What does it mean to attend a Franciscan Catholic university?

As a student at a Stritch, you’ll not only learn to make a living but also to make a difference. Through our mission, we instill four Franciscan values to students of all faiths: creating a caring community, showing compassion, reverencing all of creation and making peace. You’ll be prepared to face the realities of the world with a firm foundation grounded in moral and ethical values.

You’ll take two Franciscan infused courses that will demonstrate how the Franciscan values can be applied in your studies at Stritch. And before you graduate, you’ll participate in a Franciscan core Keystone Experience. In this culminating experience, you’ll discuss your experience of the Franciscan tradition and its values and reflect on the application of these values to your personal and professional goals.

Franciscan Pilgrimage to Italy

In an effort to broaden and enrich the understanding of the Franciscan values, Cardinal Stritch University provides yearly funding for student to participate in the Association of Franciscan Colleges and Universities’ (AFCU) Franciscan Pilgrimage to Italy.

The Franciscan Pilgrimage program offers students an opportunity to visit the major sanctuaries associated with Sts. Francis and Clare of Assisi, the founders of the Franciscan tradition in which Stritch is rooted. The pilgrimage brings together students of various fatih traditions from Franciscan institutions across the United States to reflect on and learn from the vision and values of Sts. Francis and Clare of Assisi.

The pilgrimage includes time for reflection, study, conversation, leisure, relaxation and visits to sacred Franciscan places in Assisi and Rome.

Interested students are selected through an application process for the Franciscan Pilgrimage.