Divine Mercy University (DMU) celebrated 141 graduates this year at its 24^th Graduation Mass and Commencement Exercises held on May 9^th, 2025, at St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Reston, Virginia.

The principal celebrant of this year’s graduation Mass was Most Reverend Michael F. Burbidge, Bishop of Arlington, who in his homily encouraged the graduates to be beacons of hope in this Jubilee Year:

In his benediction for the beginning of the Jubilee, Pope Francis wrote: “With Jesus, joy flourishes; with him, life changes for the better, and hope does not disappoint.” As Jesus’ words were ones of spirit and life for his disciples, so your words, together with your example of patience and perseverance, compassion and love, can be instruments through which the Holy Spirit will transform the minds, hearts, souls, and very lives of those to whom he will send you. As you try daily to reflect the compassion of Christ, may you go forth today as messengers of hope, witnesses of hope, the hope that is ours in Christ Jesus our Lord, the hope that does not disappoint.

This year’s commencement speaker was Dr. Arthur Brooks, who received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. Dr. Brooks is a Harvard professor and best-selling author, and one of the world’s leading experts on the science of human happiness, appearing in the media and traveling the world to teach people in private companies, universities, public agencies, and faith communities how they can live happier lives and bring greater well-being to others. In his commencement address, Dr. Brooks offered the DMU graduates a formula of happiness for themselves and for others as they go forward into their careers in mental health:

We are called in our ordinary lives to sanctify our work as missionaries. And to do that, follow a formula to sanctify that secular work by making your faith public, by making it natural, by making it magnetic. Strive to follow that formula as you go forth from this great institution, and you will begin the journey of love and excellence and truth, which will bring you and me and all of us greater happiness and greater hope and greater holiness.

The 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award was given to Mother Mary Concepta Yates, S.V. On June 1, 2023 Mother Mary Concepta was elected as the second Superior General of the Sisters of Life, who are entrusted with the charism and mission to protect and enhance the sacredness of human life. Prior to her election as Superior General, she served as the Local Superior of the Visitation Mission in New York City, and also helped to found the community’s mission in Denver, Colorado. Before being missioned to Denver, she completed a Masters in Clinical Psychology at the Institute for Psychological Studies (now DMU) in 2015 and formation as a spiritual director through the Lanteri Center for Spiritual Direction.

“Each of you graduating here today has given yourself to a healing profession,” said Mother Mary Concepta. “It is an honor, a gift, and also a sorrow to hear stories of pain, yet it is also a wonder to allow the Lord to draw you into his own work of transformation, to be a facilitator of his ordering, restoring, and healing work in another human person. What a sacred entrustment each of you have been given, and that you have fully received.”

Lifetime Achievement awards went to Dr. Gladys Sweeney, Dean Emerita and one of the founding members of the Institute for the Psychological Sciences (IPS/DMU), and to Dr. William Nordling, founding faculty member of IPS/DMU.

Bishop Paul S. Loverde, beloved Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Arlington, VA, was also honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s graduation. Appointed by St. John Paul II as the diocese’s third bishop, he served for nearly 17 years from 1999 to 2016. In the words of Bishop Burbidge, Arlington’s current prelate, Bishop Loverde “has been a steadfast advocate for the sacredness of all human life, an ardent supporter of Catholic education, and an active promoter of vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life.”

Bishop Loverde also demonstrated a keen awareness of the increasing mental health needs in dioceses across the United States. Seeking to address this issue, he has been serving on the board of directors of DMU for the past 25 years.

To honor Bishop Loverde’s inspiring legacy and to further support priestly and religious vocations, DMU is establishing a scholarship program in his name. The fund will support priests and religious from across the country who will serve their home dioceses and communities after graduation as well as students who agree to work in the Diocese of Arlington after graduation.

As it continues to celebrate 25 years of creating healers-in-faith as a Catholic graduate university dedicated to the scientific study of psychology and counseling, Divine Mercy University congratulates its 2025 graduating class!

For more information about the degree programs at Divine Mercy University, contact Steven Showalter at 571-290-7580 or via email at admissions@divinemercy.edu.

For more information about the Bishop Loverde Scholarship Fund or to learn how you can support this important program, please contact Thomas Cronquist at 703-518-0281 or via email at tcronquist@divinemercy.edu, or visit the web page at divinemercy.edu/bishop-loverde-fund/.