Posted
October 14, 2026
First came the flowers, then honey, candles, and a frame from a hive. Carried before the altar by members of the St. Edward Beekeeping Club, the objects reflected the intention of the October All-School Mass: to give thanks for God’s creation and pray for the pollinators that help sustain it.
The intention was inspired by an upcoming gathering in Rome, where beekeepers from around the world will join Pope Leo XIV for a special Mass this December. At St. Edward, it offered an opportunity to consider both the responsibility to care for creation and the ways people depend on one another.
For Luke Potts ’27, who wrote and delivered the call to worship, the hive offers a way to understand the community gathered around him.
“Each individual bee has a specific role, yet every role, though different, is absolutely necessary,” Potts said. “This intricate and beautiful network reminds me of our relationships with one another.”
His reflection followed the connections among bees, flowers, agriculture, and the people who depend on them. That interdependence, he explained, also offers an image of the body of Christ.
“We are not called to live as isolated individuals, but as a community of people with different talents and gifts,” he said.
The prayers that followed carried those connections beyond campus. Students prayed for the protection of natural resources and for communities whose food supplies and livelihoods are threatened by environmental damage. They also prayed for their own community: that, like members of a hive, each person would recognize his contribution to the whole—and the extraordinary good that can begin with small acts of care.
Fr. Nate Wills, C.S.C., chaplain to Notre Dame’s football team, traveled from the university to preside at St. Edward’s all-school Mass. The Holy Cross priest shares reflections on faith through his popular Instagram account and his book, Pray Like a Champion Today: Sacred Stories from the Sidelines of Notre Dame Football.
Bees and the Church
The hives on St. Edward’s campus are part of a long Catholic beekeeping tradition. For centuries, religious communities kept bees on monastery grounds, using their honey for food and their wax for candles in worship. Bees also found a place in Catholic prayer, art, and the papacy itself.
At St. Peter’s Basilica, in the Vatican, bees from Pope Urban VIII’s family crest adorn the great bronze canopy above the papal altar. At Castel Gandolfo, the papal estate outside Rome, hives have supplied honey for the pope’s table—a connection to the monastery kitchens of earlier generations.
The bee’s work is also acknowledged during one of the Church’s most sacred celebrations. At the Easter Vigil, the Paschal candle, made with beeswax, brings light into a darkened church as a symbol of the risen Christ. The Exsultet, or Easter Proclamation, honors the candle as “the work of bees and of your servants’ hands.” That light begins, in part, with the quiet work of a hive.
Campus Hives
Byamungu Ramadhani ’27 joined St. Edward’s Beekeeping Club at a friend’s invitation. An animal lover, he wanted to learn more about caring for bees. He now helps inspect colonies, harvest honey, and monitor the health of the school’s hives.
The program began with one hive in 2022 and grew to five colonies this summer. About a dozen students participate regularly, with others joining as their schedules allow. Originally kept on the school’s roof, the hives now stand at ground level at the Center for Urban Agriculture, where students can reach and tend them more easily.
Club members work in teams assigned to individual hives. Wearing protective gear and carrying a clipboard and checklist, they look for evidence that the queen is laying eggs, monitor developing bees, and check for parasites and other threats.
Students also tend a pollinator garden that provides food for the bees. The garden will soon be dedicated to the late faculty member Daniel Cavoli, whose appreciation for the natural world continues to inspire the school community.
At harvest time, students return after school to extract and bottle the honey. In winter, they study conservation and prepare for the next growing season. For Ramadhani, the club, along with other experiences at St. Edward, has helped shape his interest in veterinary medicine.
The work has included setbacks. Moving the hives from the roof made them more accessible but exposed them to different pests. Two colonies were lost this fall, leaving students with three to prepare for winter. Ramadhani remembers earlier losses and the decision to begin again.
“We keep pushing forward,” he says. “And that gives me hope.”
The honey is sold in the Green & Gold Shop, with all proceeds helping people experiencing hunger in the area.
“For students, caring for the bees makes the responsibility to care for creation very real,” said Director of Urban Agriculture Lisa Hardin, who oversees the Beekeeping Club. “They get to know a colony, learn what it needs, and see how their actions can help it. Then the honey they harvest helps feed people in our community. They can see how one act of care leads to another.”
We pray to the Lord, that we may recognize the extraordinary good that can come from small acts of care, and never underestimate our power to make a difference.