You made it through move-in day.
The boxes are unpacked, the dorm room is set up, the last hug has been given, and you’re back home, wondering how your student is doing.
It’s completely normal to feel like your role has changed overnight. You can’t remind them to grab their keys, help them find the dining hall, or walk them to their first class anymore.
But that doesn’t mean you’re done being involved.
In fact, the first few weeks of college are an important time for Catholic parents to stay connected, especially when it comes to helping their student stay connected to their faith.
You may be miles away, but there are plenty of ways you can encourage your student, remind them that they’re loved, and help keep their faith a priority.
Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Send a Catholic Care Package
Everyone loves getting a package in the mail. But instead of sending only snacks and dorm-room necessities, add a little faith to the box.
Consider including:
- Their favorite snacks and treats
- A small crucifix or saint medal
- A rosary
- Holy water
- A favorite prayer book
- A Catholic book you've enjoyed
- A candle for their desk
- A handwritten note
- A small image of their patron saint
- A gift card for coffee or dinner with a new friend
You don't have to make it overly serious. Throw in some candy, a funny note, and something that reminds them of home.
The point isn't to create a perfect Catholic care package. It's to remind your student that their faith and family are still with them, even from afar.
Send Them a Saint of the Semester
Help your student choose a saint to accompany them through the semester.
It could be their Confirmation saint, patron saint, or simply someone whose life speaks to what they're experiencing.
Send them a small saint card, medal, or image and encourage them to ask for that saint's intercession throughout the semester.
You could even make it a family tradition: one saint, one semester, one intention.
Put Mass on the Calendar
Your student now has more freedom than ever — including the freedom to decide what makes it onto their Sunday schedule.
Encourage them to find a Catholic parish or Newman Center near campus and make Sunday Mass part of their routine.
You can even look up Mass times together from home.
Instead of simply asking, “Did you go to Mass?” try: “Have you found a parish or Newman Center you like yet?”
The goal isn't to monitor their faith from hundreds of miles away. It's to help them establish habits that can sustain their faith when you're no longer there to remind them.
Send Them a “Just Because” Faith Text
Not every faith conversation needs to be serious.
Send them a Scripture verse you came across. A quote from a saint. A picture from your parish. A funny Catholic meme.
Maybe it's simply:
“Praying for you today. ❤️”
Or:
“St. Monica, pray for my college student today!”
These little reminders can help your student know that their faith isn't something they left behind at home.
Encourage Them to Find Their Catholic People
Your student doesn't need to navigate college alone.
Encourage them to find the Catholic students, campus ministry, Newman Center, FOCUS missionaries, Catholic parish, Bible study, or other Catholic community available at their school.
If they haven't gone yet, send them the link to the ministry's social media page. Forward them an upcoming event. Encourage them to go with their roommate or someone from their residence hall.
If they're nervous about going alone, remind them: Everyone has to walk through the doors for the first time.
The first visit may feel awkward. The second will probably feel a little easier. Eventually, those unfamiliar faces can become lifelong friends.
Ask Different Questions
Your weekly phone call doesn't have to be an interrogation about grades.
Try asking:
“Who did you sit with at lunch this week?”
“Have you met any other Catholic students?”
“Did you make it to Mass?”
“What's something you're praying about right now?”
“What has been the best part of your week?”
These questions create opportunities for your student to share what's really going on—including what's happening in their faith life.
Keep Their Home Parish in the Picture
Just because your student moved away doesn't mean they have to disappear from their parish community.
Send them photos from parish events. Ask if they want you to light a candle for a particular intention. Have their parish priest pray for them.
If your family has a favorite Catholic tradition, keep it going from a distance.
Your student may be building a new life, but their faith has roots—and those roots can continue to matter.
Pray for Your Student
This might be the most important thing you can do. You can't be there for every decision.
You can't control who your student meets, what they encounter, or every challenge they'll face.
Pray a decade of the Rosary for them on your drive to work. Ask their patron saint to intercede for them. Offer a Mass for them. Pray before bed for the people they'll meet and the choices they'll make.
Sometimes, tell them. “I prayed for you today.”
Those four words can be a powerful reminder that they're never alone.
Help Another Catholic Student Find Community
As you're thinking about your own student, remember that thousands of other Catholic students are going through this same transition.
Some arrived on campus already knowing exactly where to go. Others are still looking.
Some are waiting for someone to invite them. Some don't even realize that a Catholic community is waiting for them nearby.
That's why Newman Connection works to connect Catholic students with campus ministry before they arrive at college.
Through Faith Forward, we're working to build a movement that connects Catholic students with the Catholic communities waiting to welcome them on campuses across the country.
Because the first weeks of college can be pivotal.
A student who finds their Catholic community can find friends who encourage their faith, mentors who walk with them, and a place where they can encounter Christ during some of the most formative years of their life.
You Can Help Make That Possible.
Your student is already on campus. You can support them from home.
But your support can also help another Catholic student find their people.
A donation to Newman Connection helps us continue connecting Catholic students with campus ministries so that more young people have a Catholic community ready to welcome them.
You've sent the care package. You've said the prayer. You've made the call. Now help make sure another Catholic student has a community waiting for them, too.
Give today and help move the next generation of Catholic students Faith Forward.
