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Students, faculty, staff, alumni, and members of the community gathered in the Egan Chapel of Saint Ignatius Loyola on the morning of October 20 for a Mass to celebrate the inauguration of Mark R. Nemec, PhD, as the ninth president of ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ÊÓƵÎÞÏÞÖƹۿ´.

The Most Reverend Frank J. Caggiano, Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, presided at the 10 a.m. Mass and expressed his support for President Nemec by asking the congregation to pray on both his and his family’s behalf, as he embarks on an important leadership role of guiding the education of young adults at Fairfield.

Following a welcome delivered by Christine Siegel, PhD, interim provost and senior vice president of Academic Affairs, and readings from the Gospel, Bishop Caggiano delivered a meaningful and personal homily. He shared a story about when he was teaching a group of students and asked them, “What is the most Catholic word in the English language?” After the students made their guesses Bishop Caggiano revealed that the answer he was looking for was the word “and.”

Bishop Caggiano went on to explain that, “We come as singular, unique individuals and mystical parts of the Body of Christ. Every young person comes [to Fairfield] seeking knowledge and wisdom." He went on to say, "Wisdom is the gift of loving life well, not allowing knowledge to divide us, but to be used as a tool to unite us and keep our eyes fixed on vows that are eternal. The very heart of this Jesuit University embodies the heart of the word 'and.'"

Bishop Caggiano emphasized his trust in President Nemec to uphold the spiritual and meaningful mission of ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ÊÓƵÎÞÏÞÖƹۿ´. “I look forward to working with President Nemec as he leads ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ÊÓƵÎÞÏÞÖƹۿ´ forward in the great values-driven Jesuit tradition of innovation, service, and lifetime education that transforms individual lives and entire communities.”