Program features course, international pilgrimage, and student-led service groups
The McGrath Institute for Church Life has launched the Sullivan Undergraduate Saints (SUS) Fellowship, a program dedicated to immersing students in the lives and virtues of the saints. This fellowship, a core part of the Sullivan Family Saints Initiative (SFSI), seeks to form leaders who will carry forward the spirit of the saints through service, prayer, and community at Notre Dame and beyond.
In an interview with the Rover, Leonard DeLorenzo, McGrath’s Director of Undergraduate Studies and the SUS Fellowship, explained the inspiration behind the fellowship: “This fellowship is a signature project of our broader Sullivan Family Saints Initiative, which bears the mission of renewing scholarship on the saints and promoting devotion to the saints.”
DeLorenzo emphasized that this initiative is not only about deepening academic engagement with the saints, but also about encouraging students to embody the saints’ virtues in their daily lives. “We created this fellowship to benefit students now (both the fellows themselves and those who benefit from their work) and to help form them for lifelong discipleship after the pattern of the saints,” he added.
According to an article on McGrath’s website, selected fellows engage in a rigorous, faith-based program designed to foster spiritual growth and community leadership. This journey begins with a semester-long theology course on the saints, continues with an immersive pilgrimage to France, and culminates with the fellows leading groups of peers in prayer and charitable service. “The undergraduate fellowship is a clear and powerful means for both building up evangelizing leadership among our undergraduate students and offering, through our fellows, an immersion into the habits of prayer and charity of the saints,” DeLorenzo added.
According to DeLorenzo, the fellowship’s model has struck a chord with students, many of whom see it as an opportunity to create meaningful connections within the Notre Dame community. He noted that “many of them have spoken about the need in college life for order, for discerning one’s call and mission, and for building community with others in faith or in seeking after faith.”
DeLorenzo sees this fellowship as a transformative element for Notre Dame’s campus culture. In an era when students often crave purpose and connection, he hopes that the fellows “can encourage their friends and classmates [to] take a chance on following the way of a saint and see where it takes [them]. I think that kind of risk taking is good and healthy and integrating for our campus culture,” he said.
Candidates are chosen for their leadership potential, interest in the lives of the saints, and desire for spiritual growth. Once selected, fellows embark on a year-long journey designed to be both academically enriching and personally challenging.
One junior applicant told the Rover, “I am enthusiastic about all the different aspects of the fellowship, all centered around the study of the lives and traditions surrounding various saints. I’m also interested in the opportunity to organize and lead a prayer and service group next semester; it is definitely a great way to participate in the apostolate.”
For DeLorenzo, this fellowship represents a powerful model of peer leadership rooted in faith, designed to help students not only in their spiritual lives during college but also in the years that follow. “College is a time of formation; this fellowship and the good that comes from it through the fellows can become a powerful type of formation for our students,” he added.
In the spring, fellows and a chaplain will travel to France, visiting significant sites associated with notable saints, such as Lisieux and Lourdes. The pilgrimage is not only a journey of faith but also an opportunity for cultural immersion, allowing students to connect deeply with the history and context that shaped their chosen saints. This international pilgrimage, fully funded by the fellowship, represents a capstone experience, enriching students’ understanding and appreciation of the saints while preparing them for their leadership roles.
In addition to nurturing their personal spiritual growth, each fellow will lead a small group of students, fostering a collective exploration of faith and service inspired by a chosen saint. The fellowship intentionally invites students from all stages of belief. DeLorenzo remarked, “Some of the students whom the fellows lead may already have strong lives of faith, but I expect and hope that many of them will not.”
“Each fellow will recruit, form, and lead a group of undergraduate students for an entire academic year,” he explained. These groups will engage regularly in prayer together and also participate in charitable service inspired by the fellowship’s patron saints. “This is student-led, conducted through the bonds of friendship,” he said, emphasizing the fellowship’s commitment to fostering connections among peers.
While the SUS Fellowship is selective, opportunities for broader participation will be available. “There will not be too many fellows on an annual basis, but there will be opportunities to join these fellows in their groups of prayer and charity,” DeLorenzo noted.
“We will make these fellows known when they are selected: If you are seeking or at least open to this kind of formation and community, I hope you will reach out to one of the fellows to let them know you want to be part of what they’ll be offering,” he said.
For any students interested in the fellowship, the annual application opens each September. More information can be found on the McGrath website.
Marcelle Couto is a senior studying theology and in the Program of Liberal Studies. She can be reached at mcouto@nd.edu.
Photo Credit: McGrath Institute
Subscribe to the Irish Rover here.
Donate to the Irish Rover here.
