http://www.ai.edu RSS feeds for Aquinas Institute of Theology 60 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/109/Fifty-Seven-to-Graduate-from-Aquinas-Institute-of-Theology-on-May-13.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=109 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=109&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/109/Fifty-Seven-to-Graduate-from-Aquinas-Institute-of-Theology-on-May-13.aspx  Aquinas Institute of Theology will confer graduate degrees and graduate certificates on 57 men and women at a 7:00 pm commencement at St. Francis Xavier College Church (Saint Louis University) on Friday, May 13, 2011. The commencement is open to the public. Of the 57 students graduating, 11 will receive a Doctorate of Ministry (D.Min) in Preaching; 17 will receive Masters of Divinity (M.Div.), Masters of Arts (M.A.) in Theology, or both; 6 will receive a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies (M.A.P.S.); 2 will receive a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies together with a Master of Social Work; 11 will receive a Master of Arts in Health Care Mission (M.A.H.C.M.), and 13 will receive graduate certificates in Biblical Studies, Thomistic Studies, Pastoral Care or in Spiritual Direction. Dr. M. Shawn Copeland, Associate Professor of Theology at Boston College will present the Commencement address. In addition to the conferral of academic degrees, Aquinas Institute of Theology will also honor two individuals for their professional commitment to furthering education and key ministries of the Church., Dr. M. Shawn Copeland, Associate Professor of Theology at Boston College will be honored with an honorary degree (Doctor of Humane Letters). Dr. Copeland is a noted theologian, author and expert on the experience of black Catholics in the United States. Aquinas will also confer the Doctor of Humane Letters to Fr. Paul J. Philibert, OP, Dominican theologian, professor and author. Fr. Paul is a well-known commentator on the works of Dominican theologian Yves Congar, OP, and has translated several of his most significant writings. Aquinas Institute of Theology, the only Catholic Institution in the world offering a Doctorate in preaching, is sponsored by the Order of Preachers, or Dominicans. Priesthood candidates at the school prepare for ordination alongside vowed religious and laypeople pursuing careers in the Catholic Church or simply seeking a richer faith life. While most students are Catholic, Protestants also study at Aquinas Institute. Students represent communities that stretch from coast to coast; others come from as far away as Africa and South America. SuperUser Account Wed, 04 May 2011 21:02:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:109 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/15/Diane-Koorie-RSM-of-Aquinas-Institute-Named-Board-Chair-of-the-National-Association-of-Lay-Ministers.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=15 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=15&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/15/Diane-Koorie-RSM-of-Aquinas-Institute-Named-Board-Chair-of-the-National-Association-of-Lay-Ministers.aspx For immediate release (ST. LOUIS) – Sister Diane Koorie, R.S.M., an adjunct faculty member of Aquinas Institute of Theology, has been chosen to Chair the Board of Directors of the National Association of Lay Ministry (NALM). Sister Koorie’s new position was announced at the 34th NALM Annual Conference, held in June, 2010, in Pittsburgh, PA. The NALM is an organization formed to support and advocate for lay ministers and to promote the development of lay ministry in the Catholic Church. Membership is drawn from lay, religious and ordained ministers serving in parish, diocesan and academic roles. Sister Koorie has served since 2001 in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City as the Director of the Aquinas Ministry Formation program. This program, offered by Aquinas Institute in collaboration with the Oklahoma City Archdiocese, prepares men and women for ministry by offering a Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry. Sister Koorie joins two other new NALM board members; Gerald J. Tortorella of the Diocese of Brooklyn, and Cecelia M. Bennett of the Loyola Institute for Ministry. Diane Koorie holds an M.R.E. from Loyola Univeristy and and M.Ed. from the University of Georgia. SuperUser Account Thu, 22 Jul 2010 15:50:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:15 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/16/77-Students-to-Graduate-from-Aquinas-Institute-of-Theology-on-May-7-2010.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=16 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=16&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/16/77-Students-to-Graduate-from-Aquinas-Institute-of-Theology-on-May-7-2010.aspx  For Immediate Release Nationally-Known Catholic Journalist/Blogger Rocco Palmo Will Serve As Commencement Speaker Two St. Louis Natives– Former UM-St. Louis Chancellor and Spiritual Direction Pioneer –  Will Be Honored Italian Co-Founder  of International Children’s Spiritual Formation Approach Will Receive Institute’s Catherine of Siena Award;  New Degree Program Dedicated to Same Spiritual Formation Approach Graduates First Cohort of 16 Students (ST. LOUIS) — Aquinas Institute of Theology will confer graduate degrees and graduate certificates on 77 women and men – 12 members of Catholic religious communities, 2 diocesan priests, 3 permanent deacons, 1 Christian minister and 59 lay persons — in a commencement ceremony at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 7, at St. Francis Xavier (“College”) Church, Grand and Lindell Boulevards.  The commencement is open to the public. Catholic journalist and commentator Rocco Palmo, author of the well-known Whispers in the Loggia blog, will receive an honorary doctoral degree and serve as the 2010 commencement speaker. Of the 77 students graduating, 4 will receive a Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) degree in Preaching;  2 will receive a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree; 3 will receive a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Theology degree; 1 will receive dual Master of Theology (M.A.) and Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degrees; 2 will receive a Graduate Certificate in Thomistic Studies with the dual Master of Theology (M.A.) and Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degrees; 1 will receive the Graduate Certificate in Thomistic Studies with the Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree; 15 will receive a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies (M.A.P.S.) degree; 14 will receive a Master of Arts in Health Care Mission (M.A.H.C.M.) degree; 10 will receive a Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry (M.A.P.M.) degree;  5 students will receive Graduate Certificates in Spiritual Direction, 1 will receive a Graduate Certificate in Spiritual Direction with the M.A.P.S. degree; 2 will receive a Graduate Certificate in Biblical Studies; and 1 student will receive a Graduate Certificate in Pastoral Care. Sixteen students will receive Masters degrees as graduates of the first cohort of Aquinas Institute’s Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (M.A.P.S.-C.G.S.) program. The M.A.P.S.-C.G.S program was initiated in 2005 and is the first degree program of its kind in the world designed to help support the training of catechists in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd approach to the spiritual formation of children. Catechesis of the Good Shepherd co-founder Sofia Cavalletti, Ph.D., will be honored in absentia that same evening with Aquinas Institute’s Catherine of Siena Award for her pivotal role in the development of the Montessori-based approach for the spiritual formation of children now used internationally in more than 30 countries across five continents. Hebrew scholar and author Cavalletti, 92 and a resident of Rome, Italy, established the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (C.G.S.) in 1954 on Montessori principles with the late Gianna Gobbi, a colleague of Maria Montessori, as a three-level, nine-year approach to religious education that seeks to help children aged 3- to 12-years-old to have “a living encounter with the living God.”  Introduced in the United States in the early 1970s, the C.G.S. approach is used mostly in participating Catholic and Episcopal communities, though it is also used by other Christian traditions. The Catherine of Siena Award was established in 2003 by Aquinas Institute to “recognize the increasingly widespread role of the non-ordained in the Catholic Church and to highlight what the Church can accomplish when it calls upon and nurtures the gifts of lay women and men,” said Fr. Richard A. Peddicord, O.P., President of the Institute. In addition to the conferral of academic degrees and the Catherine of Siena Award, Aquinas Institute of Theology will honor three individuals for their professional commitment to furthering education and key ministries of the Church.  Honorary degrees (the Doctor of Humane Letters) will be conferred on the following three individuals: Rocco Palmo, Catholic journalist, will be honored for using social communication to advance the understanding of the Church’s mission in the world. Philadelphia-based Palmo, who has served as a U.S. correspondent for the London-based Catholic weekly, The Tablet, and a contributor to the online Paulist magazine, Busted Halo, is perhaps best known for his popular blog, Whispers in the Loggia, that focuses primarily on Catholic ecclesiastical news in North America.  Palmo, a new contributor to “Currents,” the world’s first and only weekday Catholic television news program, broadcast on New Evangelization Television (NET), the cable station of the Diocese of Brooklyn, has also served as a church analyst for The New York Times, Associated Press, the BBC, NBC, National Public Radio, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and a host of other print and broadcast outlets worldwide.  Palmo holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania. Blanche M. Touhill, Ph.D., Chancellor Emerita of the University of Missouri – St. Louis, will be honored as an educator and academic leader who exemplifies the Dominican charism of study. Touhill, a St. Louis native who earned a B.S. and Ph.D. in History and a M.A. in Geography from Saint Louis University, taught at Maryville College, Fairleigh-Dickenson University and Queens College of the City University of New York before beginning her career at UM-St. Louis in 1965 as an assistant professor.  Over the next 25 years, Touhill became a full professor of history while simultaneously holding a number of administrative posts, and served as Associate Dean of Faculties, Associate Vice Chancellor and Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs.  During her 12-year tenure (1991-2002) as Chancellor of the University of Missouri-St. Louis, Touhill was responsible for the university’s eight schools and colleges and an engineering program, nearly 100,000 students, and 1,800 full and part-time faculty and staff.  Under her stewardship, the school added 30 degree programs and many new buildings — including a $32 million student center and the $52 million performing arts center that bears her name. Touhill’s areas of academic expertise include nineteenth-century Irish and Australian history and social studies education. She has published four books, including The Emerging University: The University of Missouri-St. Louis, 1963-1983 andWilliam Smith O’Brien and His Irish Revolutionary Companions in Penal Exile. Sr. Marian Cowan, C.S.J., an artist, Ignatian scholar and an internationally-recognized leader in the field of spiritual direction, will be honored for excellence in spiritual direction and for her commitment to its significance as a ministry in the Church. Cowan, a St. Louis native and a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet, holds a B.A. in Art from Fontbonne University, a M.A. in Elementary School Administration from the University of Notre Dame and a M.A. in Spiritual Theology from Saint Louis University.  