Alta Via
Intentionally Catholic College Community
ALTA VIA AT SAINT FRANCIS UNIVERSITY
What is Alta Via?
Alta Via is an intentional community of Catholic students, guided by clergy and professors, who seek to grow closer to Jesus Christ through communal life, intellectual and spiritual formation, and the exercise of the moral virtues.
Alta Via is Latin for "the high road." This phrase signifies that the purpose for this group is to aid Catholic students on their upward journey to the promised land of eternal life.
The Alta Via Experience
Academic
Alta Via students take a specially designed, free, 1 credit course in theology every semester taught by faculty from the SFU Theology department. The purpose of these courses is to give students a mature understanding of the essential truths of the Catholic faith and to equip them with the intellectual virtue needed to bear fruitful witness to the faith in a secular world. The four year sequence of courses follows the structure of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (doctrinal, moral, sacramental, prayer) and focuses on reading, discussing, and applying the texts of Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. Alta Via students are also required to satisfy SFU’s Core Curriculum 3-credit Theology requirement by taking an upper level (200+) theology course, such as THEO 204-Christology, THEO 305-Salvation and Atonement, THEO 330-The Sacrifice of the Mass, THEO 350-The Triune God, etc.
Completion of all Alta Via coursework results in 11 total credits in theology and sets students on their way, if they wish, to pursue a Theology minor (15 credits) or major/second major (30 credits). Information regarding the theology program can be found here: Theology and Philosophy Department.
Spiritual
Every semester Alta Via students meet individually on several occasions with a Franciscan priest from our Campus Ministry staff in order to set and discuss personal spiritual goals and to talk through the everyday challenges and opportunities of following Christ on a college campus. These meetings also give students a regular opportunity, if they desire, to receive confidential spiritual direction as well as the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Fellowship
In addition to their weekly theology classes, Campus Ministry organizes regular events which foster fellowship and friendship among Alta Via students as well as other Catholic students on campus. The university also ensures that Alta Via students who wish to room together in their sophomore-senior years are enabled to do so. Finally, in the summer following their junior year, each Alta Via class joins the Franciscan priests from Campus Ministry, as well as a few SFU faculty and staff, on a pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi. The cost of flights, lodging and most meals are fully covered. The purpose of this pilgrimage is to prayerfully visit the most significant sites from the life of St. Francis as well as the numerous Churches and shrines in Rome and the Vatican. Attendance at a public audience with Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter’s square is also typically included.
An Alta Via student takes in the view of St. Peter's Basilica during the pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi.
Application and Benefits
Alta Via is open to a select group of incoming freshman each year. Acceptance into Alta Via requires completion of the below application. Strong applicants will be invited for a brief, online meeting with the Director of Campus Ministry, Fr. Stephen Mary Waruszewski, T.O.R., and then subsequently notified of the status of their application. Students should apply for Alta Via if they are a practicing Catholic who desires to strengthen their relationship with Jesus Christ and develop virtuous friendships with other students seeking to do the same. Each year, ten students who are accepted into Alta Via are given a scholarship. This scholarship is renewable for four years as long as students fulfill the requirements of the Alta Via program, as listed here: SFU catalog-Alta Via. Awardees will receive $2,000 their freshman year, $2,500 sophomore year, $3,000 junior year and $3,500 in their senior year. This amount is in addition to other Saint Francis University institutional scholarships.
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The Alta Via group celebrates Mass at the tomb of St. Francis in Assisi.
Alta Via students pray at the spot where St. Francis received the Stigmata on Mt. La Verna, Italy.
Questions? Contact the Alta Via Staff:
Director:
Fr. Stephen Waruszewski , T.O.R., Director of Campus Ministry, swaruszewski@francis.edu
Faculty:
Dr. Daniel Waldow, Assistant Professor of Theology, dwaldow@francis.edu
Dr. Gregory Stacey, Assistant Professor of Franciscan Theology, gstacey@francis.edu
Fr. Will Shee, T.O.R. Assistant Campus Minister and Adjunct Instructor of Theology, was101@francis.edu