Spiritual Life

St. Mary’s University has a culturally diverse community, with a large portion of the student population that is Hispanic. University Ministry has established a ministry outreach for Hispanic students to assist them adjust to college life while at the same time learn more about one’s culture and faith.

Hispanic Ministry organizes different programs to experience diverse faith expressions, celebrate cultural heritage, foster service and encourage intellectual pursuits. Following the Marianist charism, this unique ministry outreach supports the spiritual development of young Hispanics that will enable them to become active leaders in their faith communities.

Spanish Mass

University Ministry sponsors Spanish Mass on the last Sunday of the month at 9 p.m. in Guadalupe Chapel. All are welcome to experience Hispanic liturgy and music presided by Spanish-speaking priests from around the Archdiocese of San Antonio and our Marianist communities near the university.

Latin Nights

Join us to celebrate our cultural diversity! Through Latin Nights twice a semester, we help promote Hispanic cultural diversity in a fun and interactive way with different musical genres, dance, Latin-styled refreshments and fellowship.

Whether you’ve reached a fork in the road, are facing a crisis or could simply use some guidance in your spiritual life, University Ministry’s pastoral team is here to help. Our team understands that your experience is unique to you, and we offer spiritual direction, support services and vocation discernment services to meet your needs.

Through meaningful conversation, you’ll be able to give voice to your curiosity, concerns and contemplation about your spiritual journey. Our team offers a safe, compassionate setting for you to share your experiences with people who are going through something similar. You can feel good knowing that someone is always available to help you in your time of need.

Our Pastoral Team

St. Mary’s has the largest ministry team in the state of Texas, with seven full-time professional campus ministers, four student ministerial assistants and a number of student peer ministers.

Chaplaincy Services

St. Mary’s University has numerous chaplains who support the pastoral concerns of the St. Mary’s campus community. These chaplains promote the pastoral, spiritual and liturgical life of the community in the content of the Roman Catholic and Marianist traditions.

Services provided by the members of the chaplaincy include assisting or presiding over campus liturgies, Marianist feast and community liturgies as well as major University events such as a Baccalaureate or alumni events. They may oversee services for weddings, work closely with other member of University Ministry for times of crisis, provide spiritual support for Confirmations and other faith celebrations and provide invocations for meetings and events as needed.

If you would like to request prayers for yourself, a loved one, or some situation that is in your heart, use the form below to send your request to Father Tim Eden. He will make sure that your request is offered to God with the prayers of the St. Mary’s community in a confidential manner.

We provide outreach to our students in University housing through Faith and Life Communities, programming, seasonal prayer services and special events. Our “ministry of presence” foments personal growth within a community setting, following the model of Blessed Father Chaminade, founder of The Marianists.

Residence Hall Ministry is a collaborative effort between University Ministry and the Residence Life staff. We share a common concern for the needs of our students in University housing.

University Ministry fosters personal growth in community following the example of Marianist communities throughout the world, with a tradition that encourages each person to invest in quiet time for prayer and meditation that will help us to keep the most important things in mind on a regular basis.

Our retreat ministry offers different experiences throughout the year: a busy-person personal retreat format, one-day reflections on campus, overnight and weekend retreats off campus. To nurture the interior life is one of the most challenging but also most rewarding practice during college years.