She has served as the Novice/Formation Director for the Saint Louis Province of her congregation and taught at both the elementary and university levels, including at Aquinas Institute, where she was instrumental in the formation of the school’s Spiritual Direction Program. Since the late 1960s when she began her work in spiritual direction, Cowan has served as a staff member, teacher and spiritual director at both the Institute of Religious Formation in Saint Louis and Ministry Training Services (which she co-founded) in Denver, and taught for many years in Creighton University’s Christian Spirituality Program. She co-founded St. Louis’ Bridges Program which leads individuals over a period of months through the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises, and has mentored spiritual directors internationally. With John Futrell, S.J., Cowan co-authored Companions in Grace: A Handbook for Directors of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, sponsored by the Order of Preachers (Dominicans), is the only Catholic institution in the world offering a Doctorate in preaching. While most students are Catholic, Protestants also study at Aquinas Institute. Students represent communities that stretch from coast to coast, and from as far away as Africa and South America. SuperUser Account Tue, 04 May 2010 15:51:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:16 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/17/Aquinas-Graduate-with-D-Min-in-Preaching-Receives-Book-Award-Rev-Kay-Northcutt-Honored-for-Kindling-Desire-for-God.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=17 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=17&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/17/Aquinas-Graduate-with-D-Min-in-Preaching-Receives-Book-Award-Rev-Kay-Northcutt-Honored-for-Kindling-Desire-for-God.aspx For immediate release Aquinas Graduate with D. Min. in Preaching Receives Book Award: Rev. Kay Northcutt Honored for Kindling Desire for God April 13, 2010 (Saint Louis) – Reverend Kay Lynn Northcutt, a 2006 graduate of Aquinas Institute’s Doctor of Ministry in Preaching (D. Min.) program, and currently the Fred B. Craddock Associate Professor of Preaching and Worship at the Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has been honored for her recently published book, Kindling Desire for God: Preaching as Spiritual Direction (2009, Fortress Press). Dr. Northcutt’s book has been chosen as one of the Top Ten Clergy Books of 2010 by the Academy of Parish Clergy. In Kindling Desire for God, Dr. Northcutt offers readers a model of preaching evolved from previously developed persuasive, explanatory and communicative approaches. She offers the thesis that preaching should offer spiritual formation as a more complete way to orient listeners to God. Authority as a preacher comes from religious, spiritual sources, asserts Dr. Northcutt, making homiletics much more than a teaching or counseling exercise. Ordained as a minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Dr. Northcutt has served in pastoral leadership for several congregations. She is active in interfaith relations, serving as a member of the International Bilateral Commission for Dialogue between the Disciples Ecumenical Consultative Council and the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity. As a professor at Phillips Theological seminary, Dr. Northcutt instructs advanced degree candidates in preaching, worship and spiritual formation. In addition to writing Kindling Desire for God, Dr. Northcutt has also published Praying by Heart: Prayers for Personal Devotion and Public Worship, as well as many other articles and book contributions. She has also been recognized with three Associated Church Press writing awards. The Academy of Parish Clergy, begun in 1968 in Indiana, is an international organization of clergy serving in faith communities of all sizes and in a variety of locales. The Academy is dedicated to continuing the development of the pastoral skills of its members. The Academy annually identifies ten books notable for their excellence, newness of subject, and appropriateness for the spiritual growth, academic excellence and development of the art, practice and skills of congregational leadership. Aquinas Institute of Theology is a Saint Louis-based Roman Catholic graduate school of theology and ministry administered by the Order of Preachers (Dominicans). Offering both residential and on-line degree programs, Aquinas Institute of Theology is the only Catholic institution in America to offer a Doctor of Ministry (D. Min.) degree in preaching. SuperUser Account Tue, 13 Apr 2010 15:54:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:17 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/19/2010-Aquinas-Lecture-to-Probe-HOW-BODILY-IS-THE-BODILY-RESURRECTION-January-31-2010-at-3-pm-Saint-Francis-Xavier-College-Church-Ballroom.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=19 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=19&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/19/2010-Aquinas-Lecture-to-Probe-HOW-BODILY-IS-THE-BODILY-RESURRECTION-January-31-2010-at-3-pm-Saint-Francis-Xavier-College-Church-Ballroom.aspx For Immediate Release January 8, 2010 2010 AQUINAS LECTURE TO PROBE “HOW BODILY IS THE BODILY RESURRECTION?” January 31, 2010 at 3 p.m. • Saint Francis Xavier “College Church” Ballroom • Open to the Public (ST. LOUIS) – St. Thomas Aquinas’ views concerning human resurrection will be probed when University of Dayton theology professor and prolific author Matthew Levering, Ph.D., speaks to the question of “How Bodily is the Bodily Resurrection?” for Aquinas Institute of Theology’s twenty-seventh annual Aquinas Lecture on Sunday, January 31, 2010, at the Saint Francis Xavier “College Church” Ballroom on the campus of St. Louis University, Grand Avenue at Lindell Boulevard. The Aquinas Lecture will be presented from 3:00 – 4:40 p.m., and is open to the public. Dr. Levering, chair of the board of the Academy of Catholic Theology and a senior fellow at the Centre for the Theological Interpretation of Scripture at Wycliffe College at the University of Toronto, has written and spoken extensively on the theology of Aquinas. He is the author of eleven books and nearly fifty academic articles, including the recently published Pnarticipatory Biblical Exegesis: A Theology of Biblical Interpretation and the forthcoming Christ and the Catholic Priesthood: Ecclesial Hierarchy and the Pattern of the Trinity. Levering received his Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from Boston College, an M.A. in Theological Studies from Duke University Divinity School, and a B.A. in History from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. He currently serves as a tenured professor of theology at the University of Dayton in Ohio. Since 1983, Aquinas Institute of Theology, a Catholic graduate school for theology and ministry located in St. Louis and administered by the Order of Preachers (Dominicans), has hosted a special public lecture on an important theological topic to mark the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas Institute, the only Catholic institution in the world offering a Doctorate in preaching, educates candidates from religious orders to prepare for ordination to the priesthood alongside vowed religious and laypeople pursuing careers in the Catholic Church or simply seeking a richer faith life. SuperUser Account Fri, 08 Jan 2010 16:58:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:19 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/20/2010-AQUINAS-LECTURE-TO-PROBE-HOW-BODILY-IS-THE-BODILY-RESURRECTION-January-31-2010-at-3-pm-Saint-Francis-Xavier-College-Church-Ballroom-Open-to-the-Public.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=20 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=20&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/20/2010-AQUINAS-LECTURE-TO-PROBE-HOW-BODILY-IS-THE-BODILY-RESURRECTION-January-31-2010-at-3-pm-Saint-Francis-Xavier-College-Church-Ballroom-Open-to-the-Public.aspx For Immediate Release January 8, 2010 2010 AQUINAS LECTURE TO PROBE “HOW BODILY IS THE BODILY RESURRECTION?” January 31, 2010 at 3 p.m. • Saint Francis Xavier “College Church” Ballroom • Open to the Public (ST. LOUIS) – St. Thomas Aquinas’ views concerning human resurrection will be probed when University of Dayton theology professor and prolific author Matthew Levering, Ph.D., speaks to the question of “How Bodily is the Bodily Resurrection?” for Aquinas Institute of Theology’s twenty-seventh annual Aquinas Lecture on Sunday, January 31, 2010, at the Saint Francis Xavier “College Church” Ballroom on the campus of St. Louis University, Grand Avenue at Lindell Boulevard. The Aquinas Lecture will be presented from 3:00 – 4:40 p.m., and is open to the public. Dr. Levering, chair of the board of the Academy of Catholic Theology and a senior fellow at the Centre for the Theological Interpretation of Scripture at Wycliffe College at the University of Toronto, has written and spoken extensively on the theology of Aquinas. He is the author of eleven books and nearly fifty academic articles, including the recently published Participatory Biblical Exegesis: A Theology of Biblical Interpretation and the forthcoming Christ and the Catholic Priesthood: Ecclesial Hierarchy and the Pattern of the Trinity. Levering received his Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from Boston College, an M.A. in Theological Studies from Duke University Divinity School, and a B.A. in History from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. He currently serves as a tenured professor of theology at the University of Dayton in Ohio. Since 1983, Aquinas Institute of Theology, a Catholic graduate school for theology and ministry located in St. Louis and administered by the Order of Preachers (Dominicans), has hosted a special public lecture on an important theological topic to mark the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas Institute, the only Catholic institution in the world offering a Doctorate in preaching, educates candidates from religious orders to prepare for ordination to the priesthood alongside vowed religious and laypeople pursuing careers in the Catholic Church or simply seeking a richer faith life. SuperUser Account Fri, 08 Jan 2010 16:58:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:20 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/18/2010-AQUINAS-LECTURE-TO-PROBE-HOW-BODILY-IS-THE-BODILY-RESURRECTION-January-31-2010-St-Francis-Xavier-College-Church-Ballroom.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=18 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=18&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/18/2010-AQUINAS-LECTURE-TO-PROBE-HOW-BODILY-IS-THE-BODILY-RESURRECTION-January-31-2010-St-Francis-Xavier-College-Church-Ballroom.aspx For Immediate Release January 8, 2010 2010 AQUINAS LECTURE TO PROBE “HOW BODILY IS THE BODILY RESURRECTION?” (ST. LOUIS) – St. Thomas Aquinas’ views concerning human resurrection will be probed when University of Dayton theology professor and prolific author Matthew Levering, Ph.D., speaks to the question of “How Bodily is the Bodily Resurrection?” for Aquinas Institute of Theology’s twenty-seventh annual Aquinas Lecture on Sunday, January 31, 2010, at the Saint Francis Xavier “College Church” Ballroom on the campus of St. Louis University, Grand Avenue at Lindell Boulevard. The Aquinas Lecture will be presented from 3:00 – 4:40 p.m., and is open to the public. Dr. Levering, chair of the board of the Academy of Catholic Theology and a senior fellow at the Centre for the Theological Interpretation of Scripture at Wycliffe College at the University of Toronto, has written and spoken extensively on the theology of Aquinas. He is the author of eleven books and nearly fifty academic articles, including the recently published Participatory Biblical Exegesis: A Theology of Biblical Interpretation and the forthcoming Christ and the Catholic Priesthood: Ecclesial Hierarchy and the Pattern of the Trinity. Levering received his Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from Boston College, an M.A. in Theological Studies from Duke University Divinity School, and a B.A. in History from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. He currently serves as a tenured professor of theology at the University of Dayton in Ohio. Since 1983, Aquinas Institute of Theology, a Catholic graduate school for theology and ministry located in St. Louis and administered by the Order of Preachers (Dominicans), has hosted a special public lecture on an important theological topic to mark the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas Institute, the only Catholic institution in the world offering a Doctorate in preaching, educates candidates from religious orders to prepare for ordination to the priesthood alongside vowed religious and laypeople pursuing careers in the Catholic Church or simply seeking a richer faith life. SuperUser Account Fri, 08 Jan 2010 16:55:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:18 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/21/Register-now-for-Summer-2010-classes.