FOCUS Commissions New Staff

FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:

Nikki Shasserre c: (734) 330-6710,

Largest Catholic Campus Ministry in the Country Commissions New Staff

FOCUS Missionaries Take Oath of Fidelity to the Catholic Church

ATCHISON, KS, July 11, 2007 - The Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) ended their 2008 Staff Training session with a Commissioning Mass celebrated by Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City at 12:00 p.m. on Friday, July 6 in the Guadalupe Chapel of St. Benedict’s Abbey at Benedictine College. The Commissioning Mass ended New Staff training where the FOCUS Missionaries were invited to take the Oath of Fidelity to the Catholic Church.

FOCUS is the country’s largest Catholic campus ministry program. Their annual Staff Training session instructs new and returning missionaries in Scripture, the teachings of the Church and practical aspects of ministry. These young, dynamic missionaries are then sent out (typically in groups of four) to college campuses where they engage students in small-group Bible studies, leadership training, large-group events, and one-on-one mentoring.

“The best part of Staff Training is meeting people from so many different walks of life and to know that we are all coming together for the same goal,” said Amanda Pirih, a first-year missionary from Illinois.

Pirih, who turned down a job in the engineering sector to be a missionary, said she has been challenged intellectually, socially and spiritually at Staff Training and feels ready begin her ministry.

FOCUS returned to their roots this year by choosing Benedictine College for their 10^th year of staff training. In 1998, FOCUS was founded at Benedictine College with a handful of dedicated student leaders and FOCUS staff members. A decade later, FOCUS has 150 missionaries working at 33 schools in 18 states with thousands of college students involved. For more information about FOCUS, visit www.focusonline.org