Campus Ministry

By MaryJane Plote, Graduate Assistant - Liturgy

Growing up, the altar for the dead at our parish was a typical sight every fall, as a way to celebrate the lives of our loved ones gone before us. There would be pictures of familiar and unfamiliar faces. As a child, I remember noticing the picture of a friend that had died earlier in the year on the altar, a symbol of the next step for him and for us. In the weeks leading up to the altar going up, my family and I would sit around the kitchen table looking at the pictures we were going to take to church, telling stories about those faces, laughing and missing them all at once. Families would bring some of the favorite foods of their loved ones to place on the altar, and the sweet incense blended with the smell of enchiladas and barbeque to fill the air.

Here at UD we’ll celebrate Día de los Muertos with altars in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, the residence hall chapels, and the Adele Center. We hope the UD community can gather pictures of our loved ones, to remember, celebrate,and pray for them. On our altars we have flowers and candles, which help to guide the spirits back to us. In place of prepared foods, we encourage the UD community to bring canned goods to offer for our loved ones, which will be donated. We invite you to join us by submitting photos at the link online (https://tinyurl.com/UDCMDiadelosMuertos), or by dropping them off in Liberty Hall.