52 seniors chose to
spend a post-graduate
year in volunteer service
director of programming and external outreach
office for mission effectiveness
Faculty published 22 books
and edited 27
“Community Bibliography”
established to identify
all works published by
Villanova faculty and staff
The Rev. Joseph L. Farrell, O.S.A., is passionate about communicating what makes
Villanova University unique as a Catholic and Augustinian institution. He wants
Villanova students, faculty, staff and alumni to understand what it means to have
an education with Augustinian influences.
Augustinian Spirituality is about relationship. Augustine valued the connection
between knowing God and knowing his very self. This God-centered relationship
was the foundation for his daily interactions.
“It’s important for all of us to know why Villanova exists and to understand its
purpose,” he said.
The Augustinian ideal is a community of friends and scholars learning, living and
working together, and involves lively discussions that extend well beyond the
classroom. Education in the Augustinian, Catholic tradition is characterized by a
search for wisdom through knowledge and understanding that is integrated with
personal experience and commitment to the common good. It establishes an
educational foundation for personal, communal and spiritual life, as well as a
basis for professional and work life.
Last spring, Father Farrell led a pilgrimage for Villanova faculty and staff on
a one week Pellegrinaggio Agostiniano in Italia, where they lived as a community and
traced the footsteps of St. Augustine. The group learned about Milan and Rome
in the time of the 4th and 5th centuries and also about the 13th century Tuscan
foundations of the Order of St. Augustine.
“Whether listening to a lecture, attending a cultural event, participating in a
service project or University-sponsored trip, I feel Villanovans can come to a
greater understanding of St. Augustine and his relevance to contemporary life,”
he said.
Father Farrell teaches a section of the Augustine and Culture Seminar, which is
required of all first-year students and encourages them to attend three cultural
events per semester. He believes it is an important way for students to broaden
their horizons, become more engaged in University life, and extend learning and
discussion to all aspects of their experience at Villanova.
“St. Augustine was always searching for something more, and pushing himself
to learn more,” Father Farrell said. “Likewise, we want our students to constantly
question and explore.”
He added, “We have a proud tradition of educating students in a way in which
they consciously make the effort to develop the connection between their minds
and their hearts. It is part of our mission as an Augustinian university.”