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=21 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=21&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/21/Register-now-for-Summer-2010-classes.aspx  Are you interested in studying Sacred Scripture, Moral Theology, Christology or Spiritual Direction this summer – or interested in advancing your preaching skills? Visit www.ai.edu/programs/academic/nondegree/sss to learn more about Aquinas Institute’s varied Summer 2010 class options — all offered at a special summer price. Summer classes begin May 17, 2010. For more information about Summer 2010 classes at Aquinas Institute of Theology, contact Dave Werthmann, Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, at 314.256.8806. We hope to see you this summer! SuperUser Account Thu, 07 Jan 2010 16:59:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:21 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/22/Register-Now-for-Summer-Classes.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=22 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=22&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/22/Register-Now-for-Summer-Classes.aspx  Visit Academic Programs on our website to find out more about summer classses, or call our admissions office at 314.256.8806 for more information. SuperUser Account Tue, 05 Jan 2010 17:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:22 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/23/AI-Spring-2010-Classes-Begin-January-11-Special-Eastern-Spirituality-offering-begins-February-4.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=23 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=23&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/23/AI-Spring-2010-Classes-Begin-January-11-Special-Eastern-Spirituality-offering-begins-February-4.aspx For more information about Spring and Summer 2010 classes at Aquinas Institute of Theology, contact Dave Werthmann, Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, at 314.256.8806. To register for the special “Eastern Spirituality” offering, please contact Julie Quint at 314.256.8807.  SuperUser Account Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:01:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:23 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/24/Aquinas-Institute-Of-Theology-Names-Monsignor-Vincent-R-Bommarito-2009-Great-Preacher-Award-Honoree.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=24 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=24&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/24/Aquinas-Institute-Of-Theology-Names-Monsignor-Vincent-R-Bommarito-2009-Great-Preacher-Award-Honoree.aspx Reverend Monsignor Vincent R. Bommarito, pastor of Saint Ambrose Parish in St. Louis, is the 2009 recipient of Aquinas Institute of Theology’s Great Preacher Award. The Great Preacher Award will be presented to Monsignor Bommarito on Thursday, October 29, 2009, at Rose of the Hill, 2300 Edwards, in St. Louis. “Since 1995, Aquinas Institute of Theology has annually conferred its Great Preacher Award to promote compelling and imaginative preaching that powerfully engages hearers with the Word of God,” said Reverend Richard A. Peddicord, O.P., President of Aquinas Institute of Theology. “Monsignor Bommarito was selected as our 2009 Great Preacher Award honoree because of his ability to inspire by both word and action, and for his unselfish and untiring service to God’s people. “The ‘Year of the Priest’ offers the opportunity for all our ministries to reconnect to the centrality of the Word,” said Monsignor Bommarito. “Next to praying the words of the institution narrative, proclaiming the Living Word is critical in exciting the hearts of all to embrace the Lord – and each day graced by the Lord gives rise to hope and thanksgiving.” Ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Saint Louis in 1977, Monsignor Bommarito is the third of four children born to Carl and Fannie Bommarito. He has two older brothers, Joseph and Salvatore, and a younger sister, Theresa De Pond. Since his ordination, he has been assigned to a number of parishes in the Archdiocese of St. Louis.   He is presently the pastor of Saint Ambrose Catholic Church on “the Hill,” St. Louis’ well-known Italian neighborhood. Monsignor Bommarito‘s current assignment represents the second time he has provided for the spiritual needs of the people of Saint Ambrose Parish, having also served the parish as associate pastor from 1981 until 1987. From 1994 – 1999, while pastor of Saint Thomas the Apostle Parish,  he was appointed by former Florissant Mayor James Eagen to numerous city boards dealing with housing and cultural diversity. In 1995, Archbishop Justin Rigali appointed then-Father Bommarito as the priest liaison to the Archdiocesan Pro-life Committee. In that role he continues to offer talks on the topics of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide; he also counsels women living with the aftermath of abortion through the Project Rachel Program. Monsignor Bommarito has been a spiritual director for Kenrick Seminary and is currently a mentor for the first year Theology Formation Program. He also served on the SSM Rehabilitation Board for 10 years. During the 1980s, Bommarito served as director of the Hill 2000 Neighborhood Organization; when he returned to St. Ambrose as pastor, he again became involved with this organization which is committed to the stabilization of the Hill neighborhood with its tradition and cultures. Bommarito is a member of the Italian Federation of Saint Louis and for more than 30 years has served on the board of the Italian Open Golf Classic, an organization which has raised over one million dollars for various children’s charities. In August 2000, he offered the closing prayer at the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia. He is the chaplain for the St. Louis Chapter of UNICO National. On October 2, 2002, he was honored by the Misericordia Society as the Grand Marshall for the St. Louis Columbus Day Corporation. On October 15, 2008, he received the Italian Heritage Award from the Italian Club of St. Louis. On November 17, 2008, he was appointed by the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, as a Chaplain of His Holiness and given the title of Monsignor. “The Letter to the Colossians highlights the need to have the ‘rich’ word of Christ ‘dwell’ within us and the need to ‘do’ everything in the Lord’s name,” said Bommarito.  “This is testimony to the richness of Sacred Scripture that not only gives our lives direction but that leads us to reflect on the Lord’s life and love where there is peace, forgiveness, healing and hope.” To obtain tickets for the event, please contact Aquinas Institute of Theology at (314) 256-8857, or e-mail great.preacher@ai.edu . SuperUser Account Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:02:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:24 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/25/We-Have-a-Prayer-Interfaith-Relations-in-Difficult-Times.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=25 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=25&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/25/We-Have-a-Prayer-Interfaith-Relations-in-Difficult-Times.aspx (ST. LOUIS) – On Monday, July 13, approximately 200 people attended, “We Have a Prayer – Interfaith Relations in Difficult Times,” an interreligious event hosted by Aquinas Institute of Theology, 23 S. Spring Avenue. Aquinas co-sponsored this free interfaith event with Eden Theological Seminary, the Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis and the St. Louis Jewish Community Relations Council. An attentive crowd welcomed and enjoyed the presentations offered by three prominent religious leaders — Rabbi Steve Gutow, Executive Director of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs; Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches; and Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed, National Director of the ISNA Office of Interfaith and Community Alliances – who came together last winter amidst the sudden surge of violence in the Gaza Strip and prayed together. The prayer these leaders composed is listed below. PLEASE NOTE: All God’s Children, a book mentioned by Dr. Sayyid Syeed on the night of the presentation, will soon be available for download here : (This link will redirect you to an I-Tunes site) http://tinyurl.com/WeHaveAPrayer Prayer for Gaza Dear Lover of humanity and all creation, we come to you because we trust in your power and take comfort in your compassion. Our world is in chaos. Your children suffer greatly in Afghanistan and Darfur, in Burma, the Congo and Sri Lanka,and the Middle East is a place of soul-wrenching strife. With no end in sight and no reason for easy hope, You are the One to whom we turn. Strengthen us, Merciful God, o act and to know that our acting matters: raising awareness at home of suffering in distant places, advocating for peace instead of violence, bringing together those who have been estranged, trying, ourselves, to see the world as others see it. Fill us, we pray, with the visionof a time when children are not killed in war, and in which the neighbor’s wellbeing is a first priority. We have not always agreed on decisions involving war and peace; but we do agree that you are on the side of those who suffer, and that peacemaking is our ultimate vocation. We pray in different ways and languages; but we each long to hear your voice and to discern the way You wish us to travel. Blessed are you, Holy One! May your will for peace prevail! Amen. SuperUser Account Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:03:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:25 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/26/Aquinas-Institute-to-Offer-Graduate-Degree-in-Sacred-Music.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=26 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=26&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/26/Aquinas-Institute-to-Offer-Graduate-Degree-in-Sacred-Music.aspx Aquinas Institute of Theology will offer a Masters of Arts degree in Sacred Music. The program, which begins in January 2010, is designed for those who service the Church in music ministry, especially music directors, instrumentalists and vocalists. For more information, contact Aquinas Admissions at 314.256.8806, or toll free at 800.977.3869. SuperUser Account Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:04:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:26 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/27/AQUINAS-INSTITUTE-OF-THEOLOGY-STUDENTS-TO-BE-ORDAINED-MAY-10.