The John Paul II Fellowship Program, sponsored by the Center for Family Life, promotes flourishing families and restore healthy relationships, by forming students to understand, live together and spread the legacy of St. John Paul II, believing that “the future of civilization passes by way of the family.”
Program Description
The John Paul II Fellowship Program combines intellectual and personal formation with practical outreach to promote family flourishing. Fellows receive instruction to form a true understanding of personhood, marriage, and family life according to the Catholic tradition and the teachings and the charism of Saint John Paul II. Fellows are promoted in their singular vocation to love and as a group they serve to promote the culture of the family by serving flourishing families and accompanying the wounded ones, forming in young people awareness of personal dignity and vocation of a gift of self, thus becoming ambassadors for the civilization of love.
Objectives
- To promote intellectual, personal and spiritual growth of the fellows by studying, experiential service learning and virtuous friendship, thus forming virtuous leaders who understand the call to love according to divine plan
- To know the thought of St. John Paul II and its origins and thus contribute to spread the culture of marriage and family
- To promote flourishing of the families by serving at the Center for Family Life events
- To promote awareness of human dignity and call to love in endangered youth of the local community
- To accompany wounded families, restore healthy relationships, and serve as ambassadors for the fundamental building block of society.
Benefits
- Poland Pilgrimage: Fellows make a week-long pilgrimage to Poland over Spring Break in their junior year to learn more about the forces that shaped John Paul II and his lasting influence on Polish culture. A one-time $2,000 award is available for use on the Poland trip.
- Virtuous Friendship among the Fellows accompanied by growing knowledge of marriage and family
Highlights
- Mentoring: Fellows help children and families out of vicious cycles of poverty and brokenness through intensive mentorship of at-risk school children and their families using the Success Sequence and the Human Dignity Curriculum.
- Virtuous role modelling: Fellows collaborate with couples and families who will serve them as role models for their future families or ministry
- Fellowship: Fellows meet regularly with the director of the Center and their fellow cohorts to discuss mentorship strategies and to take a deep dive into JPII’s life and work.
- Distinguished Speaker Series: Once a semester the Center hosts reflective practitioners and scholars who can speak to the issues facing families and practical solutions to those difficulties.
- Formation: Fellows receive practical and theoretical instruction to form a true understanding of personhood, marriage, and family life according to the Catholic tradition and the teachings and charism of Saint Pope John Paul II.
Classes
- Fellows take 3 credited course THEO 3230 John Paul II & Family as an introduction to the foundational works of John Paul II on marriage and family.
- Fellows attend weekly fellowship meetings which consist of formation and mentorship.
- Fellows will receive Certified Training Program for Human Dignity Curriculum.
Eligibility Requirements
The John Paul II Fellows invite the following groups of admitted students to apply:
- STANDARD: Students who demonstrate a minimum high school GPA of a 3.2 and minimum 27 ACT, 1260 SAT, or 87 CLT.
- TEST-OPTIONAL: Test-optional applicants who submit a high school transcript showing a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher.
- SLIDING SCALE: Students whose individual combination of GPA and test scores merits eligibility consideration based on a sliding scale.
- Students who do not meet the academic requirements may be considered for acceptance on the strength of their application essays.
Join the Fellows
Submit online application and required essays by December 15 for acceptance the following fall.
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