2020 turned out to be a year unlike any other the University has experienced. University Photographer Patrick Ryan was there to document it all. Below are some of his favorite photos from 2020.
A group of Catholic University students spent the evening of Jan. 16 gathered in prayer in the NoMa neighborhood of Washington, D.C., to remember a fallen friend. Ms. Bobbie, who passed away in December 2019, experienced homelessness for approximately nine years before her death. The students had met and befriended Ms. Bobbie while participating in the Office of Campus Ministry’s weekly homeless food runs.
Read the storyApproximately 600 members of The Catholic University of America community joined the March for Life on Jan. 24. Many of them gathered in Father O'Connell Hall’s Heritage Hall for a rally to start their day in prayer with University President John Garvey and Jeanne Garvey before they headed downtown.
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On Feb. 22, the student-run Black Student Alliance hosted the Black and White Tie Gala in Heritage Hall. The theme for the event was “Black Hollywood,” and it was alive with glamorous young men and women dressed to the nines to commemorate the success and history of black actors and actresses.
Read the storyAshes are distributed in the Columbus School of Law on Feb. 26, Ash Wednesday. Ashes were distributed at various spots on campus throughout the day to students, faculty, and staff. Ash Wednesday marks the first day of Lent.
Over spring break, 12 students spent a week in El Paso, Texas, and Las Cruces, New Mexico, as part of Theology of Mission, a course that explores the Catholic Church’s teaching on immigration, poverty, and vulnerable populations. On the first day of the trip, students met with Dylan Corbett, executive director of the Hope Border Institute, and visited the U.S. border with Mexico. A 20-foot fence separates the two countries.
Read the storyOn March 8, students in the Theology of Mission course spent the day in service at La Tilma Mexican Grill, a ministry of Sacred Heart Church in El Paso. Located in the parish center, the Grill offers reasonably priced meals, along with a flea market, for residents. The students assisted in preparing the food and serving meals.
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Spring is usually a bustling time on campus, with students studying and chatting with friends under blooming cherry blossoms. This year, however, the campus was quiet. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, students did not return to campus following spring break. Tables and chairs outside the Pryzbyla Center, which are normally full on nice days, were empty.
President John Garvey and Vice President for Student Affairs Judi Biggs Garbuio answered questions about the University's response to the COVID-19 crisis in a livestream presentation on April 3.
Although Commencement couldn't be held in-person this year, the University hosted a degree conferral ceremony online on May 16. Close to 4,000 tuned in from across the country, and the LiveStream event ended with a Zoom call showing the graduates from their homes, many celebrating in caps and gowns. Faculty, staff, family members, and friends of the graduates shared their personal congratulations in the comments of the LiveStream platform.
Read the storyTo protect all members of the University community, masks are required throughout campus. The University distributed masks to students, faculty, and staff to ensure the safety of all.
Over the summer, staff streamlined cleaning processes to ensure they could clean rooms between classes come the start of the fall semester. Classrooms also were reconfigured to ensure that there would be adequate distance between students.
Music student Britt Young practices her violin in McMahon Hall on the afternoon of July 6. Young said she liked to practice in McMahon Hall because of the acoustics.
Student Meghan Walsh gives a tour of the campus to a prospective student and her father on the afternoon of July 30. Campus tours were adjusted by Admission staff so that tours would feature small groups and allow for social distancing.
Learn more about campus visitsNormally, first-year students move into residence halls on the first day of a four-day Orientation. This year, move-in was spread over three days and was carefully orchestrated. However, there was still plenty of excitement as about 580 members of the class of 2024 moved into their campus homes.
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To limit the number of students on campus, only first-year students were invited to live in residence halls in the fall. On Aug. 24, these first-year students began their first day of classes. All courses were held online for the first two weeks of the semester so that students could quarantine in order to comply with D.C. regulations. The new class of approximately 642 students hailed from 39 states and eight countries.
Meet the Class of 2024Students, faculty, and staff spent a day helping those in the Brookland community during the University’s annual Mother Teresa Day of Service, which was held Sept. 19. Approximately 120 students participated in person clearing debris in local neighborhoods, cemeteries, and parks; working in a community garden; and sorting donations at Habitat for Humanity ReStores.
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The plight of migrants and refugees will be represented on the Catholic University's campus, thanks to a sculpture by Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz. The three and a half-ton bronze sculpture made its campus debut during a small in-person ceremony on Sept. 26. Angels Unawares depicts more than 140 refugees tightly packed onto a 20-foot skiff. After a North American tour, the sculpture will be permanently installed on campus.
Read the storyStudents participated in a Marian procession around the campus on Oct. 8 to mark the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. Due to crowd size restrictions, a limited number gathered in-person to participate, however, more than 200 watched the procession via livestream.
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Toward the end of October, the leaves began to fall on campus.
See what fall was like at CatholicUThe Village of Lights on Nov. 14 featured cake pops, Thanksgiving sandwiches, food trucks, a tie-dye face mask station, caricature artist, T-shirts, ice skating rink, hot chocolate, hot cider, and a petting zoo.
A team of faculty and administrators, including President John Garvey (seen here), spent a night out in the cold to raise awareness and funds through their participation in the Covenant House Sleep-Out: Executive Edition. The team raised more than $5,500 through the Nov. 19 event, which was held as an act of solidarity with the 4.2 million young people who experience homelessness each year.
A mechanical unit is hoisted by a crane to be installed on the roof of the Power Plant on Dec. 10. This unit is the last major piece of equipment delivered and installed related to the Energy Project to update heating and cooling systems on campus.
The sun sets behind the Mary, Seat of Wisdom statue on Dec. 10. This year, students returned to their homes for Thanksgiving and took the last week of classes and final exams remotely. Therefore, December was very quiet on Catholic University's campus.