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=27 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=27&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/27/AQUINAS-INSTITUTE-OF-THEOLOGY-STUDENTS-TO-BE-ORDAINED-MAY-10.aspx One Man Will Be Ordained to the Priesthood Three Men Will Be Ordained as Transitional Deacons (ST.LOUIS)Most Reverend Peter Christensen, Bishop of Superior, Wisconsin, will confer the sacrament of priestly ordination on one Aquinas Institute of Theology graduate and will ordain four current Aquinas Institute students to the transitional diaconate during Mass at St. Francis Xavier (College) Church, Grand and Lindell Boulevards, at 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 10. Brother Andrew McAlpin, O.P., a 2008 graduate of Aquinas Institute, will be ordained to the priesthood for the Order of Preachers (Dominicans). Dominican Brothers Michail Ford, O.P, and Patrick Tobin, O.P., and Resurrectionist Brother Eric Wagner, C.R., will be ordained as transitional deacons who will serve part-time in parishes over the next year while they complete their studies for the Roman Catholic priesthood. One of the four, Br. Michail Ford, is a native of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, and three of the four were raised in the U.S. Midwest. As a group, the men range in age from 27 to 44. McAlpin, 44, a native of Eagan, Minnesota, is a U.S. Navy veteran who worked for nearly nine years at the Honeywell Corporation in Plymouth, Minnesota, earned a B.A. in Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul in 2001, and served as a parish Director of Religious Education in the Archdiocese of Minneapolis-St. Paul before entering the Dominican Order in 2003. Mc Alpin received a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree from Aquinas Institute in 2008. After ordination to the priesthood, McAlpin will continue to serve as a teacher of theology, director of educational technology and as an assistant freshman football coach and assistant varsity baseball coach at Fenwick (Catholic) High School in River Forest, IL (a suburb of Chicago). Ford, 42, a native of Florissant, Missouri, earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (B.S.B.A.) degree with a major in Management from the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Missouri in 1993, and worked for ten years as a manager for D.L. Cole and Associates in St. Louis before entering the Dominican Order. While he finishes his graduate studies at Aquinas Institute, he will continue to minister part-time at St. Justin Martyr Catholic Parish in Sunset Hills, Missouri, and to serve as a chaplain for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. Tobin, 34, spent part of his young life in Virginia, received a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in chemistry in 1997 from the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and was active in parish life and the Knights of Columbus in Ann Arbor, Michigan, while completing studies for both a Master of Science (M.S.) and a doctoral (Ph.D.) degree in chemistry from the University if Michigan. Tobin entered the Dominican Order in 2003, and while he completes his graduate studies at Aquinas Institute, he will minister part-time at St. Pius V Parish in St. Louis. Wagner, 27, a native of Woodstock, Illinois, who entered the Congregation for the Resurrection (Resurrectionists) in 2001, earned a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Architecture degree from Washington University before beginning his priestly studies at Aquinas Institute of Theology in 2005. Since beginning his formation for the priesthood, his pastoral ministry placements have included service as a confirmation catechist and youth ministry assistant within the Diocese of Rockford and more recently as a campus ministry intern at Washington University and as a student chaplain at St. Louis University Hospital in St. Louis. Aquinas Institute of Theology is a Roman Catholic graduate school of theology and ministry sponsored by the Dominican Order. Impelled by the Catholic faith and the Dominican mission, Aquinas Institute of Theology educates men and women to preach, to teach, to minister and to lead, and is the only Catholic institution in the world offering a Doctorate in preaching. While most students are Catholic, Protestants also study at Aquinas Institute. Students represent communities that stretch from coast to coast, and from as far away as Africa and South America. SuperUser Account Sat, 09 May 2009 16:05:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:27 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/28/48-to-Graduate-at-Aquinas-Institute-of-Theology.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=28 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=28&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/28/48-to-Graduate-at-Aquinas-Institute-of-Theology.aspx Scripture Scholar and St. Louis Native to Serve as Commencement Speaker Aquinas Institute of Theology will confer graduate degrees and graduate certificates on 48 women and men in a commencement ceremony at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 8, at St. Francis Xavier (“College”) Church, Grand and Lindell Boulevards. St. Louis native Fr. Benedict Thomas Viviano, O.P., professor emeritus at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland), will be the commencement speaker. The commencement is open to the public. Of the 48 students graduating, 11 will receive a Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) degree in Preaching; 2 will receive a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree; 8 will receive a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Theology degree; 19 will receive a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies (M.A.P.S.) degree; 2 will receive the dual M.A.P.S./Master of Social Work (M.S.W.) degrees; 4 students will receive Graduate Certificates in Spiritual Direction and 2 will receive Graduate Certificates in Spiritual Direction with the M.A.P.S. degree. The graduates include 43 lay students and 5 members of religious communities. In addition to the conferral of academic degrees, Aquinas Institute of Theology will award honorary degrees (Doctor of Humane Letters) to the following individuals: Benedict Thomas Viviano, O.P., Professor Emeritus, University of Fribourg (Switzerland). Father Viviano, a member of the Chicago Province of the Dominican Order, is a New Testament scholar and author. Prior to retirement in 2008, Father Viviano taught for 11 years at Ecole Biblique, for 12 years at Aquinas Institute of Theology, and was a professor of New Testament at the University of Fribourg where he taught since 1995. Father has also served as vice president of the Tantur Ecumenical Institute for Theological Studies (Jerusalem). Best known for his book The Kingdom of God in History, Father Viviano is also the author of the St. Matthew section of the New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Mary Antona Ebo, F.S.M., Founding Member and Past President, National Black Sisters Conference. One of the first three African American women to enter the Franciscan Sisters of Mary, Sister Ebo has earned degrees in medical records administration, hospital executive development and theology. A former Catholic hospital executive director, Sister also worked for six years as a chaplain at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. She has also served on the Human Rights Commission for the Archdiocese of St. Louis, and was awarded the Heschel-King Award by St. Louis Jews for Justice. In 2000, Sister Ebo received the Living Legend Award from the State of Alabama where, in 1965, she courageously marched in support of civil rights for all Americans. Suzanne Noffke, O.P., Catherinian Scholar and Author. A member of the Dominican Community of Racine Wisconsin, Sister Noffke earned a doctorate in general linguistics from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, and is currently affiliated with the Department of History of the University of Wisconsin–Parkside, as a Scholar in Residence. Sister Noffke has been immersed in the life and thought of Catherine of Siena for more than 30 years, and has published translations all of Catherine’s works as well as numerous essays on the saint, and has lectured widely and conducted retreats based on the life and thought of Saints Catherine and Dominic. Carol Williams, M.D., Physician and Former Member of Aquinas Institute Board of Trustees. Dr. Williams’ active practice of medicine spanned 40 years and encompassed general obstetrics and gynecology, gynecologic-oncology, pediatric and adolescent gynecology, and provision of women’s health services in community heath and public settings. She has held staff memberships at Barnes and Allied Hospitals, St. Luke’s Hospital (where she was chief of the Department of Obstetrics-Gynecology), and St. Louis Children’s and Cardinal Glennon Hospitals. She is a past president of the St. Louis Metropolitan Medical Society and the Missouri State Medical Association, and served on the Missouri State Board of Registration for the Healing Arts. Dr. Williams completed a M.A.P.S. degree and graduate certificates in Pastoral Care, Spiritual Direction, and Preaching at Aquinas Institute. Aquinas Institute of Theology, sponsored by the Order of Preachers (Dominicans), is the only Catholic institution in the world offering a Doctorate in preaching. While most students are Catholic, Protestants also study at Aquinas Institute. Students represent communities that stretch from coast to coast, and from as far away as Africa and South America. SuperUser Account Fri, 08 May 2009 16:07:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:28 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/29/Joseph-Milner-Receives-Catherine-of-Siena-Award.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=29 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=29&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/29/Joseph-Milner-Receives-Catherine-of-Siena-Award.aspx Honored for Forty Years of Service to Catholic Pastoral Ministry and Faith Formation of Adults (ST. LOUIS) – For his twenty years of service to the formation of lay students and health care professionals at Aquinas Institute of Theology and his nearly forty years of professional commitment to Catholic pastoral, parish and campus ministry that has included a special focus on preparing adults to receive the sacraments of the Catholic Church, Aquinas Institute will honor Joseph Milner, Pastoral Associate at St. Francis Xavier (College) Church in St. Louis, with the conferral of its Catherine of Siena Award on Sunday, April 19, 2009, during the 10:30 a.m. Mass at the College Church, Lindell and Grand Boulevards. The Catherine of Siena Award was established in 2003 by Aquinas Institute, a St. Louis-based Roman Catholic graduate school of theology and ministry founded and sponsored by the Dominican Order, to “recognize the increasingly widespread role of the non-ordained in the Catholic Church and to highlight what the Church can accomplish when it calls upon and nurtures the gifts of lay women and men,” said Fr. Richard A. Peddicord, O.P., president of the Institute. Milner is a native of St. Louis who has served the College Church parish since 1989, coordinating liturgical ministries and adult formation activities, leading the Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) process and serving as a spiritual director. During the same period, Milner has served Aquinas Institute as a student field supervisor, adjunct faculty member, co-founder of the Institute’s Lay Formation Program and currently as the Co-Director of Formative Spirituality for students in the Institute’s M.A. in Healthcare Mission degree program. Milner received an M.A. in Religious Studies from St. Louis University in 1974 and a Graduate Certificate in Pastoral Ministry from Seattle University in 1977. In addition to his work for Aquinas Institute and the College Church parish community, Milner has led adult and ministry formation initiatives in the Archdioceses of St. Louis and Seattle and in the Dioceses of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Salt Lake City and Charlotte in North Carolina. Milner currently serves as the author of general intercessions for the Center for Liturgy at St. Louis University, where his written intercessory prayers are made available to an international audience of English –speaking assemblies through the Center’s “Sunday Web Site” (http://liturgy.slu.edu). He also is involved in integrating spirituality into wellness in his work as director of spiritual development for the Renaissance Centers in Missouri. “I am deeply honored to be the recipient of the Catherine of Siena Award,” said Milner. “My work for almost forty years in ecclesial ministry has been a response to my baptismal call to be a disciple and to the exhortation of the Second Vatican Council in Apostolicam Actuositatem which stated that ‘there arise[s] for each believer the right and duty to use [one's gifts] in the Church and in the world for the good of men and women and the building up of the Church, in the freedom of the Holy Spirit” [AA3]. “It has been a great privilege to be able to use my gifts in the church and to companion many people on their journey of faith,” added Milner. “This award recognizes not only what God has done through me but celebrates the faith and trust of many people who have been open to the work of God through this ministry.” Milner lives with his wife, Mary, and two sons in Ferguson, Missouri. SuperUser Account Thu, 16 Apr 2009 16:09:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:29 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/30/THEOLOGY-IS-FOR-LIFE-AND-FOR-EVERYONE-AT-AQUINAS-SUMMER-SESSION.