STEUBENVILLE, OHIO—More than 200 Franciscan University of Steubenville students, faculty, and staff dedicated their spring break to serving those most in need at home and abroad through 11 mission trips sponsored by the University’s Missionary Outreach Office.

After nine months of formation, preparation, and weekly team prayer, missionaries spent March 7-15 as Christ’s witnesses in Ecuador, Belize, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Los Angeles, New Mexico, Arizona, Detroit, the Bronx, Steubenville, and Baltimore.

Each mission responded to local needs through works of mercy, including ministry to the homeless, visits to hospitals and nursing homes, medical outreach to underserved communities, and retreats for schoolchildren. In every setting, missionaries served with Christ’s love and shared the truth of the Catholic faith.

For many students, the missions became a profound encounter with the Lord.

Olivia De Lucia, a sophomore marketing major, said she went reluctantly on the Detroit mission trip—but what she experienced there transformed her life.

While giving a talk on the Sacred Heart of Jesus to a group of students, De Lucia found herself unexpectedly overwhelmed by the presence of the Holy Spirit.

“I didn’t do it on my own—he fully took over, and it became a completely different talk,” she said. “I stopped reading from my journal and just felt the Holy Spirit come through me. It was one of the most profound and beautiful moments I’ve ever experienced.”

Serving alongside the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT), De Lucia and her team prayed the Liturgy of the Hours daily—an experience that deepened her understanding of prayer and her relationship with Christ.

“Before going on mission, I didn’t fully know what it meant to pray,” she said. “The Liturgy of the Hours showed me that Christ desires a real relationship—an open dialogue. It allowed me to sit with him, and I fell absolutely in love.”

Returning to campus, De Lucia said she brought back a renewed joy, a commitment to daily prayer, and a desire to serve the Church more intentionally.

“I have never felt the Holy Spirit so strongly in my life,” she said. “I let God take over, and now that’s something I carry into my everyday life.”

Franciscan University’s mission trips are a key initiative of its Missionary Outreach Office, preparing students to live out their call to evangelization and become the hands and feet of Christ.

Mary Wieszcek, student coordinator and Los Angeles mission team member, said the program continues to attract strong interest from students.

“There is such a strong desire here to serve,” she said. “So many students are eager to give their break to the Lord and to others.”

Following the trips, participants gathered for “Gratitude Sunday,” where each team shared testimonies of how God worked through their mission.

Evelyn Hilgeman, a senior theology major and Detroit mission lead, said her experience revealed God’s presence in both extraordinary and ordinary moments.

“It was such a gift to bring the fire of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and a burning passion for his love to people,” Hilgeman said. “We are all called to be missionaries of charity in our everyday lives.”

Maggie Foppe, a freshman theology major, served locally in Steubenville, ministering to the homeless and visiting nursing homes and hospitals.

“In seeing the sufferings of others, my heart has been opened in a new way to love and care for them,” Foppe said. “I see our suffering Lord in each person.”

Hannah Tautkus, a junior theatre major, served along the New Mexico-Arizona border, where her team led retreats and ministered to children at St. Michael Indian School.

“I discovered how much I love mission, and I now see this as a calling for my life,” she said.

Click here to learn more about missionary outreach at Franciscan University.