Winter 2015 1

ommunitas

A Freshman’s Perspective

Anyone would have thought from our appearance that we were a defeated army; limping, dirty, sore, and tired, some of us with bandaged and blistered feet. But after seeing our faces and hearing our voices, no one would have thought of a defeated army. Rather, they would have thought of an army triumphant, with its task accomplished and its battle won. And that is exactly what we were: a triumphant army, victorious over the powers of the world, the flesh, and the devil.

On a chill autumn day, thirty of us set out from Thomas More College

to join the annual Pilgrimage for Restoration to the shrine of the North American Martyrs in Auriesville, New York. In the evening, we arrived at our first campsite. It was by the shores of the beautiful Lake George, or, going by the more fitting name given to it by the French missionaries, The Lake of the Blessed Sacrament.

While I stood in the brisk autumn breeze and watched it ripple across the surface of the lake, it was not difficult to understand what the missionaries must have felt as they stood looking at a new continent over two centuries ago. Wonder, joy, anticipation, even fear of what lay

ahead were mixed in that September breeze.

The next three days amply fulfilled and surpassed all that had been expected, both in privation and in joy. I woke before dawn the next morning to the icy blast of morning air. As I scrambled to prepare for Mass with numb fingers, a fleeting regret for the absence of a warm bed and climate-controlled room went through my head. But as I stood with my teeth chattering at Holy Mass with the rest of my brigade and watched the sky turn from gray to pink to gold, I realized that though there was suffering, there was also great beauty in what we were doing.

Newsletter of the Thomas More College of Liberal Arts

Suffering Yet Joyful: The Auriesville Pilgrimage

Winter 2015

President’s Message 2

New College Building 3Alumni Reflections 5

Think Local, Act Universal 6

The Society Page 8

www.ThomasMoreCollege.edu2

Our medieval forefathers had an expression for it—for that haunting condition which spurs every man and woman towards some further goal, some further place, and finally, if blessed we come to realize, towards some further Person.

Homo viator: man the wayfarer. Man in his very bones seems to be built for a journey, while longing for a home.

Even before the fullness of Christian revelation our western tradition spoke of this impulse. It was heard when the poet sang of the driving nostalgia of Odysseus or the blind striving of Oedipus. This longing would manifest itself, without satisfaction, in every ancient civilization. Only the coming of Christ would offer a true path. The pious journey of an Aeneas and even the skeptical searching of a Lucretius could both find a kind

of fulfillment in Christian civilization. There is a restlessness that knows no peace until it is found in the heart of God. St. Augustine preserved every drop of that old pagan longing, but reflecting both on God’s omnipresence and God’s particular interest and action in his life, he was able to arrive at the further shore sought by every thoughtful pagan.

An education in the Great Books allows the student to follow along such a path anew. He travels with his forefathers; he travels with his fellow students and his teachers. He is not a spiritual vagrant, but ponders the signs and traces of those who went before. Moreover, he ponders the particular longing of his own heart. Through texts and conversation, through art and music, through his travels and the

homes he finds along the way, through his ordinary social life and—most especially—through the sacramental life of the Church, he walks as pilgrim, sometimes descending, sometimes ascending, always moving, on and on and on. At least, I have found it so at Thomas More College.

As President of Thomas More College, I am profoundly blessed to be among so many thoughtful wayfarers. Laboring to build a community, and in building, to move on towards some further community. I remain humbled and awed at the amazing contributions to our Church and our culture made by those who pause for four years at Thomas More, to be fortified for the journey.

—William Edmund Fahey, Ph.D

The next few days, as we trudged through small towns and across the countryside of New York, I was constantly reminded of that strange and wonderful truth of the Christian religion—a truth that the world today tries so hard to forget—namely, the beauty of suffering.

Time and again, as I struggled up hills with sore feet, or fell exhausted into my sleeping bag and rose the next morning with every muscle in my body aching, I would wonder if I had the strength to continue. Then, I had only to look about me to see the undaunted courage and optimism of my companions in everything they did: their determined songs and prayers, their words of encouragement to one another, and the laughter and jokes at the end of the day. In observing all this, I came to realize a strange paradox: that so often where there is great pain, there is also great joy.

