During These Anxious Times, What Must Be Done?

Written by: Tom Judge, Chaplain, Division of Mission and Ministry

A student whom I’ve known for several years (I’ll call them Alex, not their real name) reached out recently to ask if we could chat. They wanted to talk about their future, potential graduate programs, and other things one thinks about when the end of college is near. We set a time to meet and on the appointed day Alex was at my office early, as is typical, and well prepared for our conversation. Thoughtful questions, attentive listening, and a nice rapport followed. We settled in, and I was enjoying the visit, but I noticed that when I asked Alex how they were doing outside of the classroom, they shied away and answered simply “I’m ok…there’ve been some ups and downs”.

I soon learned what was behind those ups and downs. Several weeks before, one of Alex’s parents had been detained by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and had then been deported. Prior to this detention and deportation, Alex’s parent had been living, working, and raising a family in the US for over 20 years, without incident. But now, in a matter of days, Alex’s parent had been sent away from their home, job, and family because they were undocumented. Now Alex is terrified for the well-being of their remaining parent, while also struggling to help support their family as their household income has dropped dramatically. Alex has recently taken on a part-time job to help make ends meet, even though they already have a full-time job and are managing a full course load.

I was astonished by what Alex was sharing with me as they described their families’ anguish, and we began to brainstorm how the university might be of help. Since the day that we met, and thanks to their own courage and openness, Alex has been connected to generous members of the DePaul community who have made time and stepped up to provide support in real ways. But even now, as I think about Alex and their situation, I ask myself how many more people at DePaul are like them? How many have had their lives, or the lives of their loved ones, profoundly impacted by these disruptions beyond their control? I also ask, what can the DePaul community do to help them feel supported during these anxious times?

These questions confound me. However, I know that thoughtful people at our university are working to help educate and prepare our community for any eventuality that might arise, and this does reassure me.[i] But I also believe that at DePaul, with our Vincentian, Catholic identity, when difficult circumstances like this present themselves, we are called to look to our mission and heritage for insight, inspiration, and to ask that proverbial question: what must be done? We are also called to discern an answer that is informed, at least in part, by our mission, which originated with Vincent de Paul.

In turning to Vincent, we remember that when problems arose or disaster struck, his heart always went first to the poor, the vulnerable, and the ones in greatest need.[ii] In his time, like our own, it was refugees who were often in most urgent need. These were people compelled to migrate from violent or desperately poor regions to a new place that offered them greater security and hope. This is why Vincent gently urged his community members to take in refugees from war-torn regions outside of France, even if there was some risk to their own community. We see this in an excerpt from a letter he wrote to one of his confreres:

“If you grant asylum to so many refugees, your house may be sacked sooner by the soldiers; I see that clearly. The question is, however, whether, because of this danger, you should refuse to practice such a beautiful virtue as charity.”[iii]

Seeking out those most in need and finding the means to provide them with generous and compassionate support, both materially and spiritually, even at some cost to yourself, was what Vincent was urging his community to do. This example still resonates with Vincentian communities today.

What else from our Vincentian heritage might help to illuminate our response to our present circumstances? How can Vincent de Paul’s example infuse the ways we address burdens and injustices not just at the personal level, as in the case of Alex, but on a larger, more systemic scale? This may be a more difficult answer to discern. Vincent and his contemporaries did not have an understanding of social justice or systemic change like we do today. Put succinctly, more often than not their vision would have been to work within the system to address society’s ills, not to change the system itself.

That said, one thing Vincent was not afraid to do when the common good was at stake was to go to those who held authority, the “powers that be.” He would gently but firmly express to them his heartfelt observations, concerns, and entreaties, always from a place of respect and always after a period of discernment. Vincent spoke “truth to power” in this way to the likes of Queen Anne, the wealthy aristocrats who ran the Confraternities and Ladies of Charity and, most perilously, to the two most powerful men in the kingdom after the king, Cardinal Richelieu and Cardinal Mazarin. Sometimes such confrontations caused fractures in Vincent’s relations with these leaders, but never was the break total or permanent. He always acted in accordance with following the will of Providence, and frequently his fearless interventions contributed to the common good.

