Living the Mission

Laudato Si’: A Fordham Green Plan

Pope Francis issued a new imperative to our world to act courageously in addressing climate change. This bold and visionary approach asks all Catholic institutions to holistically transform over the next seven years to stave off catastrophic global warming.

Learn More View Our Action Platform

Change yourself. Then tackle the world.

Who we are determines what we do. We seek knowledge and engage with society. We strive to find God in all things. We are committed to the spirit of inquiry and curiosity even when—especially when—we don’t know where the answers will take us.

A Jesuit education means living a life beyond self, helping to feed the hungry, clothe the poor, heal the sick. Service is a critical part of who we are - so much so that it’s built into our curricula.

Nurturing the Jesuit, Catholic approach to education is the work of our division. We help everyone at Fordham grow spiritually through reflection, dialogue, and service. 

At Fordham, service forges the person you become. We hear it all the time from our alumni and current students: Fordham gives them the tools to not only make a positive change in themselves, but also a positive change in the world.

 

Looking for information on Urban Plunge? Head to the Center for Community Engaged Learning's webpage to learn more!

Urban Plunge Students - LG

What Does Living the Mission Mean to You?

Fordham students talk about what Living the Mission means to them.

Living the Mission News Articles

On and Off Campus, Building Community and Finding Opportunities for Reflection

On and Off Campus, Building Community and Finding Opportunities for Reflection

By hosting events with partner organizations and adding opportunities to reflect and connect, the Office of Mission Integration and Ministry is working to help students, faculty, and staff find community on and off campus. The office’s expanding programs draw people who come from many faith backgrounds as well as those who come to their values [...]

Liberation Theology and the Future of Religion

Liberation Theology and the Future of Religion

It’s a commonly held perception that the popularity of religion has been declining in recent years, and with it, the impact on liberation theology—a Christian movement favored in the 1960s and ’70s that emphasizes concern for the poor and oppressed. But Raúl E. Zegarra, Ph.D., says that’s all wrong. “We’re not seeing the decline of [...]

A Question of Unity in Orthodoxy Amidst the Ukraine Crisis

A Question of Unity in Orthodoxy Amidst the Ukraine Crisis

Last year’s Russian invasion of Ukraine dramatically expanded long-festering divisions in the Orthodox Christian Church. In a lecture at the Lincoln Center campus on Monday, Oct. 30, Nadieszda Kizenko, Ph.D., will examine this problem from a historical perspective and consider how Orthodox Christianity can move forward. “What Russia’s attack on Ukraine did was expose the [...]

Whose Earth Is It, Anyway?

Whose Earth Is It, Anyway?

When people of faith dismiss the beliefs of others, they risk embracing behaviors that wreck the natural world. “Just as now we are erasing over 200 species a day, [the work of missionaries], when wedded to religious supremacy, has worked deliberately and actively to erase religious and linguistic diversity,” said John J. Thatamanil, MDiv., Ph.D., [...]

Eleven Fordham Students Head to Rome for Pope’s Synod on Synodality

Eleven Fordham Students Head to Rome for Pope’s Synod on Synodality

Ten Fordham undergraduates and one graduate student arrived in Rome on Saturday to observe Pope Francis’ historic Synod on Synodality and participate in related events. The gathering was convened by the pope so that representatives from all areas of the church, from cardinals to lay people, could focus on synodality–the process of working together on [...]

President Tetlow Honored by Nonprofit That Supports Aging Religious

President Tetlow Honored by Nonprofit That Supports Aging Religious

Fordham’s president, Tania Tetlow, was recognized for her dedication to education and leadership at a Sept. 13 awards dinner held by Support Our Aging Religious (SOAR!), a Catholic nonprofit that has served aging sisters, brothers, and priests for nearly four decades.  At the 37th annual New York awards dinner, held at the New York Athletic [...]

Kayaking and Reflection on the Hudson River

Kayaking and Reflection on the Hudson River

On Sept. 2, 113 undergraduate Fordham students took to the water for some recreation and reflection. For 30 minutes, students paddled around in one- and two-person kayaks in a protected section of the Hudson River next to the Manhattan Community Boathouse. The visit to the boathouse was sponsored by Fordham’s Pedro Arrupe Volunteers and the [...]

The Feast of St. Ignatius and the Lessons of Discernment—Or How to Make a Difficult Decision

The Feast of St. Ignatius and the Lessons of Discernment—Or How to Make a Difficult Decision

Dear Fordham Community, Today is the Feast of St. Ignatius, when we celebrate our founder, the intellectual and moral genius who left us an extraordinary legacy. But rather than brag about Ignatius himself, we serve his legacy better by remembering his teachings. Every day at Fordham, we struggle with difficult decisions – the agonizing kinds [...]

Pope Francis, Martin Scorsese Address Conference in Rome Co-Sponsored by Fordham

Pope Francis, Martin Scorsese Address Conference in Rome Co-Sponsored by Fordham

A three-day international conference in Rome at the end of May brought together 60 writers, poets, and artists, including filmmaker Martin Scorsese, to discuss the spiritual and religious dimensions that form the Catholic literary imagination. The Global Aesthetics of the Catholic Imagination, which took place May 25-27, featured a private audience with Pope Francis, who [...]

Students Immerse Themselves in ‘Religion in NYC’

Students Immerse Themselves in ‘Religion in NYC’

From joining an LGBTQ Ramadan celebration to helping migrants at St. Paul and St. Andrew United Methodist Church, Fordham students in the Religion in NYC course got a hands-on education in the work of New York’s faith communities. Karina Hogan, Ph.D., associate professor of theology, said her goal for the course was to help students [...]

Migration Justice Advocates Come Together at Fordham Summit

Migration Justice Advocates Come Together at Fordham Summit

More than 50 community leaders and scholars from the New York City area came together on June 1 and 2 for a summit geared toward creating a more just sustainable and dignified immigration system. “Partnering for Migration Justice: Building Sustainable Collaborations between Migrant Communities and Higher Education,” featured a welcoming address by Jacquelyn Pavilon, associate [...]