Saint Anthony Parish in rural Michigan is expanding its Catholic ministry for Hillsdale College students by more than doubling the space for students to gather and pray at a place called The Grotto, writes Kate Quiñones of the Catholic News Agency, September 3, 2024.
The Grotto, an off-campus home and chapel owned and operated by Saint Anthony's, is often overflowing with students who visit for Mass, prayer, speakers, and community events. Twelve years after its founding, heads of the ministry have decided it’s time to expand.
“It is so long overdue,” said Ben Hufford, director of campus ministry for Saint Anthony’s. “The Grotto as a ministry functions very well with the weekly events and open hours that we currently have, but we just don’t have the space for everyone who wants to come to those events.”
“I hear regularly from students that they’d like to be able to come to Mass, Convivium, or adoration, but they just feel that there won’t be enough space for them to sit, or even to stand,” Hufford noted.
Hillsdale College has a vibrant Catholic community of students, and Saint Anthony’s, a neighboring parish to the college, has welcomed about 15-20 college students into full communion with the Catholic Church every Easter in recent years.
Hillsdale is a non-sectarian Christian liberal arts college featuring many active faith groups on campus including “Catholic Society.” This year, it was ranked as the #1 most religious college student body by the Princeton Review.
“Faith is a serious concern at the college,” Larry Arnn, president of Hillsdale College, told CNA. “Our Catholic students are a blessing to us, and Protestant students are a blessing to us, and their cooperation makes a larger blessing.”
“Because the College stands for civil and religious freedom alongside the Christian faith, this cooperation places us in a position to make that point more strongly,” he continued. “I have always seen that as a major advantage. I see it more now than ever.”
The Grotto is traditionally staffed by a husband and wife alumni duo, who welcome students into the first floor of their home during open hours and events throughout the day. They work with Saint Anthony’s to host frequent daily Mass and confession at The Grotto, and coordinate with the student leadership of the “Catholic Society” — Hillsdale College’s Catholic student group — to host dinners, small groups, and talks.
“For many years, The Grotto has been a place for students to gather and grow in faith,” Arnn noted. “Its growth will be a blessing to our campus.”
Father David Reamsnyder, pastor of Saint Anthony’s, which supports and coordinates the ministry, says he is grateful for the “problem” of too many students and too little space.
“It is a blessing to witness the flourishing of our campus ministry at a time when many young adults are losing their faith,” he said in an August 27 press release by Saint Anthony’s.
“Living in The Grotto is really special, it’s such a grace to us to have the Blessed Sacrament present downstairs in our house!” said Hufford, who currently lives in The Grotto with his wife, Shelby — both alumni of Hillsdale College. “It’s also great to get to see all the students who come through our door every day and to get to know the new faces at the beginning of the year.”
“College is the time when many students are making their faith ‘their own,’ and deepening their relationship with Christ and his church,” Hufford added. “Saint Anthony’s and The Grotto give students the sacramental opportunities and community that they need to grow in their faith.”
“The Grotto has become a home for Catholic students at Hillsdale, a place where they can grow spiritually and build lasting friendships with one another — and even more so with Our Eucharistic Lord, present in the tabernacle,” Reamsnyder noted. “However, we must expand to ensure that we can serve every student who wishes to attend our events and pray before the Lord.”
Saint Anthony’s parish is fundraising with a goal of $1.2 million for the project, with a “significant lead gift” that has already been pledged. Ministry leaders hope to build additional gathering spaces for events, including a larger chapel for Mass and adoration, more meeting areas for students, and an expanded kitchen. A donor is matching all gifts by the dollar up to $150,000 until December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.
Kelly Cole, a Saint Anthony’s parishioner and fundraising volunteer for The Grotto, says that a larger space is “the only answer.”
“Students are missing out on sacraments and formation opportunities because if they don't get there early enough, there won't be a place to sit or even stand,” Cole said. “We've had students standing outside of open windows to hear talks. Students are kneeling all throughout the first floor of The Grotto to attend Mass — two living rooms, kitchen, dining room, entry way.”
The only private space available for confession is the kitchen, which has access to the bathroom — so while confessions are underway, there’s no bathroom to use, Cole explained.
The new renovation is set to include 1,500 additional square feet of gathering space for lectures, events, and overflow seating for Mass, a small chapel to fit up to 75 comfortably, and private areas for confession, spiritual direction, and small groups. The new Grotto will also feature an expanded kitchen for preparing meals for more than 150 students, as well as a partial basement for game nights and social events and even a large foyer for coats, shoes, and backpacks.
The ministry house is essentially comparable to a Newman Center, “even though we're not associated with any national organization,” Cole noted.
Cole, who joined the Catholic Church in the early 2000s when she was a senior at Hillsdale, says that The Grotto has “always been crowded since its earliest days.”
“The building is simply an old, family home with a downstairs bedroom serving as a chapel,” she noted.
But the humble structure is a beloved part of Hillsdale’s Catholic community.
“The year I entered the Church, there were three of us college students and the parish was so excited to have three of us,” she said. “Now we've been having 15-20 regularly for several years.”
Cole also praised the culture at Hillsdale’s non-sectarian Christian campus.
“The way that Protestants and Catholics come together in all sorts of ways at the college — staff and students — is such a testament to the college's emphasis on freedom of religion while also upholding the importance of Christendom and our Judeo-Christian heritage,” she noted.
“Hillsdale is amazing for having so many devout Christians who do much to inspire one another whatever the denomination, but when you see other Catholics making an effort to get to daily Mass or pray the Rosary daily or talking about their spiritual growth through adoration, it does so much to encourage you in your own Catholic life,” Cole added.
More than 15 Hillsdale alumni have become fully professed religious, while almost a dozen are in formation for religious life.
“I received so much from St. Anthony’s. I received so much from Hillsdale College,” said Father Michael DiPietro, a Los Angeles archdiocese priest who graduated from Hillsdale in 2014.
“Hillsdale was where my vocation was discerned. Hillsdale was where that vocation was fostered in a lot of ways. Don’t underestimate the value of the college ministry or of the parish in helping to cultivate that.”
Hufford says that the project won’t change the character of The Grotto — just increase its accessibility.
“We aren’t really trying to dramatically change what The Grotto is, instead we’re just trying to have enough space for the students who want to attend the events that are already happening,” he explained.
• To read more about the Grotto expansion project visit here: https://stanthonyhillsdale.com/.../grotto/the-grotto-impact/
* Image above: Father David Reamsnyder receives Anna West and other students into the Church at St. Anthony Parish in Hillsdale, Michigan, on Easter. Credit: Rosemary Surdyke. Images below: Architectural drawings of the expanded Catholic chaplaincy at Saint Anthony parish serving Hillsdale College, Michigan.