On the final day, we labored up the last hill while singing the lovely strains of the Jubilate Deo. At long last, we had reached the shrine of the Martyrs, the site where Kateri Tekakwitha lived and where three of the greatest saints of this country had met their death. My heart was filled with joy. Not for one moment did I regret my decision to come on this pilgrimage and to persevere to the end. For in spite of the aches and pains, the sleep deprivation and the freezing nights—or perhaps because of them—I was happy. Not only had I been allowed to participate in what was essentially a miniature version of our earthly journey, I had also come to understand a little better the great gift that Christ gives in allowing us to take up our cross and follow Him. Suffering is one of the greatest gifts God can give us. I had always believed this but then, standing there on the sight of the village of Osserneon, I began to understand why.

To many it would seem folly to walk sixty miles, to sleep on the hard ground in the freezing cold, and to endure blisters, aching muscles and dirty conditions. Many would ask for what sake we endured such things—to see the place where a young Indian girl lived, where a few men suffered and died some three hundred years ago? Perhaps it was folly. But St. Paul speaks of the folly of the cross. Often times, folly is more glorious than common sense.

President's Remarks

Winter 2015 3

Twin marble lions flank the grand entrance to the Anderson House, the historic turn-of-the century mansion once owned by the first Catholic Governor of New Hampshire. Upon entering this architectural gem—now the property of Thomas More College—guests are greeted by red damask-covered walls, dramatic Beaux Arts carvings and fixtures, and a sweeping central staircase. The 22,000 square foot building, comprised of the original mansion and a large dormitory and classroom extension, had been immaculately maintained by the Sisters of Mercy, who ran it as Mount St. Mary’s Academy for Girls for nearly half a century.

The building, in the heart of Nashua’s historic district and just a few minutes down the road from the main campus of Thomas More, went up for auction last winter, at precisely the time when the leadership at the College was facing a crisis of space.

“The College has witnessed a steady growth in enrollment over the past four years,” explains Paul Jackson, Director

of Institutional Development. “The board of trustees and other officers of the College had been aware for some time that we would need to expand our housing options to accommodate more students. Temporary dormitory structures for twenty plus students could have run the College over a million dollars, and they are only temporary buildings. With the Anderson House we had ready-made housing for 30 students in the dormitory section of the building, and a beautiful reception and public function space in the mansion portion of the building.”

On The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the College, through the generosity of an anonymous donor, was able to place the winning bid on the 22,000 square foot facility. College leadership then spent the next 45 days conducting a successful behind-the-scenes fundraising campaign to raise the remainder of the purchase price prior to closing.

Thomas More was “able to accept ten additional students this year,” says

Paul Jackson, “only because we had purchased the Anderson House. Even if one could set aside the beauty, history, craftsmanship, and prime location of the building and simply consider its functionality and cost effectiveness, the purchase makes complete sense for the College.”

Since acquiring the building, Thomas More College has been warmly welcomed by the City of Nashua and the local community. A group of local residents recently wrote the college: “One is always apprehensive when a new neighbor moves in. ‘Who are these people? How will they act? Will they respect our Historic District?’” These fears, however, were soon alleviated “when we met Dr. Fahey, his family and staff, the Thomas More professors and their wonderful students. Our north end community is very happy that the Anderson House has been returned to academic use and will be responsibly cared for.”

For the past several months, the building has been inhabited by the

College Becomes Steward of Historic Catholic Building

www.ThomasMoreCollege.edu4

women of the Junior Class, as well as a number of female staff. Admissions Counselor Hannah O’Connor describes the enchantment of living there: “Not only are we living in an historic 1905 mansion: we are living in an historic 1905 mansion owned by my alma mater. This miraculous purchase provides a center for arts and culture, a place of beauty where the college community can share its loves and talents with the region through lectures, concerts, evenings of recollection, art exhibits, and theatrical events.” She and other ladies residing at 90 Concord have enjoyed the thrill of living in such a grand home: “We have had even more bone-china tea parties than usual, and have worn pearls and listened to opera

more frequently, beneath these ornately moulded ceilings.”

The beauty of the Anderson House is only exceeded by its potential as a center for the re-evangelization of Catholic culture in New England. Events like the summer Arts Lecture Series—which brought artists and patrons of the arts from across North America together for a week-long discussion of the role of the Catholic artist in the modern world—the Advent choral concert led by musician-in-residence Paul Jernberg, and other public venues will continue to enlarge the College’s presence in the region and share its vision for Catholic liberal education.

