Mercy Mission Officers Gather at Mercy by the Sea

The Conference for Mercy Higher Education (CMHE) was pleased to gather mission officers from nine of our colleges and universities for an annual meeting and retreat experience from October 12-14, 2025. A member of the Institute Justice Team also joined our group. Held at the Mercy by the Sea Retreat and Conference Center, the group whose theme “Rooted in Mercy, Guided by Hope” participated in conversations and reflections about the theological virtue of hope, wisdom from the Mercy tradition, and some practical ways of applying these concepts to their daily work. In addition, the group celebrated with the broader Catholic community, the Pilgrimage of Hope for Creation with time set aside to be present with the God of all creation in nature despite the Nor’easter.  

The experience was a rich time of sharing, building community, and being present with one another amid the gifts and challenges demanded by our colleges and universities in the contemporary moment. Best practices were shared, and the group left the experience resourced as well as spiritually nourished by the gathering.   

Left to right – front row: Sister Sheila Carney (Carlow University), Caitlin Cipolla-McCulloch (CMHE), Monica Saltarelli (Trociare College), Angie Howard-McParland (Justice Team).

Left to right – back row: Julia Cavallo (CMHE), Jeff Schaffer (Georgian Court University), Sister Beth Fischer (Univ. of Saint Joseph), Jenny DeVivo (Saint Xaiver University), Kathryn Cody Russell (Saint Joseph’s College of Maine), Greg Baker (Mercyhurst University), Charles Oduke (Univ. of Detroit Mercy).