I’d like to congratulate our French Teacher, Dr. Rebecca Thompson, for recently publishing a long-lost WWII memoir that had never been printed in its original French. Passing Misery: The Journal of a Forced Laborer in the Third Reich was written by a young French student, Jean Louis Mary Pasquiers, when he was forcibly deported to Nazi Germany. He documented his experience in journals and scrapbooks, but his story remained hidden on a small self-publishing website… until Dr. Thompson found it. For Dr. Thompson, the project isn’t just about history; it’s about helping students and readers see the past through the eyes of those who lived it. For more information or to purchase Passing Misery, click here.
I’d also like to recognize the St. Joe’s students who participated in our Day of Faith, Service and Community on Monday with fellow Lasallians from Christian Brothers Academy Syracuse! Our Chaplain, Father Jim Croglio, began our time with Mass in the SJCI Chapel. Then, students led small group campus tours and engaged in conversations about student life and ministry opportunities. In true Buffalo fashion, they shared pizza and wings for lunch over continued discussion. The students ended the day serving together at St. Luke’s Mission of Mercy, where our team of 20 made over 600 sandwiches, moved boxes of food for direct giving and completed an outdoor spring cleanup.