Thomas More’s greatest asset in spreading that vision is, of course, its

faithful, talented, and healthy student body. Local residents Wayne and Marilyn Spence, and Mike and Diane Lo Ré, agree. “Our hope for the younger generation has been renewed after meeting the students. Every student has the values, concerns and presence that one wishes all young people would have.”

As President William Fahey sees it, “The acquisition of the old Mount St. Mary’s Academy has been a true blessing. It is yet another wonderful way for the College to engage the local community and witness the Faith in New England.”

Hannah O’Connor expresses it this way: “When I went to Rome as a Thomas More Sophomore, I will never forget walking into St. Peter’s Basilica and being told, as my mouth hung open, that the lettering circling the great dome—TU ES PETRUS ET SUPER HANC PETRUM AEDEFICABO ECCLESIAM MEAM—was six feet tall. Living in such a solid, beautiful building with such an incredible Catholic history and amazing potential, and becoming a steward for it and for the College, has been very much like that experience: stunning, eye-opening, and an honor.”

Winter 2015 5

In just three short years since graduating with a liberal arts degree from Thomas More College, Ryan McKenna (’11) has earned two advanced degrees and secured a position in the legal profession. He has also married; he and his wife, Emily, are the proud parents of two adorable little boys, Caleb and Seamus.

Upon graduating from Thomas More College, Ryan McKenna went on to study business and law at the University of New Hampshire, earning his MBA in 2013 and his JD the following year. He now works as legal counsel for Axia Home Loans, a mortgage lender just outside of Seattle.

Ryan credits his successes in business and law to the education he received at Thomas More—especially the ability to engage in dialogue that he gained during his years here. “One of the benefits of reading so many pages from so many great texts, and being exposed to the time-enduring thought of so many great authors, is that you become more comfortable with understanding the minds of others.”

Ryan dismisses the common objection that a liberal education does not prepare one for today’s technological and specialized world. “Even though a liberal arts education isn’t directly an education in banking regulations or cyber risk analysis, as an educational platform it provides one with the ability

to think well and conduct inquiry on any subject-matter.”

He finds that his colleagues without a liberal arts background are at a significant professional disadvantage. They are often not good communicators or they don’t have the ability to discriminate between arguments. “For me in the study of law,” says Ryan, “the ability to read a judge’s decision and understand what he is really trying to say and why, or to read an ambiguous regulation and tell my company what they should do about it, has set me apart.”

Ryan is unambiguous about the source of this skill: “I directly attribute it to the excellent education I received from the Great Books Program at Thomas More College.”

Michael Pennell (’87) knows what it takes to lead a Catholic school to academic excellence while sustaining and nurturing its Catholic identity. For the past ten years, Dr. Pennell has served as Principal at Prince of Peace Catholic School in Taylors, South Carolina. Recently, Pennell’s efforts to lead the pre-K through eighth-grade school to excellence were honored in the form of national recognition as a 2014 National Blue Ribbon School.

Prince of Peace was one of only fifty private schools nationwide—and the only private school in South Carolina—to earn the coveted award, which recognizes public and private schools for their overall academic excellence.

In order to even be considered for a National Blue Ribbon award, all children in grades 3 through 8 must place in the top 15% in both reading and math. “The world respects mastery and achievement, and we more readily earn a hearing as Catholics in the public square when we can demonstrate our commitment to such excellence.”

Dr. Pennell believes that the future success of Catholic education needs to be built on a solid foundation of liberal learning. “Whether it is in public education or Catholic education, we need liberally-educated leaders. Many teachers who haven’t had this preparation need extra guidance. They haven’t had the chance to set aside a few years of their life to think about things. The fact that I have done so means that I can engage intelligent Catholic teachers and get them excited about ideas, about standards and how to achieve them.”

“As a school leader,” says Pennell, “you’re constantly drawing on the traditions you received as you form people. There is no question in my mind that I am the person I am today, and I have the successes I have today in education, because of my own experiences at Thomas More College.”

Dr. Pennell offers these words of encouragement to young men and women considering a liberal arts degree and a career in Catholic education: “This is a great life! The Church needs Catholic school leaders, and maybe you could be one.”

