STEUBENVILLE, OH—While many college students headed home or began summer jobs following the spring semester, 33 Franciscan University of Steubenville students began their summer by serving others through the University’s Missions of Peace program.

Thirteen students remained in Steubenville this summer to serve locally and in nearby Pittsburgh. They volunteered at St. Anthony House, Urban Thrift, the Friendship Room, a local food pantry, and the Red Door ministry. Their work supported underprivileged and lower-income residents of the Ohio Valley.

Twenty students traveled to Olón, Ecuador, for nearly three weeks of ministry at the Fundación Santa María del Fiat and the Santa María del Fiat School.

In Ecuador, the Franciscan missionaries, accompanied by advisors and Franciscan TOR friars, spent their mornings assisting with English lessons in local elementary and high school classrooms. In the afternoons, they spent time with children living at the foundation, helping with homework, sports, music, chores, and daily activities.

“It’s mainly a relational ministry,” said Christopher Clark, a junior psychology and theology double major who served as the mission’s co-lead. “What we’re there to do is just love them and show them the love of Christ.”

For Clark, who was returning to Ecuador for a second year, the impact of that relationship was apparent as soon as the team arrived. Children he had met the previous year ran to greet him by name. Even some newer children recognized him because the others had shown them photos and told them about the Franciscan missionaries.

The students prepare for that ministry throughout the academic year. Mission team members meet regularly for spiritual formation, team building, prayer, and preparation for the communities they will serve. Before leaving for Ecuador, students even prayed by name for children they had not yet met.

For sophomore theology major Molly Cooley, the Ecuador trip was her first mission experience—and one that will continue. Cooley, who said the three weeks in Ecuador were her “favorite three weeks of my life,” has been selected to help lead the Ecuador mission next summer.

“I think people should go on mission at Franciscan because it will change your life,” Cooley said. “It helps you look outside yourself.”

For students like Cooley and Clark, that service often proves just as transformative for the missionaries themselves.

“You go down there to serve other people, but you often receive much more than you give. I come back feeling more alive than I did when I left,” Clark said.

Franciscan University will further expand its summer mission opportunities in May 2027 with a third summer mission, recently approved for Alaska.

From May 10-21, students will serve in Anchorage, Valdez, and Wasilla. The mission will include parish ministry at St. Francis Xavier Parish in Valdez, manual labor at St. Therese Camp in Wasilla, and homeless ministry with Urban Hearts in Anchorage.

Through Missions of Peace, Franciscan University students serve communities throughout the United States and around the world, bringing the love of Christ to the poor and marginalized while being formed as missionary disciples themselves.

The summer missions were part of a larger year of service in which 215 Franciscan students participated in 13 mission trips around the globe.

“One of the things that make our summer missions so powerful is the sacrifice our students are willing to make. At a time when they could be starting jobs or heading home for the summer, they choose instead to give that time to Christ and to others,” said Eric Heckman, director of Franciscan’s Missionary Outreach Program. “Next summer, we’re excited to build on that witness by adding a third summer mission in Alaska and giving even more students the opportunity to put their faith into action through service.”

View images from the Ecuador mission trip here. To learn more about Franciscan University’s Missions of Peace, visit their program page here.