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Robert Delaney of The Michigan Catholic
Published April 13, 2007

Robert Delaney | The Michigan Catholic Andrea Bezaire,a sophomore at Wayne State University in Detroit, came into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil Mass at the Newman Center at Wayne State University.

Detroit — Andrea Bezaire was baptized and confirmed, and made her first Communion at the Easter vigil Mass at the Newman Center on the Wayne State University campus.

The 19-year-old sophomore from Warren says she can't imagine any of that happening had it not been for the presence of the Catholic campus ministry at WSU.

That ministry, like campus ministries at a number of other local schools, is among the many ministries funded by the annual Catholic Services Appeal. The CSA, which begins next month, also supports Sacred Heart Major Seminary, the archdiocesan  Education and Parish Life and Services departments, the CTND Catholic cable channel and The Michigan Catholic, among others.

Campus ministries Here are phone numbers for Catholic campus ministries at a number of colleges and universities in the southeastern Michigan: • Lawrence Technological University, Madonna University Orchard Lake Center, Oakland Community College and Oakland University – Genesis Ministries (248) 373-6457, ext. 3107 • Macomb Community College – Macomb Campus Ministry (586) 445-7378 • Madonna University – Campus Ministry (734) 591-5006 • St. Clair Community College – John Courtney Murray Newman Center (810) 984-5195 • Schoolcraft College - Campus Ministry (734) 464-2160 • University of Detroit Mercy – University Ministry (313) 993-1580 • University of Michigan-Dearborn and Henry Ford Community College – Gabriel Richard Center (313) 271-6000

Bezaire's parents gave her no religious instruction growing up. "We weren't raised Catholic, we weren't raised Protestant, we weren't raised anything," she says.

But when she began her studies at Wayne, where she is co-majoring in French and psychology, with honors, and moved into a dormitory on campus, she also started attending events sponsored by the Students for Life chapter.

Surprisingly, it was not because she was already a convinced pro-lifer, but because she was not sure just where she stood on abortion. "I felt compelled to find out how I felt about the issue," Bezaire says.

But as convincing as she found the non-religious arguments against abortion, she says she saw that for the others there was an added dimension to their beliefs. "On top of all those reasons, there is God — and God wouldn't give you more than you could handle, and He wouldn't create a life for you to kill it," she says.

Having made some new Catholic friends through Students for Life, she started attending Mass with them at the Newman Center from time to time. Then, in February 2006, she started going every week.

Bezaire tells how she would go up for a blessing at the Communion, but "realized there was a huge part of the Mass that I was missing."

She says she talked to her friends and then to the campus ministers. Their first suggestion was that she should find a parish and go through the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults there, but then the campus ministers decided they should revive RCIA classes at the Newman Center, with Bezaire the first to take them.

The classes have helped her feel closer to God and appreciate the truth of Catholic teaching, she says, adding, "It's been nothing short of wonderful – that's for sure."

And she recounts an experience she found especially meaningful: "There was a time when I was in the Newman Center, and I was at the tabernacle, on my knees, and not saying a specific prayer, but just letting my thoughts run. And my palms got really warm, and I had this image of God holding my hands — and I realized that, if I let Him, He will lead me, and great things will happen."

Daniel Barriball, one of the campus ministers, describes Bezaire as "a very bright person, with plenty of personality and just a pleasure to be around."

He says he is glad Bezaire's RCIA process is over, because "before Lent, she was our cantor, and she'll be back at it after Easter."

His colleague, Anny Liddle, says Bezaire is a "delightful person, always upbeat."

"She sings for us at Mass, and has a joy that is just infectious and lights up a room," Liddle adds.

Stephanie Bierlein, 19, a pre-med student from Bay City, was already involved in the Newman Center when she met Bezaire, but says it was Bezaire who got her involved in Students for Life.

"Andrea's wonderful and she has a beautiful voice. I see the Holy Spirit really alive in her. I mean, I've been a Catholic all of my life, but I'd never been involved in the pro-life movement before. She inspired me to become really involved with my faith," Bierlein says.

Now, Bezaire is president and Bierlein vice president of the WSU Students for Life.

Joanine Barrett, 22, who is doing an internship with the national Students for Life organization before returning to Wayne to start her master's degree, says the students who participate in the Newman Center are "a fun group of people to hang out with.

She says Bezaire is "passionate about pro-life and about learning what the Church teaches and growing in her faith."

Besides Mass every Sunday at 5 p.m., the WSU Newman Center – in the Student Center, which is just north of the Adamany Library – offers students an opportunity to get together during the week for a discussion group or Bible study or other activities.

CSA-supported campus ministries are also active on some other Detroit-area campuses. Bryan Smith, was active in the Gabriel Richard Center campus ministry as a student at the University of Michigan-Dearborn before graduating last August with a bachelor's degree in marketing.

"I didn't get involved until my junior year, and I wish I had got involved a lot earlier," says Smith, 26, a member of St. Daniel Parish in Clarkston.

As a commuter student who just traveled from his home in Clarkston to the U-M Dearborn campus for classes, Smith says he didn't even know the campus ministry existed until he started searching for a service project as his Lenten sacrifice in 2005.

"They set me up with an after-school program mentoring elementary school kids at St. Christine Community Center in Detroit (part of St. Catherine of Siena Parish)," Bezaire says.

He went on to attend evening Theology on Tap sessions and lunchtime Soup and Scripture sessions, take part in a service project to help Hurricane Katrina victims in New Orleans, and sometimes "go there and study or just hang out."

Megan Maloney, campus minister at the Gabriel Richard Center, which also serves Henry Ford Community College students, says Smith still keeps in touch and took part in the center's Habitat for Humanity project this spring.

She also points out that, now that Smith has graduated, he has gone on to take an active role in St. Daniel Parish: "He decided to get involved leading a youth group at his parish, and is bringing in ideas for service from his experiences here."

Related Link: 
Campus Young Adult Ministry, Archdiocese of Detroit