothers and families in their decision to choose life. From promoting pregnancy resources in dorms to throwing baby showers, and providing peer to peer support and babysitting after the baby is born, the Right to Life community pledges to radically support pregnant mothers as they embrace the gift of life. 

Join Right to Life as we seek to make Notre Dame a place of radical love toward every mother, father, and child. Learn more about our events by visiting our website and join our email newsletter and GroupMe to stay connected! 

Welcome to the Notre Dame Right to Life family where we strive to create a culture of life, hold each other accountable in promoting what the Catholic Church teaches regarding the value and dignity of all human life, and celebrate the joy of each and every life within the Notre Dame family and beyond. We hope to see you at the bonfire, at Mass, at the lectures, and at the March for Life in D.C., but until then, Go Irish, Save Babies! 

Students for Child-Oriented Policy

Students for Child-Oriented Policy (SCOP) focuses on promoting the wellbeing and safety of children through education and advocacy. It is pro-family, pro-marriage, pro-adoption, and pro-education, and it is anti-sex trafficking, anti-pornography, and anti-substance abuse. It is known for its petition to ban pornography on campus wifi, and it hosts a myriad of events involving each club pillar each year. Our biggest events of the year are our attendance of the Sexuality, Integrity, and the University Conference at Princeton each fall and WRAP (White Ribbon Against Pornography) Week in the Spring. To inquire or join, please email a co-president: Kate Apelian at kapelian@nd.edu or Theo Austin at jaustin5@nd.edu.

Knights of Columbus

The Notre Dame Knights of Columbus is a student organization and local council of the global Knights of Columbus organization. Since our founding in 1910 by a group of Notre Dame students—including the future Cardinal John Francis O’Hara, C.S.C.—as the first Knights of Columbus college council in the world, Council #1477 has had a long and proud history. Thousands of Knights have volunteered tens of thousands of hours, raised millions of dollars for charity, and made immeasurable strides in their faith.

For instance, the Knights maintain a scholarship endowment for students in need, grill and sell steak sandwiches on home game days in order to raise money for various local, national, and international charities, and organize a number of events for both the brother knights and the community at large. Since the founding of Steak Sales, the Knights have raised over $1.6 million for various local, national, and international charities, raising $100,001 during the 2021 season alone. The Knights and university leadership have worked hand-in-hand over the years to advance Catholic culture at Notre Dame, and as a token of gratitude, Fr. Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C., provided the Knights with their current council hall, located on South Quad, making the Knights of Columbus the only Notre Dame student organization with its own dedicated building.  

Through the beloved game-day tradition of Steak Sales, dedicated contributions and support of the community, and the charity, unity, and fraternity that binds all its members, the Knights of Columbus have made themselves an essential fixture of the Notre Dame community. 

Recently, the Knights also began a speaker series. Past speakers include Fr. Andrij Hlabse, S.J., Fr. Kevin Grove, C.S.C., Professor Duncan Stroik, Professor Jeffrey Pojanowski, Fr. John DeRiso, C.S.C., and more. Last year we also began weekly Bible studies in the building. We encourage all practical Catholic men to consider growing in faith and fraternity with their fellow Catholic men and joining an organization that makes a real difference in the community by becoming a member of the Knights of Columbus. While membership is limited to Catholic men, all are welcome to attend council events and participate in charitable activities. 

Contact Grand Knight, August Berchelmann, at aberchel@nd.edu for more information.

Children of Mary

Filii Mariae (Children of Mary) is a student group dedicated to enriching the spiritual life of Our Lady’s university by the promotion of Latin liturgy and Catholic devotions drawn from the Church’s tradition. The club’s principal event is the very source and summit of the Christian life: the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Each Saturday and Sunday of the academic year, Filii Mariae hosts Latin Masses in Alumni Hall’s St. Charles Borromeo Chapel.

These Masses are celebrated in Latin, the mother tongue of the Western Church. Nonetheless, one need not be a senior Classics major to participate in the Mass with both heart and mind. For those who wish to follow the texts of the Mass, ample resources are available for both the Saturday (Ordinary Form) and Sunday (Extraordinary Form) Masses. In addition to offering Latin Mass, Filii Mariae also sponsors traditional Latin Compline (i.e. night prayer) on Sunday evenings.

By offering the liturgy according to both forms of the Roman Rite and making ample use of important elements of the Roman liturgical patrimony (e.g. Gregorian chant, incense, ad orientem celebration), Children of Mary offers those in the tri-campus area the opportunity to join a vibrant community of committed Catholics in the worship of God in intentional continuity with the tradition of the Church.

