When students and alumni look back on their Siena experiences, more often than not friars are a staple in their stories.
Before the pandemic, Fr. Larry Anderson, would often be seen eating lunch with students in the dining hall, and on the weekends and throughout the summer Fr. Sean O'Brien could be found supervising the Siena Mentoring Program. One of Siena’s newest friars, Fr. Roberto “Tito” Serrano, has been known to skate through the quad with his habit blowing in the breeze, or hosting "Tea with Tito," during Lent.
The Franciscan presence on campus is rooted in Siena’s mission to educate the mind, body and spirit. But with social distancing protocols in place, Fr. Tito wanted to figure out a way to continue to engage and connect with the student body.
“Part of why I chose to be at Siena is to help connect us friars to the students,” he said.
Inspired by his passion for movies, Fr. Tito huddled with his fellow brothers around the Friary fireplace and started to ask each of them about their favorite film. A spark from the crackling wood fire sparked an idea in his mind: recreating famous movie posters. Pairing the famous films with the friars wasn’t a hard task — each was able to pick their favorite, or embrace a theme that they found important to showcase (see a few of the posters above).
Two of Siena’s newest friars, Fr. Robert Sanoz and Fr. Greg Gebbia, took inspiration from the classic film Goodfellas, and created a poster for their own version, Godfellas.
Keep an eye out on campus as more posters debut throughout the remainder of the spring semester.
“I like when people meet us as people who do not take ourselves too seriously. This project invites students to see us wrapped up in humor and joy. Joy is at the heart of who we are! From the Psalms, 'How good and pleasant it can be when brothers live as one.'"
Fr. Greg Gebbia
"I was walking up to Siena Hall and I saw them on the window doors. It's a great way to have the friars involved with the students, especially with the pandemic where we can't see everyone."
Matthew Woods '21