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Helping the Poor; Growing in Faith
Loyola Grad Student Finds Fulfillment in Reaching Out to Others
By Jackie Antkowiak

MaryAnne Cappelleri, assistant director of service-faith and poverty concerns at the Center for Values and Service, Loyola College in Maryland, says growing in her Catholic faith has been a life-long journey.

Born into an Italian family (her father was an immigrant) in rural Warwick, New York, MaryAnne Cappelleri attended Catholic school for her first 12 years of education. After high school, she attended St. Anselm, a Benedictine, Catholic, liberal arts college in Manchester, New Hampshire.

"I've always had a strong faith and a tendency toward spiritual things," says Ms. Cappelleri.

In her sophomore year of college, she became involved in campus ministry and attended a retreat. After the retreat, Ms. Cappelleri knew something inside her had changed; she had become much more aware of the "awesome presence of God" within herself.

During the spring semester of her junior year, Ms. Cappelleri went on an urban immersion experience where she worked with low-income youth in a high school just miles from where she had grown up.

"The experience was transforming," she said.

Later, she joined an immersion experience to Costa Rica, all the while wondering where her life was going.

After completing a liberation theology course, Ms. Cappelleri began to really wonder where she was being called. She joined the Holy Cross Associates (much like the Jesuit Volunteer Corps) where she lived in community with five others. Their mission was service, and they worked with people who were poor and homeless. One of the house rules was that she could not go home for the holidays. When Christmas came, she was feeling quite sad and alone. She met a man from the streets who seemed depressed. When she asked him what was wrong, he told her he was sad because he couldn't be with his family for the holidays. Understanding completely what he was feeling, she explained that she was away from family as well. That chance meeting changed both of them.

"I was able to see the hurting Christ in him and he felt the loving Christ in me," she said.

Desiring to deepen her spirituality even more, Ms. Cappelleri became interested in the Spiritual and Pastoral Care graduate program at Loyola College in Maryland. "With a bachelor's degree in Psychology and a minor in Catholic Studies and feeling a call to service, it was a perfect fit," she said.

Shortly after enrolling in the program, Ms. Cappelleri began working at Loyola's Center for Values and Service.

"While working at the center, I went on a six-day silent retreat," she said. "At the end of the six days, I came away with an incredible understanding of my deep relationship with Jesus. I wanted to learn more."

In July of last year, Ms. Cappelleri joined the staff at the Jesuit Family Retreat Program in Blue Ridge Summit, Pa.

"I didn't know what to expect, but as I watched the families interact, I couldn't believe that I was part of this wonderful experience," she said. "The families took time to just be, calling the retreat center their Holy Mountain."

She found her counseling skills helpful and was able to share in the lives of the retreatants through spiritual direction.

"After the retreat experience, I knew I had found my niche," said Ms. Cappelleri. "I was transformed by sharing the life journey with others and surprised at how much I had grown in such a short period of time. I enjoyed working with families who are poor and marginalized, and I came away with a new confidence in myself and my gifts and skills."

As assistant director of service-faith and poverty concerns at the Center for Values and Service, Ms. Cappelleri acts as liaison for Beans and Bread Outreach Center in Baltimore, building relationships with the guests and students there. She keeps the various programs running when the students are away. She is also in charge of the U.N.I.T.E. Weekends, which immerse students in inner city Baltimore and help them understand urban poverty. In addition, she coordinates the Meet & Eat Program, which allows homeless and formerly homeless people to gather with others for a meal, entertainment, conversation and relationship building.

If that weren't enough, Ms. Cappelleri participates once a week with the "Care-a-Van." This program brings meals, drinks and fellowship to homeless people in Baltimore city. During the semester, the program serves people on the streets twice a week.

"I participate with a group from Loyola and ensure that the program continues when the students are gone during their breaks," she explained.

Ms. Cappelleri hopes to continue her service work at the Center for Values and Service. She says she loves what she does and enjoys watching the students she supervises grow in their lives and struggles as they engage in service work. She said she is aware that God is calling her to be more than she already is.

"Faith pushes me to do service as a way to bring Christ to others," said Ms. Cappelleri. "Everything I do is based on love. There is no other way to be except loving."