Illuminating loss and love: STU’s Day of the Dead altar brings people together

Day of the Dead altar in James Dunn Hall, honouring those students who have lost loved ones. (Jennifer Willimas/AQ)

In the early morning quiet of the James Dunn Hall building, flickering candlelight danced against framed photos of loved ones, some human, some furry — each glowing with memories. 

For many at St. Thomas University, this open community altar became more than a cultural display. It was a shared space of remembrance, love and connection. 

From Oct. 29 to Nov. 2, the St. Thomas University Students’ Union (STUSU) opened the Day of the Dead altar to anyone wishing to honour someone they had lost.  

The idea, rooted in Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)  traditions, invited students, faculty and staff to bring photographs of loved ones—family members, friends, or even pets. Students placed them among marigolds and butterflies, which are considered symbols of life and renewal. 

For Angela Wisniewski, professor of communications and public policy at STU, it was her first time encountering the altar.  

“I approached it from the courtyard early in the morning,” she recalled. “It was dark and windy and I could see all the little candles flickering. It looked so beautiful, so full of human emotion, pride, love and compassion.” 

The moment struck her deeply. 

“My mom passed away at the end of August, just before the school year started,” said Wisniewski. “Grieving happens at weird times and there hasn’t been much to do to honour that. So, this just felt right.” 

She returned later that day, bringing two framed photos from her office, one of her mother and one of her husband’s mother, who passed away in 2011.  

“For me, it was about the moms this year,” she said. “It felt like I was doing something for them.” 

Wisniewski believes the altar’s simplicity is what makes it so powerful.  

“Because it’s just pictures, you can come into it on your own. It doesn’t impose a story. You just connect to the fact that someone loved someone and that bond is still alive.” 

That sense of quiet connection was what  Ana Lucia Pavon, the president of STUSU, hoped to create. 

“We’re an all-international, mostly Latina executive team,” she said. “Día de los Muertos is such an important part of our culture and we wanted to share it beyond Vanier Hall, to make it something for everyone.” 

She and her team designed the space to be inclusive, welcoming tributes to anyone or any pet.  

“It was moving to see people stop and look at the photos. Even senior administrators came by,” she said. “Everyone knows about the movie Coco, but this was about experiencing it, really feeling it.” 

Pavon believes such spaces allow both grief and culture to be shared openly.  

“Having diversity on campus isn’t enough, we have to embrace it,” she said. “And someone once told me that grief is just love persevering. That’s why this is so important, it lets us honour that love.” 

For Wisniewski, the word “illumination” captures the atmosphere of the altar.

“Not just literally, but emotionally,” she said. “It glowed with connection.” 

As the candles dimmed at the end of the week, the altar left behind something lasting, a reminder that remembrance, like love, burns quietly but never fades.