STEUBENVILLE, OHIO — Franciscan University will host its 77th commencement exercises May 9-10, 2025, for a projected 904 students, breaking a record for the largest graduating class in its history for a fifth consecutive year. This is the first time Franciscan University is expected to graduate more than 900 students.

Events begin Friday, May 9, at 6:00 p.m. with the Baccalaureate Mass. There will be two commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 10, at 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. All events take place in Finnegan Fieldhouse.

“I look forward to celebrating this milestone with all the incredible men and women who make up the largest graduating class in Franciscan University’s history. I know God will continue to work in each of their lives, and they, with God’s grace, will work within his Church and his world,” said Father Dave Pivonka, TOR, president of Franciscan University. “I am confident the education and formation they have received during their time with us at Franciscan has prepared them to be joyful disciples of Jesus Christ and a light to a world that desperately needs it.”

At the Baccalaureate Mass, Bishop Andrew Cozzens of the Diocese of Crookston, Minnesota, will preside and offer the homily. He will receive an honorary doctorate in catechetics and evangelization for his leadership of the National Eucharistic Congress and his many years leading catechetics and evangelization efforts for the Church in the United States and throughout the world.

Bishop Cozzens was installed as the eighth bishop of Crookston in 2021. A noted catechist, he serves as the chair of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis. He also serves as chair of the board for NET Ministries, St. Paul’s Outreach, the Institute for Priestly Formation, and the Seminary Formation Council. He is also a member of Franciscan University’s Episcopal Advisory Board.

Mary Rice Hasson, a lawyer, author, and public speaker, will deliver the commencement address at both ceremonies. She, and her husband, Seamus Hasson, will receive honorary doctorates in humane letters for their work defending and promoting religious liberty and the dignity of the human person. Mary will accept the honorary degrees on behalf of the couple.

Mary Rice Hasson co-founded and directs the Person and Identity Project at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C., an initiative that equips religious institutions and parents to promote the truth about the human person and counter gender ideology. She has been a keynote speaker for the Holy See during the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, serves as a consultant to the USCCB Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth, and has testified before the U.S. Senate, state legislators, and the Australian Parliament on parents’ rights and transgender issues.

Seamus Hasson, an attorney and author, is founder and president emeritus of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. Before founding the Becket Fund, which is best known for its Hobby Lobby victory in the United States Supreme Court, he served in the Office of Legal Counsel at the United States Department of Justice.

Franciscan University’s Class of 2025 comes from Ohio, Virginia, California, Pennsylvania, Texas, Michigan, New York, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, and 37 other states and 22 countries. Their top 10 majors are theology, business, psychology, nursing, philosophy, catechetics, education, communication arts, English, and mechanical engineering.

Father Pivonka will confer the degrees, and Father Joseph Lehman, TOR, chairman of the Board of Trustees, will preside at both ceremonies along with members of the Board of Trustees.

For more information and for a link to a livestream of all ceremonies, please visit academics.franciscan.edu/commencement/.