La Verna chapel offers respite from bustling FranU campus life

Students and faculty have quickly settled into the newly dedicated St. Francis Hall, a bustling center of education and faith at the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University campus.

Nestled within the building is La Verna Chapel, a cocoon of silence and comfort where students enter into a conversation with Jesus, who is featured on a large, mangificent San Damiano cross.

“We dedicated this chapel in the Franciscan tradition in naming it La Verna, where St. Francis of Assisi received the stigmata, the wounds from the nails and the lance that Christ suffered during his crucifixion. He was one with God. May all who come to the chapel know the love that God has for them and how special they are in his eyes,” said Sister Ann Catherine Nguyen FMOL, regional minister for the Congregation of the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady. The sisters presented a monetary gift to FranU toward the construction of the chapel in 2022.

FranU students confirm they experience God’s love when visiting the chapel.


Kiara Perez reads Scripture at  La Verna Chapel. Photos by Debbie Shelley | The Catholic Commentator

Kiara Perez, who attends Mass at St. Pius X Church in Baton Rouge, is a junior nursing major and would like to serve in the ICU setting, particularly helping newborns and infants.

She and her twin brother were born two months early and her parents were not given hope that they would survive.

“But we did, we’re alive (and doing well),” said Perez.

These experiences inspired Perez to study for a career in nursing at FranU.

“I want to be there and give (babies) a second chance at life because they’re already in an intensive care unit and so they’re so innocent,” Perez said.

Emma Pourciau from Breaux Bridge is a sophomore who is studying for a bachelor’s degree in biology with a focus on biomedical analysis. She plans to pursue a career in medical research and focus on women’s health and infertility issues.

Pourciau’s interest in the medical field stems from her work with Red Bird Ministries, which serves parents who suffered the loss of a child, from pregnancy through adulthood.

“Serving the women who have miscarried or are struggling with infertility are the women who are most difficult for me to serve because they are not only grieving the loss of their child, but they are also grieving the loss of the function of the female body,” said Pourciau. “As women, the Lord made us in a particular way to create life and for a woman not to be able to do that is disheartening.

“I would like to dedicate my life to giving these women answers to their infertility.”


Emma Pourciau spends a moment in prayer at the FranU chapel.

The demands of the rigorous courses and bustling campus life can be overwhelming. The chapel offers respite from this.

“The chapel is part of this balancing school and life,” Perez said.

“I didn’t have a great relationship with God himself, nor did I have a relationship with myself,” Perez said. “I lost not just myself, but my faith – it went away.

“Then after hearing that the campus was going to have a chapel, I wanted to get closer to God so I can have better guidance on what I want to do in life.”

Perez started attending Mass, praying of the rosary, and a Bible study on the Book of Revelations.

“You get a sense of peacefulness and just a great energy coming from (Jesus) looking at him or just walking past the chapel,” said Perez … “No matter what floor you are on you’ll look right across the hall and say, ‘He’s here with me right now.’ ”

A good way to evangelize is to invite others into the chapel or be present there as they walk by, Perez pointed out.  

Pourciau noted the chapel and campus ministry activities are among the gifts FranU offers for human and intellectual formation, as well as the development of the whole person.

“Majoring in biology, it’s quite easy for me to merge my faith and science because I have been taught that the Lord creates all and everything points back to him,” Pourciau said.

“Having the opportunity to sit with him in the chapel in the morning gives me the opportunity to be with him physically, mentally and spiritually and orient myself toward him.”

The beautiful San Damanio cross is a reminder that Jesus is present not only in La Verna Chapel, but the entire FranU campus.

Pourciau noted there’s a mixture of students and faculty in the chapel.

“I think it’s very important because we have the example of those who are leading us intellectually and spiritually. That is very influential in our faith as well,” said Pourciau.

Spending time in the chapel, where adoration is also held, and participating in campus ministry activities helps Lauryn Gibson reflect on “the true why” of the degree she is pursuing.

“Having this calm, quiet, peaceful environment continues to be great reminder for me that when life gets out of hand, we can always turn to God for comfort,” said Gibson, a junior who is pursuing a Bachelor of Science Degree in Medical Laboratory Sciences.

Gibson added, “My time spent in the chapel, participating in different campus ministry activities like book and Bible studies, as well as in theology classes constantly challenges me spiritually and helps form me as a person and pushes me to reach a higher level of holiness. I think the opportunity for students to engage and experience this personal/spiritual development is enhanced since the new chapel has been built. “

Joshua Thiel, who is pursuing a double major in pre-med and theology, said knowing Christ’s presence in the chapel helps him “be still amidst the chaos and fast pace of college, work and everything in between.”

“I have recently been praying with Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42, and the chapel is the perfect place of rest where I can just be with Jesus instead of doing other things so that I can be rooted in Mary's disposition with Jesus. ‘Be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10),’” Thiel said.