Building a Legacy to Preserve our Catholic Faith and Heritage

Elizabeth E. Frauenhoffer: "I see this as partnering in something that will help form our future Catholic leaders and educate the next generation of committed faithful Catholics."

Gift Plan: Bequest

Excerpts from a interview published in Christendom College's magazine titled Instaurare.

What inspired you to begin giving to Christendom?

I have always wanted to support good Catholic higher education. So, when I learned that Dr. O'Donnell was the president of Christendom College, I immediately became interested and decided to visit the campus. Once I came to a summer conference, toured the campus, learned about the curriculum and campus life, and met some students and faculty, I was committed! I then became very excited about contributing to its excellent mission and promoting the future of solid orthodox Catholic education. I have always felt very welcomed and appreciated by everyone at Christendom.

As a generous supporter, what is your motivation to give to Christendom's student endowment fund?

I see this as more than just an investment, more than helping just one or two students, but as partnering in something that will help form our future Catholic leaders and educate the next generation of committed faithful Catholics. What appeals to me is the idea that a small gift can continue to grow and contribute, even in a quiet way, to the transformation and restoration our culture desperately needs.

How has your vocation as a Third Order Carmelite influenced your life and occupation as a medical educator?

As a diagnostician and educator, I must be open to the truth while practicing charity. It's a challenge to know and recognize the truth and to commit to living it every day, in everything I do, and to do it with love. The discipline required of a Secular Carmelite tremendously helps with living that truth, particularly in the ascetical practice of detachment. As seculars [or Third Orders], we are called to live in the world as any other committed Christians are expected to do so. We fulfill our vocation as Secular Carmelites through prayer. The focus is not on ourselves or just on our relationship with God but to pray for the whole Church and the world at large. This seems to me to be very much the vision and mission of Christendom College, to transform the world and to reclaim it for Christ.

Editor's Note: Through her legacy plan, current giving, and The Fr. Stanley L. Jaki Memorial Endowed Scholarship, Dr. Elizabeth Frauenhoffer has been a generous benefactor of Christendom college for more than 22 years.