Study Abroad Opportunities

Traveling to three cities in Japan - Kyoto, Hiroshima and Nagasaki - this short term study abroad program focuses on the historical events of the 1945 atomic bombing, the religious sensibilities and ethics that informed responses to the event, and current nuclear issues. In Kyoto, students visit centuries-old temples and shrines, learning about the religious history of Japan. While in Hiroshima, they meet with the mayor of Hiroshima and talk with an atomic-bomb survivor. In Nagasaki, home to the largest Catholic community in Japan, students visit Catholic churches and interact with local university students. Traveling through Japan, students experience a country that is at once old-fashioned, preserving the world's oldest wooden structures, and yet simultaneously modern, running bullet trains throughout the archipelago.

This short term study abroad program focuses on issues associated with pilgrimage, building bridges between different religious traditions, the religious history of France and the life of Vincent de Paul in a French context. Special attention will be given to an experiential exploration of the practice of pilgrimage and the historical dimensions of Vincent de Paul's life and its influence on the ideas and practices of modern Vincentians. This program seeks students from all religious traditions and those who do not subscribe to religion at all with the aim of examining the requirements of building diverse community on the road. By bicycle, students visit the following cities, ending in Paris: Lyon, Chatillon-sur-Challaron, Turnus, Beaune, Salieu, Vezeley, Joigny, and Fountainbleau. The program as planned, will involve nine consecutive days of riding, which range from approximately 29-45 miles.