At a quarter to 8 p.m. Wednesday evening, Corby Hall will open its doors for the 15th annual Corby Night event, welcoming any young men on campus considering religious discernment.
Fr. James B. King, religious superior of Holy Cross priests and brothers at Notre Dame and director of Campus Ministry, began Corby Night in 1999 while serving as director of the Office of Vocations. The current director, Fr. Jim Gallagher, now heads the event.
“What we are trying to do at Corby Night is give guys an opportunity to gather with us for prayer and informal interaction to just see more about what the religious life is like,” Gallagher said.
The evening will feel very much like a regular evening as a brother of the Holy Cross, Gallagher said.
“Our community life is that we pray together and we socialize together and then go about the work that we are doing,” he said.
Holy Cross priests and brothers, as well as some seminarians, will accompany Corby Night attendees in a prayer followed by a brief introduction by Gallagher about Corby Hall, the Holy Cross community and other discernment opportunities. The night will conclude with pizza and further conversation in one of the common rooms of Corby Hall.
Gallagher said the night is designed for any young man who is considering the possibility of the religious life or the priesthood and is not restricted only to those considering the Congregation of the Holy Cross.
Freshman Redmond Tuttle said he intends to become a diocesan priest but still plans to attend Corby Night.
“I am ecstatic about Corby Night because it is a great opportunity to meet other young discerning men and priests who have already responded to the call,” Tuttle said.
Each year about 30 to 40 men attend Corby Night, with 10 to 15 men actually entering the Congregation of the Holy Cross, Gallagher said.
“That shows that there are a lot of guys open to thinking about and interacting with discernment,” he said.
Gallagher hopes the men will “talk about discernment, and then if it does connect, and they do feel drawn to it, follow where that leads.”
“One of the toughest things in life is that sometimes we have questions on our mind — should I do this, is this what God is calling me to do? But then we just sit and think about it over and over again," he said. "What I want to do is give guys an opportunity to think about discernment, to do something about it and to get a clear sense of what God is calling them to do."
Gallagher said he anticipates Corby Night will be such an opportunity.
