Catholic Students’ Week

Members of the Night Fever street ministry pose for a photo during 2014 Catholic Students' Week (photo credit unknown).
Members of the Night Fever street ministry pose for a photo during 2014 Catholic Students’ Week (photo courtesy of Victoria Wan)

The first week of February each year is Catholic Students’ Week, a celebration of Catholicism on university campuses throughout Canada.

While the events that make up the Newman Catholic Students’ Society’s celebration of Catholic Students’ Week change each year, perennial favourites include:

  • Night Fever: Night Fever is an evening of Eucharistic adoration, music and prayer at a church near McGill, usually Notre Dame de la Salette Parish. A key part of the event is outreach to the greater Montreal community: a few volunteers stand outside of the church, inviting passersby to take a moment to step inside, light a candle in front of the altar, and spend a quiet moment in Christ’s presence. Priests are also available to hear confession.
  • Men’s and Women’s Nights: During Men’s and Women’s Night, members of the Newman community reflect on what it means to be male or female while hearing the stories of Catholic men and women living out a variety of vocations (married, single, and religious) in Montreal.
  • Movie Screenings: We’ve watched plenty of great Catholic movies, from Habemus Papam to The Rookie. And, of course, we never forget to bring the popcorn!
  • Panel Discussions: We often have Catholic priests and intellectuals come in to give us talks on everything from the Church’s teachings on gender and sexuality to the joy of the Gospel.
  • Public Worship: Public worship is one of the best ways to bear witness to Christ on campus. This usually takes the form of a rosary walk or prayer vigil, though one year we proclaimed one of the Gospels at Roddick Gates!