Looking at this distant mirror of some 400 years, we can begin to see how the challenges we face in our time are not altogether different than the challenges Vincent, Louise, and their communities faced in theirs. It is heartening to believe that perhaps our Vincentian mission has grown stronger in wisdom, resilience, and applicability over these many years and through countless challenges. May it now be put to good use for students like Alex and others, both inside and outside our DePaul community. And, may it lead us safely, as Vincent would wish, where Providence intends for us to go.


Reflection Questions

  • Do you know someone within or outside of DePaul who may be vulnerable because of their immigration status? How are they? Is there anything you can do to provide support?
  • How do you think being a part of a Vincentian community calls you to “care”? Is it in small, personal ways? Or in large, more systemic ways, or both? How can you contribute to making DePaul a more “caring” community?

Reflection by: Tom Judge, Chaplain, Division of Mission and Ministry


[i] To learn about immigration enforcement policies and support at DePaul go to the Office of General Counsel’s website at: https://offices.depaul.edu/general-counsel/services/immigration/Pages/faqs-related-to-immigration-and-customs-enforcement-officers-on-campus.aspx.

[ii] For example, “Now, the Little Company of the Mission strives to devote itself ardently to serve persons who are poor, the well-beloved of God; in this way, we have good reason to hope that, for love of them, God will love us. Come then, my dear confreres, let’s devote ourselves with renewed love to serve persons who are poor, and even to seek out those who are the poorest and most abandoned.…” Conference 164, Love for the Poor, January 1657, CCD, 11:349.

[iii] Letter 1678, To Louis Champion, Superior, In Montmirail, 6 November 1653, CCD, 5:49.

During These Anxious Times, What Must Be Done?

Updates, resources, and events highlighting the integration of DePaul’s Vincentian mission into the daily life and work of the university community.

MISSION MONDAY

During These Anxious Times, What Must Be Done?

How might Vincent have urged us to respond to our current circumstances?

                                   IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER

OCTOBER 24 | DePaul Family Luncheon

For faculty/staff with children or dependents who are students at DePaul – and for your students too! Bring the family to this annual luncheon! Meet others sharing your experience during what is always an uplifting event. RSVP

NOVEMBER 5 | DePaul Managers’ Forum: Fall 2025

As we navigate challenging times at DePaul—and in our nation more broadly—this fall’s Vincentian Managers’ Forum will focus on “Staying Grounded and Resilient While Leading Through Change.”  RSVP

NOVEMBER 12 | Lunch with Vincent: Special Guest DePaul University Board of Trustees President Michael ScudderFaculty and staff, please join us for lunch and a conversation with DePaul Board of Trustees Chair Mike Scudder, as we continue to explore the topic of Vincentian Higher Education in 2025.  RSVP

NOVEMBER 20 | Gathering of Remembrance 2025

All members of the DePaul community are invited to join the Division of Mission and Ministry for our annual Gathering of Remembrance, an interfaith memorial service for DePaul community members who have lost loved ones over the past year. RSVP

Opening the Heart: On Saints and Struggles

Updates, resources, and events highlighting the integration of DePaul’s Vincentian mission into the daily life and work of the university community.

MISSION MONDAY

Do Not Be Afraid of New Beginnings…

Bruce Springsteen memorably captures the experience of suffering. Yet, there are those who create possibility and hope amidst such difficulty.

                                   IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER

OCTOBER 24 | DePaul Family Luncheon

For faculty/staff with children or dependents who are students at DePaul – and for your students too! Bring the family to this annual luncheon! Meet others sharing your experience during what is always an uplifting event. RSVP

NOVEMBER 5 | DePaul Managers’ Forum: Fall 2025

Join us for an ‘Open Space’ experience with other DePaul managers to focus on the topics and questions most important to you. RSVP

NOVEMBER 12 | Lunch with Vincent: Special Guest DePaul University Board of Trustees President Michael Scudder

Faculty and staff, please join us for lunch and a conversation with DePaul Board of Trustees Chair Mike Scudder, as we continue to explore the topic of Vincentian Higher Education in 2025.  RSVP

NOVEMBER 20 | Gathering of Remembrance 2025

All members of the DePaul community are invited to join the Division of Mission and Ministry for our annual Gathering of Remembrance, an interfaith memorial service for DePaul community members who have lost loved ones over the past year. RSVP

Opening the Heart: On Saints and Struggles

Reflection by: Abdul-Malik Ryan, Assistant Director, Religious Diversity and Pastoral Care