What sets Thomas More College graduates apart? Reflections from Ryan McKenna ’11 and Michael Pennell ’87

Ryan McKenna and family

Dr. Pennell visits with schoolchildren.

www.ThomasMoreCollege.edu6

How did a young man from São Paolo, Brazil—a city three times the size of New York—end up at a New England Catholic micro-college of just under 100 students? Why did a young lady from the picturesque French village of Chémeré-le-Roi choose to study here as well?

Though their stories are quite different, both Anthony Wright and Aleth Sergent are united by the desire to pursue an authentic Catholic liberal arts education and to revitalize Catholic culture—a desire which has led them and others from foreign shores to Thomas More College.

“There is something about America—there’s a strength—there’s a revival in the Catholic faith,” notes Aleth Sergent (’15). “I was really amazed the first few days after I arrived. I went to Maine with a couple of Catholic families and we prayed the rosary in the car. It is incredible to see that young people want to do this. I want to bring this spirit back to France.”

One philosophical work that Aleth credits with fostering her intellectual and spiritual formation is Boethius’

Consolation of Philosophy, studied in her sophomore Humanities course. “I absolutely loved this book. It made me want to learn more about the truth.” The following year, Aleth chose to conduct her Junior Project—a semester-long independent study, culminating in a public oral examination by a faculty panel—on the life and legacy of St. Maximilian Kolbe. “I wanted to study someone contemporary to our time,” says Aleth, “and my father [renowned French journalist Philippe Maxence] has also written a biography” of the saint whom John Paul II has called “The Patron Saint of our difficult century.”

This past summer, Aleth interned in Paris for Aid to the Church in Need. She hopes after graduating to return to Rome for further studies, and eventually to settle in her native France, to play an active role in what she sees as the emerging renascence of the Church there through young people. “I know it is really messed up right now. But things are changing. France is becoming more Catholic, and young people like me want to do something about the decline in culture and the Faith.”

Anthony Wright (’17) feels similarly about South America. After completing law school in Brazil, Anthony’s disenchantment with the profession became acute: “People never asked the right questions when I was in law school. This is incredibly dangerous: you end up with lawyers, judges and politicians—people who will determine the direction in which your country is going—who have never asked any fundamental questions, who have no grounding in the truth.”

Anthony made a careful study of the Cardinal Newman Society’s College Guide online, and decided to come to Thomas More College. “The liberal arts here are not simply a historical exercise,” notes Anthony. The college understands the “supernatural ends” of studying Latin, Greek, and perennial works of

theology, philosophy, literature, and history.

“In Europe and South America, there is absolutely no place like Thomas More College. I know lots of people in South America who would like to start something like this, but they don’t know how to begin.” Anthony’s hope upon graduating is to be involved in founding a liberal arts college on the model of Thomas More in his native Brazil.

Liam Mitchell (’14), born in county Kerry on the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland, is now pursuing an MBA in Film Production at the John Paul the Great University. Kristina Landry (’14), who holds Swedish citizenship, is currently studying geology at the University of Connecticut.

Liam, who wed TMC Alumna Katherine Almeda (’13) last summer, credits his time at Thomas More with giving him a proper understanding of the role of the Catholic artist. “Many Christians,” says Liam, “are not entirely comfortable with the conception of art. They worry: is art lying? My time at Thomas More taught me that art can be true. Learning from Mr. Clayton about what makes good art; studying Scripture with Dr. Fahey; studying

Think Local, Act UniversalHow Thomas More is Rebuilding Catholic Culture, One Student at a Time

Aleth Sergent ’15

Anthony Wright ‘17 holding the original flag of Brazil

Winter 2015 7

literature with Mrs. Fahey—all of this has made me very comfortable working on film, which is fundamentally a form of storytelling. I know what to focus on, and can do it in an ethical way. I don’t have to question first principles. My education has given me a freedom to work in the medium that I wouldn’t otherwise have.”

He is confident that this healthy attitude toward film-making, combined with his Irish heritage, will aid him in his cinematic pursuits. “I can think in two different cultural perspectives, united by the Faith. I would love to make an Irish movie—I think I can tell a pretty good story.”

Kristina Landry (’14), who holds Swedish and American citizenship, is currently studying geology at Central Connecticut State University. She speaks and reads Swedish, and one day hopes to translate works like St. Augustine’s Confessions into Swedish. “Sadly, religious and philosophical works are seldom taught or studied in Sweden.”

