MANCHESTER, New Hampshire — Saint Anselm College student Grace O’Connell from Presque Isle, a nursing major in the Class of 2028, attended the college’s treasured Blessing of the Hands ceremony ahead of their first clinical experience.
The Blessing of the Hands ceremony is a special tradition and major milestone for second-year nursing students at St. Anselm. Family, friends and faculty gather in the college’s Abbey Church to support nursing students as they prepare to enter a clinical environment for the first time. The ceremony marks the beginning of their clinical practice, a halfway point to pinning, and a step towards an impactful future in healthcare. Members of the monastery preside over the blessing and present each student the medal of Saint Raphael, patron saint of nurses.