The Catholic singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen memorably captures the experience and effect of facing suffering, abuse, and hardship in his anthemic “Born in the U.S.A.” In the narrator’s words, “You end up like a dog that’s been beat too much, Til’ you spend half your life just covering up now.”[1] I was recently reminded of this line both by the seemingly endless strain of different attacks many of us experience in the world, both directly or indirectly, and also in reading the book Outraged: Why We Fight About Morality and Politics by Kurt Gray.[2] Gray, a social psychologist and conflict researcher, argues that human psychology has been shaped by evolution to be extremely attentive to threats in order to avoid harm. Contrary to the idea that humans have always been apex predators, Gray argues that through most of evolutionary time humans have been very vulnerable. Although our environment has become safer for most, we are still “wired” to be incredibly sensitive to harm and threats of harm, and we seek to protect ourselves from those harms. One of the factors that makes societal polarization so frustrating and extreme is that different experiences or perceptions of harm lead us to believe that those who disagree with us are at best insensitive to the hurts we experience. At worst we believe they are dangerous and threatening to us.

Sometimes it may be hard for us to imagine the lives of those saintly figures of the Vincentian family we revere. We are separated from them by large amounts of time and sometimes by geography or cultures. The worlds we live in are much different from those in which they lived. This may be especially true of the women we look up to like Louise de Marillac and Elizabeth Ann Seton. They are introduced to us as saints, appearing to us veiled, and looking out at us from artwork or the pages of books. In the case of these two saints though, and perhaps most human beings, when we really take the time to know them, their life experiences are revealed as quite remarkable. Both of them were wives and mothers. They knew social and religious discrimination, times of relative economic comfort and times of hardship. They both suffered the deaths of a husband and of children. They were known to have times of darkness and uncertainty, but inspired by their faith they opened to others, founding communities of sisters that would serve countless people in need.

Sometimes those who experience scarcity, hurt, and loss end up turning inward and away from others, seeking protection from all the harms out there. Who could blame us? Indeed, we must use the wisdom of our experience to anticipate and plan for threats and harms that await those for whom we are responsible. Yet there are others who use such painful experience and knowledge to open their hearts and arms to those who are suffering. These are the ones that inspire us and create legacies of hope in dark times. They use their knowledge of loneliness to create communities. They use love and gratitude to awaken creativity amid narrowness and difficulty, making way for new possibilities.

For reflection:

How can we see and acknowledge suffering without feeling overwhelmed? What can we do to awaken creativity in difficult times? What can we do to allow others to be hopefully creative?


 

[1] Bruce Springsteen, “Born in the U.S.A.,” Born in the U.S.A. (1984). See: https://www.springsteenlyrics.com/lyrics.php?song=bornintheusa

[2] Kurt Gray, Outraged: Why We Fight About Morality and Politics (Pantheon, 2025), 368 pp.

Bereavement Notice: John Singer

Sadly, we have learned of the death of John Singer, the father of Carrie Slad, Cloud Administrator-Associate in Information Services.  John passed away on August 26 at the age of 85.

John served in the U.S. Army in the 1960s, and then spent his professional career at First National Bank of Chicago and then LaSalle National Bank until his retirement in 1991.

John treasured time spent with family—especially holidays, celebrations, and outings with his nieces and nephew. He loved attending summer festivals and live performances, and he deeply enjoyed being part of a close-knit family.  John was an avid fan of the Chicago Cubs and college basketball, particularly the DePaul Blue Demons and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He also had a deep affection for dogs, especially Old English Sheepdogs.

John will be remembered for his kind heart, steadfast faith, and unwavering love for his family. His memory lives on in the hearts of all who knew and loved him.

He is survived by his wife, Carol, daughter Carrie, two grandsons, and many nieces, nephews, and extended family.

Services were held in New Mexico.  A full obituary and online condolences can be found at https://www.frenchfunerals.com/obituaries/john-singer

May he rest in peace.

Do Not Be Afraid of New Beginnings

Written By: Siobhan O’Donoghue, M. Div., Director of Faculty and Staff Engagement, Mission & Ministry

“Do not be afraid of new beginnings. Be creative. Be inventive. You who have energy: who have enthusiasm; who want to do something of value for the future; Be inventive, launch out; Do not wait!”
– Quote attributed to Blessed Frédéric Ozanam

Every year on September 9, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul celebrates the Feast Day of Blessed Frédéric Ozanam, one of the principal founders of the Society. Frédéric was a gifted scholar, a professor, a lawyer, and a pioneer of social change.