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=30 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=30&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/30/THEOLOGY-IS-FOR-LIFE-AND-FOR-EVERYONE-AT-AQUINAS-SUMMER-SESSION.aspx For credit and not-for-credit offerings available First-ever Summer Break@Aquinas offerings ideal for individuals or families (ST. LOUIS) – When Aquinas Institute of Theology officially opens its 2009 Summer Session on Monday, May 18, those interested in pursuing theological and ministerial study for credit, enhancing preaching skills, learning more about formation in Dominican spirituality or – for the first time – participating in single session activities that raise awareness about different aspects of Catholic life and culture will find a summer home. “At Aquinas Institute, we believe in Theology for Life! That’s why we have expanded our summer offerings this year to include something for everyone,” said Fr. Richard Peddicord, O.P., president of Aquinas Institute, a Roman Catholic graduate school of theology and ministry based in midtown St. Louis and founded and sponsored by the Dominican Order. Summer classes at Aquinas Institute to be offered between May 18 – August 19 include: For-credit one-, two- or three-week courses in scripture, moral theology, spiritual direction, Christian mysticism, pastoral ministry to singles and to mature adults and technology in ministry – as well as a course in church history offered exclusively in an online format; A weekend formation opportunity that will introduce participants to Dominican Spirituality through exposure to two spiritual giants – Saint Dominic and Saint Catherine of Siena; A new Summer Break@Aquinas initiative that offers single non-credit sessions, focusing on getting to know some of the most significant Catholic contributions to St. Louis history and culture and on the monastic tradition of bread-baking in a spirit of joy and prayer with Father Dominic Garramone, O.S.B. (formerly of the PBS show, Breaking Bread with Father Dominic); Aquinas Institute’s famed Summer Preaching Institute (this year in a one-week intensive format, Monday through Friday, June 15-19) offered to all those engaged in Christian preaching, including Roman Catholic priests, deacons and retreat preachers.   For-credit class offerings will be offered at a reduced cost of $370 a credit hour. The cost for all single-session Summer Break@Aquinas offerings is $75, with a 20% discount offered to those participating in five or more sessions or who register for one session as a group of five. To register for or to learn more about the many additional 2009 Summer Session for-credit offerings at Aquinas Institute, please visit www.ai.edu/summer or phone 800.977.3869 or 314.256.8804. The registration deadline for all Summer Break@Aquinas offerings is April 30, 2009. SuperUser Account Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:10:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:30 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/31/Sr-Marygrace-Ginger-Peters-OP-Dies-Was-Former-Professor-at-AI-Memorial-Mass-at-AI-Sunday-March-8.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=31 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=31&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/31/Sr-Marygrace-Ginger-Peters-OP-Dies-Was-Former-Professor-at-AI-Memorial-Mass-at-AI-Sunday-March-8.aspx Sister Marygrace (Ginger) Peters, died at the age of 66 on Saturday, February 21, 2009, of complications from cancer and pneumonia. A wake service for Sr. Ginger was held Thursday evening, February 26, and her funeral Mass was held at 10 a.m., Friday, February 27, at Holy Rosary Parish in Houston. A memorial Mass was celebrated for Sr. Ginger in the Aquinas Institute Chapel on Sunday, March 8, at 10:30 am. Sr. Marygrace (“Ginger”) Peters, OP, was prioress of the Dominican Sisters of Houston, TX (2004-2009) and former Associate Professor of Church History at Aquinas Institute (1994-2004). Sr. Ginger was a beloved teacher and colleague who joined the AI faculty as Assistant Professor of Church History in 1994, and was promoted to Associate Professor of Church History in the spring of 1997. She received her M.A. in Theology from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio in 1975 and her Ph.D. in Religious Studies – History of Christianity from Boston University in 1993. Sr. Ginger’s life was marked by her commitment to education as well to leadership within her Dominican community. In addition to her years as a graduate school professor and before becoming her community’s prioress in 2004, she served as an elementary and high school teacher and coach, a parish pastoral minister, a campus minister, a frequent retreat and conference presenter, and as formation director and then general councilor of the Dominican Sisters of Houston. SuperUser Account Tue, 24 Feb 2009 17:10:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:31 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/32/Aquinas-Institute-Accepting-Nominations-for-the-2009-Catherine-of-Siena-Award.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=32 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=32&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/32/Aquinas-Institute-Accepting-Nominations-for-the-2009-Catherine-of-Siena-Award.aspx The Catherine of Siena Excellence in Ministry Award was established in 2003 to recognize the increasingly widespread role of the non-ordained in the Church and to highlight what the Church can accomplish when it calls upon the gifts of its lay women and men. St. Catherine of Siena was a Dominican who ministered during a time of trial and transition in the Catholic Church, and so Aquinas Institute chose her as a fitting namesake for this award. Nominations for the award will be accepted until March 15, 2009. To nominate a candidate for the Catherine of Siena Excellence in Ministry Award, please send a brief letter describing the ministerial work or achievements of the nominee to: Aquinas Institute of Theology Communications Office 23 S. Spring Ave. St. Louis, Mo. 63108 or by e-mail to: barbarak@ai.edu. SuperUser Account Fri, 16 Jan 2009 17:13:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:32 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/33/Aquinas-Institute-to-Offer-Graduate-Degree-in-Sacred-Music.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=33 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=33&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/33/Aquinas-Institute-to-Offer-Graduate-Degree-in-Sacred-Music.aspx  Aquinas Institute of Theology will offer a Masters of Arts degree in Sacred Music. The program, which begins in January 2010, is designed for those who service the Church in music ministry, especially music directors, instrumentalists and vocalists. For more information, contact Aquinas Admissions at 314.256.8806, or toll free at 800.977.3869. SuperUser Account Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:14:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:33 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/34/Rev-Frank-Quinn-Dies-Was-Prominent-Dominican-Liturgical-Scholar-and-Professor-at-Aquinas-Institute-of-Theology.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=34 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=34&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/34/Rev-Frank-Quinn-Dies-Was-Prominent-Dominican-Liturgical-Scholar-and-Professor-at-Aquinas-Institute-of-Theology.aspx Rev. Frank C. Quinn, O.P., a well-known Dominican priest, scholar and liturgist who advised Catholic bishops and archdiocesan commissions on liturgical issues and until 2007 served as Professor of Liturgical Theology at Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, died today of complications from abdominal surgery at Mohun Health Care Center in Columbus, Ohio. He was 76 years of age and had served as a Dominican priest for 49 years. Father Quinn, a native of Faribault, Minnesota, and the son of the late Frank and Ethel Currier Quinn, began his priestly studies at St. Mary’s College in Winona, Minnesota (1950-1952) and was formally professed as a member of the Dominican community in 1953. He received his B.A./Ph.B in Philosophy from the Dominican House of Studies in River Forest, Illinois (1953-56), and after subsequent study at the College of St. Rose of Lima in Dubuque, Iowa (1956-60) was ordained to the priesthood on May 23, 1959. After his ordination, Quinn received an M.A. in Musicology from Catholic University of America (1961) and a Ph.D. in Liturgical Studies from the University of Notre Dame (1978). Father Quinn spent most of his priestly life teaching liturgy, first as an Instructor of Liturgy and Music to Dominican seminarians at the former St. Peter Martyr Priory in Winona, Minnesota (1961-69), and then as an Instructor and an Assistant Professor of Liturgy and Pastoral Theology at Aquinas Institute of Theology at its original location in Dubuque, Iowa (1973-82). After Aquinas Institute relocated to St. Louis in 1981, Quinn taught seminarians and lay students there as an Associate Professor of Systematic and Pastoral Theology and for twenty years served as the Institute’s Professor of Liturgical Theology (1987-2007). Throughout his teaching career, Quinn wrote, co-wrote or edited numerous books and articles on liturgical prayer and song. Fundamental to Father Quinn’s love of liturgy was his dedication to the promotion of sacred music. Throughout his ministerial life, Quinn directed choirs, played the organ, wrote liturgical music and served as a consultant concerning liturgical music issues to Catholic bishops charged with the international translation of liturgical texts (1989-2000) and as a member of (1981-87) and advisor to (1987-92) commissions of the Archdiocese of St. Louis that addressed liturgy and music. From 1983 – 1991, he taught courses in liturgy and music in the certificate program of the then-Fontbonne Center of Church Music (known later as the Kenrick Center for Church Music), and for most of the last 25 years was closely associated with the liturgical and musical life at St. Francis Xavier (“College”) Church on the campus of St. Louis University. “Father Quinn’s life and legacy is a testament to his love of the Church’s liturgy. His work lives on in his students and his colleagues,” said Father Richard Peddicord, O.P., President of Aquinas Institute of Theology. Viewing will take place Wednesday, November 5 from 7:00 PM until 8:30 PM at the Aquinas Institute Chapel, 23 S. Spring (at Forest Park Blvd). The Mass of Christian Burial will be Thursday, November 6 at 10:00 AM in the Aquinas Institute Chapel, followed by interment in the Dominican plot at Calvary Cemetery. Father Quinn is survived by his brothers Robert B. and David M. Quinn. He was preceded in death by his brother, the late Patrick Quinn. Memorials for Father Quinn can be made to Aquinas Institute of Theology, 23 South Spring Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63108-3323. SuperUser Account Fri, 31 Oct 2008 16:14:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:34 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/35/Monsignor-Patrick-Hambrough-Named-Great-Preacher.