Welsh Family Hall held a memorial Mass at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Monday evening for sophomore Audrey DeShetler. DeShetler passed away on June 8 after a 14-year battle with neuroblastoma, a rare pediatric cancer.
University President Fr. Robert Dowd presided over the Mass, which was well-attended by DeShetler's family, students and other members of the Notre Dame community.
Dowd began by thanking DeShetler’s family for sharing their daughter with the Notre Dame community and reminding them that she will always be a part of it. “We celebrate because we are sad, but also to celebrate a beautiful life. She had a life of faith, hope, and love,” Dowd said.
Fr. Peter McCormick gave the homily and shared DeShetler’s backstory. An avid Notre Dame football fan, DeShetler was a computer science major and participated in multiple clubs on campus, including the Themed Entertainment Association and AccessABLE.
Reflecting on DeShetler's impact on campus, McCormick said, “Most importantly, she was a friend, a daughter and a sister, one who knew what it meant to show up for others, one who knew what it meant to seize the moment and to appreciate how special it was, one who knew how to make others laugh, and to enjoy the presence of others and be kind."
McCormick compared DeShetler's resilience in the face of cancer to Joseph’s and Mary’s perseverance. “Audrey faced uncertainty and fear and like Joseph she refused to allow that fear to have the last word. She lived knowing that death would come but she chose instead to squeeze out every ounce of life in the days that she had … and like Mary lived with a simple but profound faith,” he said.
DeShetler's faith in the face of suffering should be an example to the entire community, McCormick said. “Just as Audrey's life has made such an impact on each and every one of us, let us pray that that would be the same for each of us, that we might have gotten to the same belief that Jesus the Christ loves us, calls us by name and sends us out to be his hands, his feet, his heart and his mind,” he said.
Attendees gave the DeShetler family a round of applause at the end of the Mass, and Dowd thanked them again. After the Mass, receptions were held in Welsh Family Hall and Stinson-Remick Hall of Engineering.
