By Andrea Fernandes
Associate Editor
Now that Feast Week has concluded, the life of St. Francis will be celebrated in the University Chapel on Saturday at 7 p.m. Students will perform a narrated play to depict a series of events in Francis’ final hours and his death.
“All Franciscans celebrate this day,” said Vanessa Hulse, a junior chemistry major. “It’s nice because you know that Franciscans all around the world are doing it.”
Hulse said everyone who celebrates this day puts his or her own spin on how it’s celebrated, and it’s nice to see how it’s celebrated at Bonaventure.
“Students should go Saturday because [the Transitus] gave me a new outlook on death and on Francis,” said Hulse. “He’s an important person to our school, and we can all learn from him.”
Michael Specht, a senior history major, played Francis in one of the previous plays. This year, he will play a narrator. He explained a lot students can learn from the way Francis lived his life and viewed death.
“It was a humbling experience being able to depict someone that so many people look up to,” said Specht.
Specht added that as students attending a Franciscan university, students should take advantage of opportunities where they can learn more about someone so important to the history of Bonaventure.
“A lot of what the narrators say is about how Francis lived a humbling life,” said Specht. “Like Christ, he is welcoming of death. Students who don’t know much about Francis will get to hear a lot about his life and learn more about him.”
According to Specht, the entire show is less than an hour, so students don’t have to be concerned about having to sit through a long play.
“When you hear of someone dying, you think sad and gloomy,” said Hulse. “But the way he saw death was a complete 180 of how most people see death. He was almost happy about. It’s not a sad play at all.”
Both Hulse and Specht agreed that students will have a lot to take away from attending the show and have a greater appreciation for the life of Francis.
“This is an event for anyone, not just Catholics or religious people,” said Hulse. “There is something in it for everyone, and I think that no matter who you are, you can take something away from it.”
fernanal13@bonaventure.edu