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=35 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=35&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/35/Monsignor-Patrick-Hambrough-Named-Great-Preacher.aspx Reverend Monsignor Patrick Hambrough, Pastor of Saint Mark Catholic Parish in South St. Louis County, is the 2008 recipient of the Aquinas Institute of Theology Great Preacher Award. The award will be presented to Monsignor Hambrough at 10 a.m. Mass on Sunday, October 26, 2008, at Saint Mark Church, 8300 Morganford Road. “Since 1995, Aquinas Institute of Theology has annually conferred its Great Preacher Award to promote compelling and imaginative preaching that powerfully engages hearers with the Word of God,” said Reverend Richard A. Peddicord, O.P., President of Aquinas Institute of Theology. “Monsignor Hambrough was selected as our 2008 Great Preacher Award honoree from among many fine preachers who each make a valuable contribution to the faith and life of the Church,” Peddicord continued. Reflecting on the importance of preaching in his ministry, Monsignor Hambrough said, “I was taught that the definition of preaching is Christ preaching Christ. I was also taught to rely on Holy Scripture and prayer as a source of wisdom and guidance.” Noting that for him, preaching is an exercise in humility, Hambrough went on to say, “It is humbling to consider that Christ has chosen one like me, with my faults and sins, to share with a congregation the saving message of God. To recognize that it is not I who speak, but that Christ speaks through me – and to me – this is likewise humbling. I try not to get in the way of the Lord, not preach my agenda, but His, not talk about what I want to tell about, but what Christ wants to talk about.” Ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Saint Louis in 1985, Monsignor Hambrough is the second of nine children born to Patrick and Margaret Hambrough. He attended St. Gregory, Ascension (Normandy) and St. Ann (Normandy) grade schools and Normandy High School before beginning his formal studies for the priesthood. Hambrough received his B.A from Cardinal Glennon College and a Master of Divinity degree from Kenrick Seminary. During his priestly ministry, Monsignor Hambrough has served an associate pastor of St. Mary Catholic Parish in Bridgeton (1986-1990) and at St. John Catholic Parish in Imperial (1990-1993). He served as the founding pastor of Our Lady of the Holy Cross Catholic Parish in St. Louis, which was formed from the merger of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Holy Cross Catholic Parishes (1993-1998). Most recently, Hambrough served first as the pastor of St. Timothy Catholic Parish in Affton (1998 – 2003) before becoming the founding and present pastor of St. Mark Parish in South County. Saint Mark is the new parish that was formed from the merger of St. Timothy, Most Precious Blood, and Mary, Queen of the Universe Catholic Parishes (2003 – present). Pope John Paul II designated Hambrough a Monsignor in August, 2003. Noting the school’s pleasure at this year’s large number of great preacher award nominations, Father Peddicord commented, “At Aquinas Institute, we view the conferring of a Great Preacher Award as more than simply a singular honor – we see it as an opportunity to champion the importance of ‘great preachers’ in and for the Church. In this broader sense, we intend the award to honor not only Monsignor Hambrough, but all great preachers.” Aquinas Institute of Theology, a St. Louis-based Roman Catholic graduate school and seminary founded and sponsored by the Dominican Order, offers the world’s only Catholic Doctor of Ministry degree in preaching. SuperUser Account Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:15:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:35 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/36/Vocare-Center-Launches-New-Website.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=36 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=36&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/36/Vocare-Center-Launches-New-Website.aspx Dr. Celeste Mueller, Director of the Vocare Center at Aquinas Institute of Theology, has announced that the Center has launched a dynamic new website describing programs, and consulting, collaboration, and research services. The website will also contain articles and other materials of interest and will provide opportunities to take part in online discussions. Vocare Center provides service and support in the areas of health care, and mission and prophetic leadership. The Center has earned the distinction of being a leader in employee development and formation among Catholic faith-based institutions by strengthening the capacity of leaders to transform society according to the Gospel To visit the new Vocare website go to http://www.vocarecenter.org/. Be sure to visit the site and see what’s new! SuperUser Account Thu, 14 Aug 2008 16:18:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:36 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/37/Aquinas-Institute-Accepting-Nominations-for-Great-Preacher-Award.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=37 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=37&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/37/Aquinas-Institute-Accepting-Nominations-for-Great-Preacher-Award.aspx Aquinas Institute of Theology established the Great Preacher Award in 1995. The annual award recognizes inspiring preaching that has made the Catholic community stronger. Nominations will be accepted until July 15, 2008. To nominate a candidate for the Great Preacher Award: Please send a brief letter describing the qualities of your nominee to: Aquinas Institute of Theology Communications Office 23 S. Spring Ave. St. Louis, Mo. 63108 or by e-mail to barbarak@ai.edu. SuperUser Account Mon, 02 Jun 2008 16:21:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:37 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/38/Fifty-Six-Graduate-at-Aquinas-Institute-of-Theology.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=38 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=38&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/38/Fifty-Six-Graduate-at-Aquinas-Institute-of-Theology.aspx Aquinas Institute of Theology will confer graduate degrees and certificates on fifty-six women and men in a commencement ceremony on Friday, May 9, at 7:00 pm at St. Louis University’s “College” Church located at Grand and Lindell Blvds. Sr. Donna Markham, O.P. will be the commencement speaker; commencement is open to the public. In addition to the conferral of regular academic degrees, Aquinas Institute of Theology will award honorary degrees (Doctor of Humane Letters) to the following individuals: • Donna Markham, O.P. – Prioress general of the Adrian Dominican Congregation. Sr. Markham holds a doctorate in clinical psychology and is a fellow in the American Academy of Clinical Psychology. She is the former president and CEO of The Southdown Institute, a multidisciplinary mental healthcare facility in Canada that treats church professionals. • Dr. Anthony Tersigni, Ed.D., FACHE – President and CEO of Ascension Health. Dr. Tersigni has served in executive positions in health care, and has served as a board member for many professional organizations including The United Way of Greater Saint Louis. He was listed as one of Modern Healthcare’s 100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare in 2006 and 2007. • Alice Bourke Hayes, Ph.D. – President Emerita, University of San Diego. Dr. Hayes has also served St. Louis University and Loyola University in a variety of executive capacities. An author, board member and advisor, she has been a member of NASA’s Space Biology Program and has been a citizen ambassador to South America, China, and the former U.S.S.R. • Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, Ph.D., General Secretary, National Council of Churches, USA. Rev. Dr. Kinnamon is widely regarded as a leading voice in the ecumenical movement in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Most recently, he taught at Eden Seminary; he has lectured in such places as India, Australia, China, Zambia and Israel. Aquinas Institute of Theology, the only Catholic institution in the world offering a Doctorate in Preaching, is sponsored by the Order of Preachers, or Dominicans. Priesthood candidates at the school prepare for ordination alongside vowed religious, laypeople pursuing careers in ministry and those who simply seek a richer faith life. While most students are Catholic, the school welcomes all men and women of good will. Students represent communities that stretch from coast to coast; others come from as far away as Africa and South America. SuperUser Account Fri, 09 May 2008 16:22:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:38 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/39/Aquinas-President-and-Students-Travel-to-See-Pope-Benedict-XVI.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=39 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=39&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/39/Aquinas-President-and-Students-Travel-to-See-Pope-Benedict-XVI.aspx On April 17, 2008, faculty, staff and students at Aquinas Institute of Theology gathered at Mass to pray for God’s protection for the school’s representatives who will be traveling to Saint Joseph Seminary in Yonkers NY to attend events with Pope Benedict XVI. Seven Dominican student brothers and four Resurrectionist seminarians have joined Father Richard Peddicord, O.P., President of Aquinas Institute of Theology, on this historic journey to see and hear the Pope at a gathering for youth and seminarians. The Aquinas group will travel all night Thursday and arrive in Yonkers late Friday evening. When asked about the journey, Father Peddicord said he was very excited and thankful for the opportunity to be part of such a momentous event. “All papal events require tickets for admission,” Father Peddicord said, “and for Saturday’s gathering, Aquinas Institute has received tickets numbered 1 through 12. I don’t know if this means that we all have front row seats or not, but it has led to some good natured speculation about that possibility.” In addition to meeting with young people, Pope Benedict will also be addressing seminary rectors and presidents of schools of theology; Father Peddicord will attend this meeting. SuperUser Account Thu, 17 Apr 2008 16:23:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:39 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/40/Aquinas-President-to-Lead-Pilgrimage-to-France-October-28-November-5-2008.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=40 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=40&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/40/Aquinas-President-to-Lead-Pilgrimage-to-France-October-28-November-5-2008.aspx Aquinas Institute President, Fr. Richard A. Peddicord, O.P., will lead a pilgrimage to France October 28 – November 5, 2008. Fluent in French, Father Peddicord looks forward to sharing his love and knowledge of France’s spiritual heritage with fellow pilgrims, and will celebrate Mass for the travel group throughout the trip. In honor of the 150th anniversary of Mary’s apparition to Bernadette Soubirous, travelers will visit Lourdes, Toulouse (site of St. Thomas Aquinas’ grave), Carcassonne (fortified city where St. Dominic preached against the Albigensian heresy), Prouille (where Dominicans celebrated their 800th anniversary), Lisieux (sites associated with Saint Therese of the Child Jesus), and Paris (Notre Dame Cathedral, Rue de Bac, and historical sites associated with Saints Vincent de Paul, Louise de Marillac, Catherine Labouré, Rosalie, and Blessed Frederic Ozanam). To make reservations, or for more information, contact Susan Sanner by phone at 314.256.8857 or by e-mail at sanner@ai.edu. To view our flyer, please click here and you can see more details. SuperUser Account Mon, 10 Mar 2008 16:24:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:40 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/41/Rev-Richard-Peddicord-OP-installed-as-Aquinas-President.