A community of good friends gathered in God’s grace

Find a place to call a second home while studying in Fredericksburg. We look forward to meeting you soon.

Welcome Home

The St. John Bosco Center serves as a “headquarters” for the Catholic Campus Ministry at UMW. It has a large multipurpose room for Sunday Mass and social events, a Daily Mass chapel, a student lounge for both socializing and formation (Bible Study, RCIA), a full size kitchen, a conference room for meetings, and staff offices.

You can spend time between classes to pray in the chapel, catch up with friends, study for class, and have a conversation about the Catholic faith with friends and fellow students.

*The St. Dominic Savio House (located next door to the St. John Bosco Center) is also used for RCIA, Bible Studies and other events!

“The authentic friendships I have gained through CCM are something I never thought I could have and I’m so grateful for them”

Katrina Smith ‘23

“I rediscovered the Catholic faith because of the wonderful people in this ministry and for that I will be eternally grateful.”

Claire Jackson ‘23

“The CCM gives me the opportunity to be around like-minded people who support me and my faith.”

Katya Stafira ’23

A Letter From Our Chaplain

Welcome to the Catholic Campus Ministry at the University of Mary Washington and Germanna Community College! We’re happy you’re here as a part of the University and invite you to join us at one of our many wonderful events. When you do, you’ll find that we’re a community of good friends gathered in God’s grace; one that welcomes all who enter our doors. At the same time, we hope that all who join us will encounter God in our midst and be challenged to grow in a life of faith and virtue.

As Catholics, we’ve received a great number of gifts, given from God through the ministry of those around us. For instance, we have over 2000 years of tradition and wisdom handed down to us, a great history of blending faith and science, an even greater history of serving the poor, the Scriptures, the Sacraments, beautiful liturgical worship, and so much more.

As we proudly live our Catholic faith, we want to help each other to experience those same gifts of love and mercy that God has poured out for us in Jesus Christ. Our goal is to recognize the purpose for which we’re each created and called, and to learn to serve God and neighbor as we live out that calling.

We do so by encouraging our students to: 1) grow in the love of God by a deeper prayer life rooted in a habit of regular confession, the Mass and eucharistic adoration; 2) forge friendships in Christ which last a lifetime through fun events and outings; 3) come to a deeper understanding of ourselves, our faith, and our world in the light of revealed truth, 4) recognize Christ in our neighbor, fostering a desire to love and serve those around us, the poor, and those in need; and 5) share and pass on the good news we’ve received in Jesus.

We hope you will find our Catholic community a place to call a “second home” while studying in Fredericksburg, and we look forward to meeting you soon.

In the risen Lord,
Fr. Rich Miserendino

Our Staff

Father Rich Miserendino

Chaplain & Director

A native of Burke, Virginia, Father Rich Miserendino discovered a deeper love of God and the faith during his undergraduate studies at the University of Rochester and the Eastman School of Music. There, by the grace of God, many good friends and professors helped him grow and ultimately discern his vocation to the Priesthood. After completing degrees in Physics, Mathematics, and Music Performance, he returned to Northern Virginia to work as a defense contractor (SAIC) by day, and by night as a professional musician. He entered the Seminary in 2009, first at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary and then the Pontifical North American College. He holds degrees from both the Pontifical Gregorian University and the Pontifical University Saint Thomas Aquinas in the City (Angelicum) in Rome. He has served at both Saint Agnes and Saint Bernadette Catholic Churches, and is delighted to be at UMW Catholic Campus Ministry presently. He enjoys music, science, reading, running, being outside, trains, and science fiction. His favorite Saints include Saints Michael, Thomas Aquinas, Edmund Campion, Katherine Drexel and Theresa of Avila.

Contact Father at frrich@umwccm.org

Matt Lewis

Associate Campus Minister

Matt is a native of Lakeville, Massachusetts and attended college at Suffolk University in Boston where he studied Politics, Philosophy, and Economics, with a minor in Religious Studies. It was during this time where he first encountered Jesus Christ. Matt entered the Church at the Easter Vigil in April 2019 and became heavily involved at Boston University’s Catholic Center where he was formed by the FOCUS missionaries on campus and eventually got involved as a student leader. After college, Matt taught 7th through 9th grade theology as a St. Thomas More Teaching Fellow in the Archdiocese of Boston. While teaching was a blessing, he felt called to evangelize in the same place that he found his faith. Matt has family in the Charlottesville area and had long3

desired to relocate to Virginia from Massachusetts. Matt enjoys reading, hiking, country music, and is an avid fan of Boston sports. His favorite saints include St. Thomas More, St. John Henry Newman, St. Anthony of Lisbon, and St. Thomas Aquinas.

Contact Matt at matt@umwccm.org

Jane Baker

Associate Campus Minister

Jane grew up in Alexandria, VA where she attended Catholic school and first learned more about her faith. But it wasn’t until her time in college at George Mason University that her faith really deepened and flourished. She was involved in the campus ministry all four years and loved every minute of it. As a student she led a Bible study, helped run the women’s ministry, and helped out with photography and social media. After graduation, she served as a FOCUS missionary at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the United States Coast Guard Academy. She married her CCM sweetheart just before moving back to Virginia to work at the campus ministry at Mary Washington. Jane is a fan of the Washington Capitals, loves JPII’s Theology of the Body, and can make a mean charcuterie board. Her favorite saints include St. Joan of Arc, St. Mary Magdalene, and St. John Paul II.

Contact Jane at jane@umwccm.org.

Ashleigh Messer

Music Director/Campus Minister

Born and raised in New Jersey, Ashleigh now resides in Stafford, Virginia with her husband, two teenage boys, and their pup Polly. At Elizabethtown College she studied elementary education and music. Ashleigh’s devotion to Catholicism is deeply rooted in her upbringing as she attended Pope John XXIII High School in Sparta, NJ. She has cherished memories of accompanying the high school football masses and of her role as Principal Organist at Immaculate Conception Church, which she held through her early twenties.

After graduating college, Ashleigh served as the Music Director at Saint John Vianney in Stockholm, NJ. Her passion for religious service grew during her volunteer work with AmeriCorps, teaching kindergarten at Blessed Sacrament in Paterson NJ and studying Catholic Education at Seton Hall University. Over the past two decades, Ashleigh served as the Director of Music Ministry at Saint William of York Catholic Church in Stafford, VA where she led the in-house choir for whom she facilitated pilgrimages to New York City, Baltimore, MD and St Augustine, FL.

She has served her Catholic community locally by visiting with parishioners in their homes, at the hospital and nursing homes. Ashleigh enjoys visiting churches around the country and abroad, collecting prayer cards to reflect on those travels and inspiring conversations along the way. She loves to cook, the New York Yankees, and karaoke.

Contact Ashleigh at ashleigh@umwccm.org

Christie Daniels

Bookkeeper

Christie was born in Alexandria, VA and is from a military family. Raised primarily in Virginia Beach, she obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration in accounting from Old Dominion University. She worked as a bookkeeper for a high school in Virginia Beach for several years, then as an auditor for a large public accounting firm. Later, Christie worked as a comptroller for a corporation in Tampa, FL. She currently lives in downtown Fredericksburg with her husband and daughter, enjoying the local restaurants and events. Christie is a great cook and spends many hours volunteering for her church. She greatly enjoys working at the St. John Bosco Center and supporting the students attending the University of Mary Washington.

Contact Christie at Bookkeeper@umwccm.org.