Pope blesses Thomas Aquinas College's chapel cornerstone
The cornerstone of Thomas Aquinas College's newest building, Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel, will be installed in the chapel Oct. 27 at the Santa Paula campus, having been recently blessed by Pope Benedict XVI.

The Holy Father performed the blessing in September on the 765-pound limestone cornerstone just after his Wednesday audience at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Attending were Maria Grant, chair of the college's board of governors; her husband Richard Grant, executive director of the Dan Murphy Foundation; Dr. Thomas Dillon, president of the college, and members of the board of governors and their spouses.

"To have had Pope John Paul II's blessing on this chapel project as it began, and now our present Holy Father's blessing as it nears completion, is a special grace," said Dillon.

Marble renderings of the coats of arms of both pontiffs will be inlaid in the multi-colored marble of the main aisle of the chapel, one at each end. The unique building is traditional in design, but modern in materials and techniques, said Dillon.

Construction of the $23 million, 15,000-square-foot chapel is currently in progress. Thomas Aquinas College has raised about $16 million from more than 2,300 donors to date, including a lead gift of $10 million from the Dan Murphy Foundation.

Bishop Diego students honored
Seniors Jennifer Ortiz and Sally Stevenson of Bishop Garcia Diego High School, Santa Barbara, were named Commended Students in the 2009 National Merit Scholarship Program. Commended Students placed among the top five percent of more than one million students who entered the 2009 competition by taking the 2007 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

On average, Bishop Diego students achieved a score of 1748 on the SAT, compared to the state average of 1512 and the national average of 1511. Every member of the school's class of 2008 was accepted to college/university studies, said Father Tom Elewaut, principal.

SVDP Summer Camp 'mystery' turns into a positive experience
As children waited for buses to arrive in Los Angeles on Monday to transport them to the St. Vincent de Paul Council's final summer camp session this year at Circle V Ranch Camp near Santa Barbara, Leslie, 11, wasn't sure if she really wanted to get on the bus. She had never attended camp and the unknown brought tears to her eyes.

Amelia Meneses of the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services, Latino Families Preservation Program, had worked with Leslie's family and suggested that attending camp would be a wonderful experience. However, minutes before the buses arrived, Leslie wasn't buying this, as Meneses tried to reinforce a nervous little girl how much fun she would have.

"I told her about past experiences with other children who had attended camp and also my own experience with summer camp," said Meneses, who has helped send children to Circle V Ranch for the past 12 years. "It's hard the first couple days because she is away from home and misses her parents. However, she would meet new friends and forget about her first few days and have a great time."

Fast forward to Friday. As Leslie got off the bus, she had a smile on her face.

"It was really fun. I met new friends and got to swim in the pool. I want to go back," she said. "I learned how to share and how to respect other people."

Upon hearing this, Meneses gave Leslie a double high-five and said, "That's awesome. I'm happy she had a great time. I knew she would be fine."

Close to 1,000 children, ages 7-13, enjoyed nature study, sports, aquatics, arts & crafts, field trips and much more this summer. They benefited from adult mentoring, peer interaction, individual creativity through art, dance and drama, and handling daily responsibilities.

Altogether, 98 percent of the children attended camp via "camperships" due in large part to the generosity of foundations, the media, individual donors, St. Vincent de Paul Vincentians and patrons of the Society's thrift store in Lincoln Heights --- with little or no cost to the families. For information, call (323) 224-6213.