On the La Roche College campus, the events of September 11, 2001, gave birth to an ongoing project whose mission is not only to promote peace, but also to spark a continuing dialogue.

The noon church service at the Magdalen Chapel drew a much larger audience on September 11th. Sister Marilyn Bergt, coordinator of community service, recalls the lighting of the Pascal candle at that mass. She also remembers making a promise on that day.

"We said we would keep (the Pascal candle) lit until there was peace," said Bergt.

Such a mission would prove to be difficult from the start. The Pascal candle was only six feet high. Bergt realized it would surely melt before the nation saw the end of hostilities.

What grew out of that mass was a commitment to maintain a peace candle on campus. Bergt enlisted students and staff to help, and called on members of the La Roche community to donate old candles. Once the donations began pouring in, volunteers began meeting every Friday to sort the candles, melt them down, and turn them into new peace candles. Such efforts have allowed the campus to maintain a peace candle not only at every mass, but also at the reception desk in the Zappala College Center.

For Sister Marilyn Bergt, the peace candle project is a mission to raise awareness. "How do we ask the question: What does it mean for us to be a peaceful country?" said Bergt. "What can we do in our own little ways now? I just keep raising that question."

When students and staff meet on Fridays, they talk over the issues surrounding the threat of terrorism in the world. As they pour the wax and prepare the wicks, they see the peace candle project as a metaphor for cross-cultural understanding and cooperation.

"You're melting all of the candles together to create this one candle. It's definitely symbolic of global peace," said Bethann Galaska, a La Roche College sophomore and volunteer for the peace candle project.

Bergt believes such a project is crucial on a college campus. 'The people that are going to the College right now are the leaders of the future, and if we're making leaders, it's more than just putting information into their heads. It's asking critical questions and talking about them and together coming up with pieces of the answers," she said.

The student volunteers that are committed to producing the peace candles are learning more than how much beeswax one must mix with paraffin wax to create the right consistency. They are learning about themselves and how other cultures view them.

Staff and student volunteers for this project sometimes disagree on what type of action is necessary to fight terrorism. Many wonder if the military campaign is the best alternative. Others wonder if America can achieve its goals on this new battlefront. But the disagreement ends when students and staff come together on Fridays. All agree that peace is a worthwhile goal. They also believe that a peace candle is a fitting symbol to advance the cause.