In addition to its liturgical offerings, Filii Mariae also sponsors traditional devotions. On Sunday evenings throughout the academic term, the group hosts rosary walks around St. Mary’s Lake (weather permitting) and traditional first Saturday devotions including adoration, benediction, and confessions—stemming from the words our Lady spoke when she appeared at Fatima, Portugal in 1925.

Children of Mary also strives to foster community among its members. In addition to events throughout the year, the club hosts brunch in South Dining Hall every Sunday after Mass.

Saturday Ordinary Form Masses take place in Alumni Hall at 10 a.m. (9:30 a.m. on football home game days). Sunday Extraordinary Form Masses occur in Alumni Hall at 10 a.m. Children of Mary will begin this year’s programming Saturday, August 31. More information can be found at https://childrenofmarynotredame.wordpress.com.

Militia of the Immaculata

Founded by St. Maximilian Kolbe in 1917, the Militia of the Immaculata (MI) strives “to lead every individual with Mary to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.” This mission is lived out in a variety of ways, both on and off campus. Some examples include distribution of the Miraculous Medal during home football game days, a daily Rosary, Marian consecrations and retreats each semester, and a Marian procession and Eucharistic procession in the fall and spring semesters, respectively. The MI can be seen in the dining halls spreading awareness about Our Lady and her role at her university during the year and actively trying to increase devotion to the Blessed Mother throughout the student body.

There are a variety of reasons why Catholic students who are serious about their faith should join the MI. Firstly, they’ll be able to develop their devotion to the Blessed Mother, whose intercession has provided many graces in their lives. Secondly, they’ll fall into a routine of prayer that will improve their interior life with our nightly rosary. Thirdly, they’ll be surrounded by a strong community of firm believers and great people whose faith serves as an inspiration for all their actions. Finally, they’ll have lots of fun! The MI hosts several fun, enriching experiences throughout the year and is open to suggestions for even more!

Highlights of the semester include a Rosary at the Grotto every night at 11 p.m., our opening MI Mass on September 12, a retreat at the National Shrine of St. Maximilian Kolbe at Marytown on October 5, a Marian procession on October 7, a Marian consecration Mass on December 9, Grotto Evangelization with the Miraculous Medal on home game days, several Marian feast day Masses, and many more! Though members are by no means required to participate in all these wonderful experiences, we would love to have you join us for as many as possible.

With any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at ndmi@nd.edu. Please know of our prayers for you at the start of this college year!

Sorin Fellows

An offering of the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture (dCEC), the Sorin Fellows Program provides integral student formation in the Catholic moral and intellectual tradition. 

Through this program, Sorin Fellows are supported by the de Nicola Center and provided opportunities to encounter role models and befriend peer mentors who exhibit virtues of integral formation, consider enduring and contemporary issues through the lens of the Catholic moral and intellectual tradition, nourish their interior life and appreciation for the spiritual heritage of the Catholic Church, and discern and cultivate their gifts and talents through grant funding and internships. The Center supports nearly 600 Sorin Fellows at the undergraduate and graduate levels, representing nearly every field of study from across the range of the university’s constituent colleges and schools.

By actively participating in and contributing to the life of the de Nicola Center, Sorin Fellows also play a crucial role in amplifying Notre Dame’s witness to human dignity, authentic human freedom, and the common good in the global public square.

The nearly 600 undergraduate and graduate student Sorin Fellows on campus have access to superb programming ordered toward personal formation in the Catholic tradition. Programming includes a weekly Mass, a first Friday Mass every month, annual pilgrimages (destinations have included Rome, Israel, and the UK to date), and family tailgates during football season. Additionally, there are dinners at faculty homes, lectures from faculty on topics related to human dignity and the common good, exclusive audiences with speakers for the Center’s annual Fall Conference and with other invited speakers throughout the year, a mentorship program between older and younger students, a women’s formation group, and more. 

Applications to the Sorin Fellows program are accepted on a rolling basis year-round, and anyone can apply to the program. Once you become a Sorin Fellow, you have access to all the activities listed above, in addition to the de Nicola Center’s pool of funding for personal formation-oriented activities. Sorin Fellows can receive funding for retreats, living expenses for internships, and participation in academic conferences. Start your application now to become involved with an indispensable network of students who care about the university’s Catholic mission!

If you have more questions, contact Student Formation Program Manager Dave Younger at dyounger@nd.edu.

Photo Credit: Matthew Rice

Subscribe to the Irish Rover here.

Donate to the Irish Rover here.