The night before the class of 2026 walked across the commencement stage, Newman graduates gathered for the Baccalaureate Mass in St. John’s Chapel.
The Mass, which was celebrated by Wichita Bishop Carl A. Kemme, serves as a faith-centered sendoff for graduating seniors. After the Mass ended, two graduates, Travia Smith and Anthony Cannavino, each reflected on what their years at Newman taught them.
In his homily, Bishop Kemme drew on the life of St. Newman — namesake of the university and recently declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIV — to offer the class of 2026 a word of hard-won encouragement. He turned to Newman’s prayer for peace and to the Gospel of John, where Jesus promised his disciples that grief would give way to joy. His message: the hard work of these years was worth it, and faith will carry graduates through whatever comes next.
Travia Smith’s reflection
Smith arrived at Newman in 2022 as a shy freshman and first-generation international student who planned to put her head down and get by. She left having learned the difference between surviving and truly living. In her reflection, she traced how community, connection and faith changed her perspective — and shared her own prayer for her classmates as they begin the next chapter.
Anthony Cannavino’s reflection
Cannavino came to Newman from a small town in California not knowing a single person on campus. In his reflection, he credits the people around him — parents, mentors, teammates and his faith in God — for shaping who he became. He described himself as “a quilt crafted of the cloth of those who committed their life to making this world a better place.”
Newman Campus Ministry
Campus Ministry exists to bring <br>Jesus Christ to Newman University’s community.
