Bishop Noll puts faith at forefront with new initiatives

    “There is a renewed sense of passion to live out the Gospel,” Driscoll said. “Our new campus minister, Aibel, and all of our theology teachers, under the spiritual guidance of our chaplain, Father Jeff Burton, are bringing their ideas and passion to Noll and truly evangelizing the Gospel. They’re trying new ideas, bringing their curriculum to life, and helping our students put their faith in action.”

    “Students are becoming more active in Campus Ministry/theology programs and the excitement is great,” Joseph said. “Ultimately, they react to people who care about them and their lives. When they see that the faculty care about their lives and struggles, they will also take seriously what gives meaning to our lives.”

    As part of the efforts, Bishop Noll has reset its KAIROS retreat program to juniors and implemented a new sophomore retreat at the Shrine of Christ’s Passion in St. John. Additionally, the school has rekindled its partnership with the Albertine Home, where students volunteer and interact with residents.

    Although the KAIROS retreat originally was a junior retreat, it had been redesignated as a senior retreat the past several years due to the pandemic. As it is being transitioned back to a junior staple, both classes are attending KAIROS this year.

    “To insure that all Noll students had the opportunity to experience the powerful KAIROS retreat, the school doubled the number of retreats, offering more students the opportunity for spiritual growth and reflection,” Driscoll said.

    Other initiatives offering students the opportunity for spiritual growth and reflection include daily Eucharistic Adoration from 7 to 7:45 a.m. Tuesdays through Fridays; the Alpha program for Campus Ministry leaders; and participation in the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC). Five Noll students attended the 2024 NCYC earlier this month in Long Beach, Calif., and a larger group is expected to attend NCYC 2025 in Indianapolis.

    “Alpha is a small group-based, nine-week program to allow young people to have real conversations and ask real questions. This will be released to the rest of the school in the spring semester,” Joseph said. “NCYC is a Catholic gathering of more than 10,000 high school students who love their faith.

    “I think sometimes we overcomplicate what intrigues our students and what they react to,” Joseph said. “Our staff are fantastic about caring, and the students respond accordingly. Other than that, these programs we are starting are trying to tackle exactly what these students typically lack: silence in the form of Adoration in the morning, open conversation in the way of Alpha, community in faith via NCYC and service opportunities.”

     Students and staff alike at Noll continue to benefit from these new initiatives. 

    “What started as a simple desire to collaborate more often and share ideas became an intentional effort to merge Theology and Campus Ministry into one cohesive department,” Driscoll said. “It has led to so many blessings, and our students are better able to connect their academic experience of Christ in the classroom with ministry experiences outside the classroom.”