By: Stephanie Turaj
Posted In: News
Photo credit: Stephanie Turaj
Ribbons were tied onto the chapel gates in prayer for the four boys injured in the September 9 car accident
Chapel bells echo in the night air, playing the Salve Regina alma mater, while a crowd gathers outside of Our Lady of Mercy Chapel. Each person ties a colored ribbon around the gates outside the chapel. Much of the gates are laced with these ribbons by now, and the crowd lingers, silent except for the crying of a few students. Heads are bowed in prayer and friends are holding on to friends.
Our Lady of Mercy Chapel was filled with students and community members on Friday, September 10 at 8 p.m. Salve Regina University held a prayer vigil for the four Salve students involved with the September 9 car accident. According to a press release from the Newport police, at approximately 1:38 a.m. on September 9, dispatch units responded to a call about an accident near the area of 41 Ochre Point Ave. A red SUV with front end damage rested outside the Breakers mansion. Michael Canning, 19, the driver of the vehicle, received rib fractures and internal injuries. The other three passengers received broken bones. The four students, all sophomores, were transported to Newport Hospital. Canning was transported via helicopter to Rhode Island Hospital. The causes of the accident are still under investigation. “[We can] use the accident as an educational tool, like we did with the New Breakers fire, to not let something like that happen here,” said John Mixter, director of Safety and Security at Salve. The vigil focused on a theme of prayer and community. “Prayers are a comfort for us, a sign of solidarity for our friends and a demonstration of our trust in the goodness of God,” began Anna Mae Mayer, director of Mercy Center for Spiritual Life, at the vigil. “We all make mistakes, but there is nothing that cannot be forgiven if we ask.” At the end of the vigil, each attendee tied a cloth ribbon onto the gates outside of the chapel. The prayers from these ribbons will stand guard over the four friends, Mayer said. So many people attended the vigil that there were not enough prayer ribbons for the entire crowd. A box of ribbons is outside the front gates of the chapel for anyone who would like to make a prayer request. The Rev. Kris von Maluski, university chaplain, said the vigil had a very holy and sacred feel, and the crowd was very respectful. He was pleased with the turnout, and said there were at least 300 people at the vigil. During the vigil, von Maluski discussed a story in the Gospel according to Luke about four friends who brought a paralytic man to see Jesus. The friends cut a hole in the roof and lowered the paralytic down to Jesus. Because of the friends’ faith, the paralytic was healed. Von Maluski urged everyone to come together as a crowd to heal the four students in the accident. “The easiest lesson is just to make responsible decisions, to try to think ahead,” said von Maluski. “We come together in good times and in bad, and we support each other no matter what.”