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=41 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=41&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/41/Rev-Richard-Peddicord-OP-installed-as-Aquinas-President.aspx On Saturday, February 16, 2008, the Reverend Richard A. Peddicord, O.P., Ph.D., S.T.D., was installed as the seventh President of Aquinas Institute of Theology. The installation began at 10 a.m., with an Academic Convocation and Morning Prayer at Saint Pius V Catholic Church, 3310 South Grand Boulevard. The Very Reverend Allan White, O.P., Prior Of the Province of England addressed the assembly. At 7 p.m., the installation ceremonies resumed with Mass at Saint Pius V Catholic Church, followed by a reception at Aquinas Institute of Theology at 23 South Spring Avenue. About Father Peddicord The Reverend Richard A. Peddicord, O.P. Ph.D., S.T.D., is Professor of Moral Theology at Aquinas Institute of Theology and has been a member of the faculty since 1994. A native of Howell, Michigan, Father Peddicord is the son of Wilfred A. Peddicord and the late Shirley Anne (Legault) Peddicord. He received the Bachelor of Arts degree from Aquinas College, Grand Rapids, Michigan with a major in History and a minor in French. He entered the Order of Preachers (“Dominicans”)—Province of Saint Albert the Great—in 1980 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1986. He received the Master of Arts and Master of Divinity degrees from Aquinas Institute and the Ph.D.-S.T.D. in moral theology from St. Paul University, Ottawa, Canada. Father Peddicord’s first assignment was to Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Illinois. He taught theology and French and served as the Chair of the theology department. While pursuing his doctoral studies, he served as adjunct instructor in theology at St. Paul University and adjunct instructor in philosophy at the Collège Universitaire Dominicain. In addition to his academic ministry, Father Peddicord has served his Dominican community as Prior of St. Dominic Priory (St. Louis) and as Master of Students for the Province of Saint Albert the Great. He is currently a member of the Provincial Council. He regularly celebrates the Eucharist and preaches at St. Francis Xavier College Church in St. Louis and the Loretto Center in Webster Groves. Father Peddicord has written books on the relationship between Catholic social teaching and Catholic sexual morality and on the life and legacy of the Dominican theologian Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange. He edited a festschrift in honor of Father Benedict Ashley, O.P., Aquinas Institute’s first president. He has also written a volume on his French-Canadian ancestors. His articles and reviews have appeared in Angelicum, St. Austin Review, Review for Religious, Horizons, The Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics and Signatures. Father Peddicord is a member of the Catholic Theological Society of America and the Society of Christian Ethics. SuperUser Account Sat, 16 Feb 2008 17:24:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:41 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/42/Cardinal-Foley-Visits-Aquinas.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=42 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=42&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/42/Cardinal-Foley-Visits-Aquinas.aspx  John Cardinal Foley, former director of communications for the Vatican, visited Aquinas Institute of Theology on January 30, 2008. After touring the school, Cardinal Foley joined Aquinas President Father Richard Peddicord, O.P., and Aquinas Vice President Father Gregory Heille, O.P., for a brief luncheon meeting; Cardinal Foley also met with members of the St. Louis press to answer questions about his experiences as director of communications at the Vatican. SuperUser Account Wed, 23 Jan 2008 17:25:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:42 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/43/Aquinas-President-Charles-Bouchard-OP-Honored-for-18-Years-of-Leadership-and-Service.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=43 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=43&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/43/Aquinas-President-Charles-Bouchard-OP-Honored-for-18-Years-of-Leadership-and-Service.aspx On Sunday October 21, Aquinas Institute President Father Charles Bouchard, O.P., was the guest of honor at a gala celebrating his 18 years of leadership and service to the school. Father Bouchard will officially retire from the presidency of Aquinas Institute of Theology on December 31, 2007. At the gala in Forest Park’s Trolley Room, members of the St. Louis community gathered with friends of Aquinas Institute, faculty and staff to recognize Father Bouchard’s accomplishments and vision. Under Father Bouchard’s leadership Aquinas Institute has nearly tripled its degree programs, added 4 certificate programs, geometrically grown its student body, and established a permanent home in a new building. A friend to all, Father Bouchard’s contributions and influence have extended well beyond the walls of Aquinas Institute of Theology. He has been an active participant in community discussions, an op-ed contributor, a willing interviewee and a sought-after resource for information on religion and ethics. Father Bouchard’s contributions to the St. Louis community were also recognized by an Official Resolution of the Board of Alderman of the City of St. Louis. In a tribute at the gala, Aquinas Board Trustee Dee Joyner expressed the sentiments of all when she ended her remarks with the following words, “… for all you have done for theological education in the Dominican Tradition; for all you have done for the Province, the Church, the clergy and those involved in lay ministry; for all you have don for the St. Louis community and for Aquinas Institute of Theology, we thank you. But most of all, we thank you for your spiritual guidance and friendship. Goodspeed!” Father Bouchard’s Homily President’s Gala Washington University Catholic Student Center 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time October 21, 2007 I’m going to relate a story that I’m sure many of you can identify with – at least those of you who are over 15 years of age. It involves a new television and a remote control. We bought a new TV a while back, and because I knew more – or at least because my housemates knew even less than I did – about video electronics, I appointed myself to set this TV up. I took a wild guess at which diagram in the instructions might match our set of components. I hooked up the VCR to the TV, the DVD to the satellite box, and the satellite box to the TV. I turned it on and nothing happened. I noticed that the cable I had did not look like the one in the book. I went to Radio Shack, and found out that this kind of TV needs a totally different kind of cable – one that happened to cost $26.95, thank you very much. I took it home and did the installation again. Nothing happened. I tried to program the TV for the so-called “universal remote,” which had hundreds of codes in it, a code for every single TV remote control ever made – except the one I was holding in my hand. I changed the batteries in the remote. Still nothing happened. There I was with everything set up, all the cables fitted tightly; the only problem was “How do you turn the damn thing on?” Nothing I could do would give life to that little blue eye. It may seem implausible, but I’m going to suggest that this experience is a metaphor for prayer. The analogy is this. Something like the powerful collection of technology I had before me, God is a great and wonderful source of compassion, love and power. The problem of prayer is, how do you turn God on? What do you have to do to actualize all that divine good will? This is no doubt why there are at least a thousand “how to” books on prayer. Even though most of them, thank God, are more helpful than the instruction manual for my TV, they are no less varied. They represent many different approaches to prayer. There are the exotic varieties, for example. Moses, holding up his arms in prayer so they will prevail in victory, is one rather unusual style. Simon Stylites perfected his prayer life by sitting atop a pillar for extraordinarily long periods of time. For the real estate agents out there, or those of you who are trying to sell a home, there is the well-known ritual that involves burying a statue of St. Joseph. Then there are the more ordinary kinds of prayer: the rosary, novenas and first Fridays (for those of us old enough to remember such things), litanies, daily mass, adoration, fasting and the other spiritual disciplines. Finally, there are the artistic and elegant like the beautiful hymns and prayers of St. Thomas Aquinas or the poetry of Emily Dickenson or Gerard Manley Hopkins, whose gorgeous language most of us could never hope to emulate. We could name many more, and even categorize them into “schools of spirituality” – all of them geared to “turning God on,” by finding the right switch that will get the divine current flowing in our direction. These varied prayer styles are not bad, of course. The example of Moses, his fatigued arms outstretched, and the example of the widow whose persistence finally moved the unjust judge to action, both exhort us to pray unceasingly. There is no indication that variety is a bad thing. Fred Craddock, the famous professor of homiletics, agrees when he says “The life of prayer is endless asking, seeking, knowing, waiting; sometimes growing weary, sometimes growing angry.” But then he changes the perspective and suggests that prayer is not just about changing God, it’s about changing us: “Is the petitioner,” he asks, “being hammered through long days and nights of prayer into a vessel that will be able to hold the answer when it comes?” Could it be that our prayer changes us, as much as we hope it might change God? This has become a bigger question for me over the years. I’ve had my moments of doubt and discouragement, of course. But I rarely doubted God’s providence. All of you here tonight are ample proof of that. Without all of you, without the gifts of teaching and scholarship and hope that you brought to the mission of Aquinas, nothing would have happened. God’s providence is evident here. My question, rather, has been “Have I myself been changed by prayer?” Have I become the type of person that is able to receive God’s grace? Have I been shaped into a person who is more hopeful, more faithful, more able to find grace where it is rather than where I want it to be? In a word, have I become more holy? I had a friend who was notorious for taking a long time to prepare for anything. The shaving, showering, picking the right clothes, tending to hair and all the rest, took a very long time. Once, when I met him for an evening out, I asked him what he had been doing all day. “Getting ready,” he responded truthfully. I had no reason to doubt him. And that’s really what the life of prayer is all about: getting ready. Preparing to receive God’s will, to participate in it, to love it and to be changed by it. We are, all of us, the persistent widow who goes back again and again. We are, all of us, Moses, who cannot prevail without the assistance of Aaron and Hur holding up his arms when he grows tired. (I always love that image, which shows that none of us can really learn to pray without the help of others). Neither of them thought that God was a celestial vending machine or a pay-per-view satellite who would down-load on demand, if only we can punch in the right code. They knew, as all the saints did, that we are never quite ready, and that more than anything else, our prayer is for us. We gather tonight to give thanks for my 18 years at Aquinas. As we do let us also give thanks for the ways in which God has been provident, for the ways God has changed us through prayer, and for the ways in which God has made us more hopeful, more resilient and more open to grace. -Charles Bouchard OP SuperUser Account Mon, 22 Oct 2007 16:26:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:43 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/44/Dominican-Vicar-to-the-Arab-World-To-Visit-Aquinas-October-18-2007.