In celebration the one year anniversary of her beatification in Rome last November 3 and her Feast Day on , the Office of Campus Ministry and the Charism Connection team recently sponsored school-wide Blessed Clelia Days of Prayer and Service. Blessed Clelia Merloni, the foundress of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Academy’s sponsoring congregation, is now just one step away from sainthood.
“The best way to celebrate Blessed Clelia’s life is to spend time reflecting and acting on what
she cared most about…prayer and forgiveness and serving our brothers and sisters in need,” said a member of the school’s Charism Connection team. The Days of Prayer and Service included prayer, reconciliation, Clelia’s Care Bags, and Rise Against Hunger meal packaging. Activities also included speakers on homelessness, privilege, and food insecurity including, as well as small and large group discussions.
“Blessed Clelia was a woman ahead of her time. She was independent, very much an individual, and had a vision of what God was calling her to do, ’said President Sr. Sheila O’Neill, ASCJ, Ph.D., ’71.She was kind and compassionate, loving and forgiving, and worked to serve those she met along life’s way who were in any kind of need. This to me, is what we strive to do here each day at the Academy…instill in our students the notion of God’s love for them from when they first enter the building, and in times of trial we remind them that He is there for them.”
Founded in 1946 by the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Sacred Heart Academy successfully prepares young women in grades 9 – 12 for learning, service, and achievement in a global society. Sacred Heart welcomes 500 students from more than 80 schools and 60 towns in Connecticut and is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. Visit sacredhearthamden.org to learn more.