In his invitation quoted above, Frédéric asks us to consider the opportunity presented by new beginnings. As we embark upon the start of this new school year, Frédéric’s invitation seems particularly relevant.

With the busyness of the new academic year starting up, may we make the most of Frédéric’s invitation as we stand on the threshold of something new.

Reflection/Discussion Questions:

  • As we begin a new academic year, what are you excited about? What do you hope to create or invent?
  • What, if anything, may make you feel a little anxious about this beginning?
  • What might you do to help fuel your excitement and minimize your anxiety?

[1] See Sunnie Lain, “The Feast Day of Blessed Frederic Ozanam,” 9 September 2019, Society of St. Vincent de Paul Dayton, https://stvincentdayton.org/the-feast-day-of-blessed-frederic-ozanam-2/.

Bereavement Notice: Dr. Jeanne Panuncialman

We have learned of the death of Dr. Jeanne Panuncialman, former professor of the School of Nursing.  Jeanne passed away on August 19 at the age of 94.  A U.S. Navy veteran, Jeanne served as a Naval nurse, earned her Ph.D., and taught in DePaul’s nursing program in the 1980s.

Jeanne built her life around faith and family.  She was a true force of nature who served her country and became a role model for women in medicine, and so much more.  Until the very end of her life she found joy and humor and shared that with others.

She is survived by seven children, nine grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.  Services were held in August at Knollcrest funeral home.  Online condolences may be posted at https://www.knollcrest.net/obituaries/Jeanne-Venard-Panuncialman?obId=44365380#/obituaryInfo.

May she rest in peace.

Bereavement Notice: John J. Gasparic

Sadly, we have learned of the death of John J. Gasparic, the father of David Gasparic, Senior ERP Developer for Information Systems.  John passed away on August 30, at the age of 80, after a long battle with lung cancer.

John worked for 31 years selling IRD vibration instrumentation, services, and training for Rockwell Automation.  He enjoyed going on family vacations and attending Chicago Cubs and Bulls games with his son and daughter.

John is survived by his wife of 51 years, Judy, his daughter Carrie, his son David, two grandchildren, and many extended family and friends.  Services were held on September 5.  Online condolences may be posted at https://www.friedrichjones.com/obituaries/John-J-Gasparic?obId=44799214.

May he rest in peace.

 

Bereavement Notice: Douglas Long

It is with deep sorrow that we have learned of the death of Douglas Long, Director of the First-Year Program. Doug passed away on August 26, 2025 after battling Leukemia. He was 62.

Doug earned his Master of Fine Arts degree from Indiana University, where he then served as Director of Audience Development before joining DePaul in 2000 as an instructor in the College of Communication. He then became director of the First-Year Program in 2009. The program is recognized as one of the best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, a reflection of Doug’s leadership and vision. His work helped shape the experience of thousands of students and supported a great many faculty and staff across the university.

Doug’s passion for movies and their production was widely known. He was always ready for deep conversations about filmmaking and movie trivia with friends and colleagues. He also had a deep love for theatre and stage performance, for which he was a director. His love of family and faith gave him the support and courage to face the challenges of his illness with strength and spirit.

Most of all, Doug was known for his kindness and caring nature, his sense of humor, and his collaborative spirit that kept the First-Year Program thriving and exciting for first-year students. He consistently built dedicated teams of faculty and staff who valued his leadership and collegiality and motivated all to make DePaul’s first-year experience one of excellence. In his own words, “One benefit of working in the First-Year Program is interacting with other people who value education and the opportunity to make the beginning of the college experience as successful as possible.” He will be deeply missed and remembered by many.

Doug is survived by his wife, Kay, children Adam and Sarah, his parents, and three brothers. Visitation will take place on Saturday, August 30, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. at Adams-Winterfield & Sullivan Funeral Home, 4343 Main Street, Downers Grove, IL. A “Words of Remembrance” service will start at 2:00 p.m. A larger Celebration of Life service will be held at a later date. Online condolences may be submitted at Adams-Winterfield & Sullivan – Doug Long Obituary and Tribute

A university remembrance service will be held on Thursday, September 25, 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. in Cortelyou Commons.  RSVP HERE through DeHub