Kristina, who was raised with little religious instruction—“kind of Protestant, kind of nothing”—is a recent convert to the Catholic faith. With a

desire to “know what she didn’t know,” she enrolled in a Thomas More College Summer Program in 2009. “I had never studied any philosophy before,” she says, and her summer course with Professor Jay Thompson was transformative. “There was also daily mass offered. Besides me, there were three other non-Catholic girls, and we were encouraged to attend Mass.”

“I just remember standing there and watching everybody and thinking, ‘This is really strange.’ But I remember praying to God, ‘If this is real, if there is something to this, I want to know.’” By the end of the two weeks, Kristina had the Salve Regina memorized, and knew most of the other prayers of the Mass. “I wasn’t totally hooked, but I knew there was something there.” Kristina entered the Catholic Church at Easter, during her sophomore semester in Rome.

Before her summer program experience, Kristina had intended to pursue a degree in Earth Science at a large state university. “If I had gone to a bigger school and bypassed the liberal arts, I would have missed out on all of this incredible knowledge and formation. There was definitely a practical element to my education here: I learned to read critically, to become a better writer, to communicate well.” But Kristina says she also received something more important: a knowledge of who man really is.

Kristina does not yet know exactly how she will use her geological expertise, but excavation, mining, and energy production all interest her, and she intends to conduct field work in her native Sweden. Whatever her ultimate career, though, Kristina says that “instead of being only focused on a narrow area of study, I know that because of my time at Thomas More, I will stay connected to the truly important things—the things that will endure.”

This broad cultural perspective is also fostered at Thomas More through student internship and study opportunities in several European countries, including Ireland, Italy, Spain,

and England. Most recently, TMC sophomores studying in Rome have studied alongside a dozen Irish students from the recently-founded Newman College in Ireland. While Newman College seeks for a permanent home in Ireland, Thomas More has provided an intellectual and cultural haven for her students in The Eternal City.

Thomas More’s faculty also has vast international connections which enrich students’ experience of the liberal arts. David Clayton, an Englishman who was received into the Church in London in 1993, teaches aesthetics and iconography at Thomas More College, while Dr. Ryan Topping, who hails from Saskatoon, Canada, offers courses in theology, rhetoric, and humanities. Fellow Brit (now American citizen) Joseph Pearce, who publishes frequently on Shakespeare and Tolkien, continues to serve as Visiting Writer-in-Residence at the college. And Denis Kitzinger, a native of Flörsheim, Germany, enjoys sharing his cultural traditions and avocations with students—from Oktoberfest celebrations to impromptu games of his beloved soccer—when he isn’t teaching courses in history, political philosophy, or economics.

As sophomore Alexander Smith notes, “The universality of the Church becomes obvious when you befriend and study under Catholics from many different countries.” Students at Thomas More College—both from the United States and abroad—are inspired by the education they receive here to revitalize Catholic culture in their local communities and beyond.

Dr. Sara Kitzinger, Fellow, and Kristina Landry ’14

“My education has given me a

freedom to work in the medium [of

film] that I wouldn’t otherwise have.”

—Liam Mitchell ’14

www.ThomasMoreCollege.edu8

Engagements, Weddings, and Babies, oh my!Thomas More College of Liberal ArtsSix Manchester StreetMerrimack, NH 03054

EngagEmEnts: 1. Erin Monfils ’15 and Augustine Palmer-Kamprath ’15; 2. TMC Marketing and Publications Officer, Gwyneth Holston and Andrew Thompson-Briggs.

WEddings: 3. Trustee and alumna Maureen Mooney ’97 and Mark Derby; 4. Kate (née Almeda ’13) and Liam Mitchell ’14. 5. Mary (née Monaghan ’12) and Keith Parkinson ’12; 6. Catherine (née Mazzarella ’14) and Oliver Domina ’14.

BaBiEs: 7. Damien Bosco McCarthy, son of Aja (née Cowhig ‘ll) and John McCarthy, TMC Fellow; 8. Joseph Timothy Chicheser, son of Britni (née Donaghue ’10) and Luke Chichester ’10; 9. Marta Herreid, daughter of Rosie (née Prever, ‘09) and Bill Herreid ’10; 10. John Paul Topping, seventh son of Anna and Ryan Topping, TMC Fellow; 11. Josef Maria Rudolf Kitzinger, son of Sara and Denis Kitzinger, TMC Fellows.

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Share your alumni news in the next Communitas! Email news and pictures to admissions@thomasmorecollege.edu