SFU student selected for World Youth Day

Saint Francis University student Matthew Fraley of Frederick, Md, will be traveling to Poland in July as part of the College Knights Pilgrimage to Krakow and World Youth Day.

World Youth Day is an international event started by Saint John Paul II in 1985, celebrated annually at the diocesan level and every two to three years in a major city with millions of youth and young adults who come to be with the Holy Father and to celebrate the Catholic faith.

World Youth Day 2016 will be held July 26-31 in Krakow, Poland. For its theme, Pope Francis has chosen a line from the Beatitudes, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy” (Mt 5:7).

Fraley, a double major in digital media and marketing, applied for this incredible opportunity through the Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus which accepted approximately 40 college Knights to take part in World Youth Day in Krakow. Because of this limited number, the Supreme Council accepts only one applicant from a single college.

University President Fr. Malachi Van Tassell, T.O.R., Ph.D, is honored that Matthew will be representing Saint Francis University Knights of Columbus Council 8222 on the Supreme Council trip.

The Council group will depart around July 19 to visit several pilgrimage sites in Poland before joining Pope Francis and Catholics from around the world for World Youth Day. Matthew has promised to share lots of photos upon his return.