We began our day with a Eucharistic Celebration in McDonough Chapel. We later opened the afternoon ceremony by ringing the Academy Bell outside the Warde Academic Center to commemorate the University’s Sisters of Mercy founders. The historic bell, originally part of Saint Xavier Academy, which opened in 1846 in downtown Chicago on Wabash and Madison, survived the Chicago fire of 1871.
The celebration was interspersed with various speakers, both visiting and from within Saint Xavier, who discussed the liberal arts and sciences and how their own lives are affected by them. These lively discussions were punctuated with beautiful music provided by our own Campus Ministry Chapel Choir and the Women of Distinction Choral Ensemble.
I would encourage prospective students and their families to learn more about this University’s values and how we use them to provide a uniquely Mercy education. Click here to read about our philosophy, mission and history.