Food and fellowship
by Jennifer R. Lloyd (M.B.A. ’16)
Editor’s Note: Portions of this article previously appeared in the Summer 2025 issue of ALIVE magazine, published by the Marianist Province of the United States.
A bowl of spaghetti or a plate of tacos can bring you closer to your faith when paired with the right dinner companions.
The Marianists living at the Casa María community on the St. Mary’s University campus are a welcoming example of how brothers living at Marianist universities from Texas to Ohio to Hawaii embrace a tradition of welcoming college students into their midst for food and fellowship.
What keeps youthful scholars coming back to Casa María to dine time after time is the fun and friendship they find with the Marianists and with one another.
Brother Fred A. R. Stovall, S.M., said Casa Tuesdays began during the 1997-1998 academic year. Stovall had experienced a similar dinner at a Marianist community in St. Louis that was for families, rather than students. As director of the community at that time, he wanted to share “the open, warm, Marianist spirit” with St. Mary’s students.
Flash forward to a Tuesday evening during the Spring 2025 semester, Brother Michael O’Grady, S.M., whipped around the kitchen in Casa María — boiling spaghetti noodles and heating meatballs in the oven to be paired with salad and cookies — as the excited greetings of a dozen students wafted through the house.
Since there’s no set number of dinner guests, O’Grady said his typical Tuesday night conundrum is whether he’s made enough of the main dish — from chili cheese dogs to sloppy Joes.
“I pray to the Lord of the loaves and fishes,” said O’Grady, who has been cooking for Casa Tuesdays for about two years. “He made it work for whatever size crowd he had. So, I say, ‘Take care of us. We don’t want any of these young people going away hungry.’”
A sudden quietness descended as the students and Marianists headed into the chapel for pre-dinner prayer and song. Most students sat on the floor of the chapel reading from the Gospel of John as golden light streamed across them from the stained-glass windows. After everyone shared those for whom they offered prayers, they concluded by reciting the Marianist Doxology.
Then it was time to dig in. Toward the end of a long dining table sat Brother Michael Sullivan, S.M., D.M.A., by day a Lecturer of Music at St. Mary’s, and by Tuesday night, the focus of a royal ribbing by students, which he parried with jokes in return.
Sullivan said that, in addition to the dinners being part of their friendly mission, the logic behind them lay in how the current brothers were inspired to join the Marianists. What started as exposure to Marianism through camaraderie on the baseball field and basketball court transitioned into the dining room as the brothers aged.
Anna Steck, originally from St. Louis, was frequently spotted attending Casa Tuesdays before graduating from St. Mary’s in May 2025 with a degree in International and Global Studies. She started coming after getting a personal invite during her first year in college.
Steck found comfort, ease and spiritual support with the brothers.
“It’s like walking into my own house,” Steck said. “I don’t have to knock. Just walk in, sit down and hang out.”
Sullivan said the brothers look forward to greeting the students each week.
“It energizes us,” Sullivan said. “We, even among ourselves, talk about how lucky we are, what nice students we have here on this campus. They’re polite. They’re kind. They take care of each other. We are really fortunate.”
