Events

2024 Induction Ceremony

MAGIS Medal

Loyola Alumna wins prestigious Magis Medal from Alpa Sigma Nu International

 The Magis Medal is awarded annually to two lay Alpha Sigma Nu members who best exemplify scholarship, loyalty, and service in their work to better the world.  The award serves to highlight the exemplary work AΣN members are doing as they live their AΣN pledge out in the world and to inspire new members to carry that flame with them as they graduate. 

The 2023 award winner was non othere than Loyoa’s own Sue Dexter Cesare!

Sue was inducted into the Loyola University Maryland chapter of Alpha Sigma Nu in 2008 upon the successful completion of her Master of Arts degree in Pastoral Counseling. While raising her family and helping to manage her family’s business, Sue became deeply involved in her parish and the outreach to Baltimore’s homeless.  In 1986, she was inspired to begin the Loaves and Fishes ministry to offer food and fellowship on the streets of Baltimore on weekend evenings.  Loaves and Fishes not only offers practical support for the homeless population but has also afforded countless members of local churches and schools, including Loyola University Maryland, the opportunity to engage in direct service with the materially poor. The program continues to thrive to this day.  

Sue has been deeply involved in the practice of spiritual direction and through Loyola Maryland‘s Office of Mission Integration, the sharing of the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius Loyola in their Annotation 19 format.  Sue has volunteered hundreds of hours of her time and talent to direct (along with Fr. Tim Brown, S.J. and Steve Spahn, S.J.) Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises in Everyday Life program (SEEL).  The SEEL program has allowed over 200 members of the greater Baltimore community, including alumni, friends, and colleagues at our Jesuit schools and parishes pray the Spiritual Exercises in their Annotation 19 format. Sue is a founding co-director of the Loyola Ignatian Formation Experience (LIFE) which trains spiritual directors to accompany others in the Spiritual Exercises.   

Sue is the proud mother of Audrey Kennedy and John Comly, and a grandmother of six.
The Magis Medal was founded as part of the Centennial celebration of Alpha Sigma Nu in 2015. To honor the 100th anniversary of the Society, 100 members were awarded the Magis Medal.  The original 100 Magis Medal winners embodied their Jesuit roots in their daily work in varied ways.  Many started or contributed significantly to non-profit organizations, some with Jesuit connections, which directly addressed social justice issues.  Others advocated for social justice through their professional work, such as attorneys making pro bono work a priority.  Winners focused their work on social justice issues from the environment to disaster relief to refugee aid programs.  Alpha Sigma Nu hopes to highlight the great work being done by fellow members living the ASN pledge out in the world after graduation.

Father Frank Haig, SJ Memorial Ad Amorem Award

Long-time Loyola professor wins the first annual Ad Amorem Award

In honor of Fr. Frank Haig, SJ – the Loyola University chapter of Alpha Sigma Nu proudly introduced a new award in 2024 – the Fr. Frank Haig SJ Memorial Ad Amorem Award .  Retiring Professor Catherine Savell  was the first recipient.

That title -- Ad Amorem -- comes from no one less than St. Ignatius Loyola, who, in his Spiritual Exercises, proposes that one pray and reflect on the immense love of God –and the foundational truth that love expresses itself more in deeds than words. 

Catherine Savell has taught at Loyola for nearly 4 decades. She is the recipient of the Affiliate Teaching Award in 2018 and the Bene Merenti in 2013. In addition to teaching French at Loyola, Savell is founder and director of Rendez-vous: Haiti, a nonprofit organization that aims to support initiatives leading to self-sustainability in Haiti. 

Catherine Savell's dedication to education extends beyond the classroom, as evidenced by her involvement in various university committees and administrative functions. She has served as a moderator for university clubs, committee member for faculty evaluations, and coordinator of study abroad programs.

Clearly she demonstrates a commitment to ASN’s pillars of Scholarship, Loyalty, and Service – in the tradition of Fr. Frank Haig, S.J. – who passed away on February 28, 2024. 

Father Haig served at Loyola for nearly 4 decades, interrupting his tenure only briefly to assume the presidency at Lemoyne College in Syracuse, New York.  Fr. Haig was known, of course, for being a brilliant astrophysicist and a gifted teacher. But he was so much more than that.  He radiated joy and wonder and curiosity and openness to the world and all those around him . 

Father Haig attended every event at Loyola -- and I mean everything! At any lecture, you could expect Frank to ask the first question, and perhaps -- over a collective sigh from the audience -- even the last question.  He was irrepressibly positive and generous. 

Alpha Sigma Nu is the particular beneficiary that generosity – Fr. Haig was for many years the Jesuit advisor of our chapter.   When Frank’s brother, the former U.S. Secretary of State General Alexander Haig, passed away in 2010 --  Frank directed a $1 million gift to Loyola to create the Alexander M. Haig, Jr., Endowment for Science, Faith, and Culture at Loyola.  Furthermore he generously endowed our chapter and provided grant funds for all ASN chapters throughout the country.

Fittingly, the first annual Father Frank Haig Memorial Ad Amorem goes to someone whose service at Loyola reflects that maxim of love in action so powerfully, so beautifully, so generously -- our beloved Catherine Savell.