For 77 sophomore nursing students, Friday night’s Blessing of the Hands ceremony meant the start of their first clinical rotation, but it also meant much more. The Blessing of the Hands ceremony gives a very moving and symbolic blessing to the student-nurses, demonstrating that from this point forward, they use their own hands to do God’s work. This ceremony is relatively new to the college, this being its seventh year as an Anselmian tradition. In 2010, the Saint Anselm Student Nurses’ Association wanted to integrate the tradition of blessings in the Catholic faith into this important transition for nursing students.

To prepare, the Student Nurses’ Association creates the Blessing of the Hands Committee each year, which is composed of sophomore nursing students who volunteer to have a part in planning the event. The committee shapes the ceremony: it chooses the music, readings, and prayer card.

Abbot Matthew Leavy, O.S.B. presided over this year’s ceremony in the Saint Anselm Abbey Church. The students were addressed by Lindsey Jones ’18, the president of the Student Nurses’ Association.

“The Blessing of the Hands ceremony is a very important milestone for our nursing students at this point in their nursing career. At this point, they are just about to begin their clinical experience,” said Jones. “Much of the work we do is done with our hands, and our hands are God’s instrument of healing, so getting their hands blessed adds to the sacredness of caring for others in the clinical setting. This event is special to us because it is a manifestation of our Catholic and Benedictine tradition.”

The student-nurses were recognized in front of peers, family members, faculty, alumni, and other healthcare professionals; they were called one by one in their blue scrubs to receive a blessing from their nursing professors. Once the students were blessed, all other healthcare professionals were welcome to receive a blessing.

Many of the nursing students feel a mix of anxiety, nervousness, and excitement stepping forth on this new journey. Taylor Head ’19 will start her clinical experience at Villa Crest Nursing and Retirement Center where she will be working with the elderly and chronically ill.

“The ceremony reminds me of the importance of my role in patients’ health and future, and I am eager to do good in the world,” says Head. “I think the blessing of the hands ceremony perfectly symbolizes our program.”