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=44 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=44&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/44/Dominican-Vicar-to-the-Arab-World-To-Visit-Aquinas-October-18-2007.aspx Jean-Jacques Pérennès, O.P., vicar for the vicariate to the Arab World of the Dominican province of France, will visit Aquinas Institute of Theology October 18, 2007. The vicariate includes missions in Algeria, Egypt and Iraq. Father Pérennès currently lives and works at the Dominican Institute of Oriental studies in Cairo, Egypt. He holds a Ph.D. in economics with an emphasis on development, and worked in Algeria for 10 years with Dominican Bishop Pierre Claverie before being named by Timothy Radcliffe, then Master of the Dominican Order, as his Assistant for the Apostolic Life and Promoter of Peace and Justice. After Bishop Claverie’s assassination by extremists in 1996, Father Pérennès took time to further study Claverie’s significance as a promoter of peace and understanding in a turbulent world, eventually writing a book about Bishop Claverie’s life and thought which has now been translated into English as A Life Poured Out. Jean-Jacques Pérennès is coming to the United States to talk about the situation in the Middle East, the role of the Dominicans in that region, and about Bishop Pierre Claverie’s life and legacy as a witness to peace and interreligious solidarity. SuperUser Account Wed, 26 Sep 2007 17:29:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:44 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/45/New-Book-by-Professor-Mary-Margaret-Pazdan-OP.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=45 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=45&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/45/New-Book-by-Professor-Mary-Margaret-Pazdan-OP.aspx Mary Margaret Pazdan, O.P., Adjunct Professor of Biblical Studies at Aquinas Institute of Theology has written Becoming God’s Beloved in the Company of Friends: A Spirituality of the Fourth Gospel. Spiritually inviting and personal in its appeal, the book rests upon sound scholarship and uses the fourth Gospel as a call to discipleship and life as a member of the Christian community. Becoming God’s Beloved in the Company of Friends: A Spirituality of the Fourth Gospel is published by Cascade Books. SuperUser Account Tue, 25 Sep 2007 17:30:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:45 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/46/Aquinas-Institute-of-Theology-to-Host-Professional-Day-Workshop-for-Spiritual-Directors-February-8-10-2008.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=46 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=46&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/46/Aquinas-Institute-of-Theology-to-Host-Professional-Day-Workshop-for-Spiritual-Directors-February-8-10-2008.aspx Spiritual Director’s Professional Day and Workshop Presented by Maureen Conroy, RSM, D.Min. ____________________________________________________ February 8, 2008 – Professional Day Drinking from the Well Savoring Our Experiences of God and Spiritual Direction During this professional day participants explore one of the greatest gifts a spiritual director can offer directees: helping them to savor and deepen their own experiences of God. Areas to be considered include: • The components and dynamics of an experience of God. • The process and skills of savoring and reliving this experience. • The blessings and values of savoring an experience of God with another. • How the spiritual director’s contemplative presence affects the deepening of a directee’s experience. Through spiritual direction sessions and input, we will explore how spiritual direction is a graced way to experience, savor and respond to God’s self-communication in our prayer and lives. Professional Day Schedule – Friday, February 8, 2008 8:30 – 9:00 AM Gathering Session Begins Promptly At 9:00 AM Morning and Afternoon Refreshments and Lunch Will Be Provided 4:30 PM Session Concludes ____________________________________________________ February 8-10, 2008 – Workshop for Supervisors and Spiritual Directors The Ministry of Supervision – Companioning Spiritual Directors A Training Workshop for Supervisors and Spiritual Directors Supervision is considered vital for a spiritual directors’ total development. Although the supervision of spiritual directors has similarities with the supervision of psychological and pastoral counselors, it is unique in that it maintains a contemplative outlook and focuses on discerning interior movements in the person of the spiritual director. The supervision of spiritual directors is a process whereby the supervisor, the spiritual director – and God – look into the director’s interior space in order to sift out, in a contemplative way, the director’s interior movements. Supervision enables spiritual directors to develop a contemplative spirit and a discerning heart. As spiritual directors grow more self-aware, they are better able to help directees to stay with their own experiences of God and life. We will explore the skills of supervision through group input, shared experiences, giving special consideration to the purposes, content, and assumptions connected with the process. A contemplative model for peer group supervision will also be presented and experienced. Participants are requested to bring their own experiences of directing in order to reflect upon the supervision experience in a real and meaningful way. (This workshop will be limited to 40 participants.) Workshop Schedule – Friday February 8, 2008 to Sunday, February 10, 2008 Friday, February 8, 2008 7:00 – 7:30 PM Gathering Workshop Begins Promptly at 7:30 Pm and Concludes at 9:30 PM Saturday, February 9, 2008 Workshop Continues Promptly at 9:00 AM And Concludes At 5:00 PM Morning and Afternoon Refreshments, Lunch and Dinner Will Be Provided. Celebration of Evening Liturgy Begins At 7:00 PM, with Social to Follow Sunday, February 10 Workshop Continues Promptly at 9:00 AM and Concludes with Lunch Served at 12:30 PM ____________________________________________________ About The Presenter Maureen Conroy, RSM, D.Min., is co-director of the Upper Room Spirituality Center in Neptune, New Jersey. Her ministries include spiritual direction, the education of spiritual directors, giving directed retreats and offering workshops on spiritual direction, supervision, discernment, and holistic spirituality. Maureen has offered workshops on spirituality and spiritual direction in the US, Canada, Australia and Europe. She also teaches spiritual direction at Creighton University, Nebraska and Milltown Institute, Dublin, Ireland. Maureen holds a Masters of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry degree from St. Mary University in Baltimore, Maryland. She is the author of numerous articles and five books: Looking into the Well: Supervision of Spiritual Directors, The Discerning Heart, Experiencing God’s Tremendous Love, Growing in Love and Freedom, and Journey of Love. ____________________________________________________ Who Should Attend Spiritual directors and supervisors who desire to deepen their personal understanding of a contemplative and discerning approach to supervision are encouraged to attend. This workshop will provide an opportunity to refine both direction and supervision skills by considering the special dynamics involved in the spiritual direction process, and through participant interaction and experience sharing. ____________________________________________________ Registration Fees Professional Day – $85 Workshop – $200 Professional Day and Workshop – $285 Lodging is Available (per diem) Thursday Night – $85 Friday Night – $85 Saturday Night – $85 Registration and lodging are limited; reservations are accepted on a “first come, first serve” basis. A 25% deposit is required to reserve a place. Full payment is due January 25, 2008. To register, contact: Diane Henderson 314.256.8856 henderson@ai.edu SuperUser Account Thu, 06 Sep 2007 17:31:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:46 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/47/Colleague-of-Pope-Benedict-XVI-to-Visit-Aquinas-Institute.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=47 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=47&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/47/Colleague-of-Pope-Benedict-XVI-to-Visit-Aquinas-Institute.aspx Father Herbert Schlögel, O.P., a colleague of Pope Benedict XVI at the University of Regensburg, and Father Manfred Entrich, O.P., a staff member for the German Bishops’ Conference, will visit Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis from October 2 through October 5, 2007. Father Schlögel and Father Entrich are co-directors of the Institute for Pastoral Homiletics, a ministry of the north German Dominican Province of Teutonia. In the past two years, Aquinas Institute of Theology has jointly sponsored two events with the Institute for Pastoral Homiletics, both in Leipzig in eastern Germany. In May 2003, Sr. Mary Kay Oosdyke, O.P., as Academic Dean, and Fr. Gregory Heille, O.P., as Professor of Preaching represented the American Catholic Church at a conference on Preaching in Secular Times. In May 2007, Fr. Scott Steinkerchner, as Professor of Interreligious Dialogue, and Sr. Carla Mae Streeter, Professor of Theology, represented the American Church in a conference on Living as Christians in a Moslem environment. This October, Father Schlögel and Father Entrich will join the Aquinas Institute of Theology faculty to discuss the manner in which lay ministry is being integrated into the ecclesial life of German Catholics, and they will seek insights and perspectives on how the Catholic Church in the United States has likewise incorporated lay ministry. Fathers Schlögel and Entrich also plan to explore ways to intensify cooperation and the continued exchange of ideas over the next two years.  SuperUser Account Tue, 04 Sep 2007 17:31:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:47 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/48/Aquinas-Institute-Names-Father-James-Krings-2007-Great-Preacher.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=48 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=48&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/48/Aquinas-Institute-Names-Father-James-Krings-2007-Great-Preacher.aspx “Preaching is making a connection with the life stories of my hearers – their hopes and fears, their joys and sorrows – ultimately connecting them with the stories Jesus told in his own preaching.” With these words, Father James Krings describes his life-long dedication to the ministry of preaching and his special devotion to touching the lives and hearts of his hearers. The enthusiasm and joy evident in Father Krings’ preaching have made him both effective in proclaiming the Word and beloved by his congregation – and that is why Aquinas Institute honors him with title of “Great Preacher.” Aquinas Institute gives the Great Preacher Award annually to a priest who, by compelling and imaginative preaching, powerfully engages hearers with the Word of God. “Good Preaching is never easy, and great preaching is never an accident.” Says Father Charles Bouchard, O.P., President of Aquinas Institute. “Father Krings’ love of preaching has touched many people in different circumstances – young and old, sick and well, the joyful and the mourning. His love for the ministry of preaching is a heartfelt gift to all who hear him. We are pleased to honor his commitment and dedication to proclaiming the Gospel message to all.” Ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Saint Louis in 1971, Father Krings holds a B.A. in Philosophy, a Master of Divinity degree, a Masters’ Degree in Biblical Languages and Literature, and has done post graduate study in Christology and Ecclesiology. He has also completed Clinical Pastoral Education Residency. During his priestly ministry, Father Krings has worked in secondary Catholic education as a teacher, a campus minister, and an administrator. His schools of service include Saint John the Baptist High School, Bishop DuBourg High School, and Christian Brothers College (C.B.C.). He has also been involved in providing pastoral care to the sick, serving as a chaplain at Saint Louis University Hospital and SSM Saint Mary’s Health Center (Saint Louis), and Mission Director at SSM Saint Joseph Hospital (Kirkwood). In addition to his special ministries, Father Krings has served the parish communities of Saint John the Baptist, Saint Matthias, Saint Patrick, Saint Cronan, Saint Francis DeSales, and Saint Joseph (Manchester). “Early in my priesthood, I made a commitment to preach at every Mass – grappling with God’s Word gets very real when you encounter it daily,” says Father Krings. “It is the constant commitment to touch people at every opportunity, that inspires great preaching – and it is Father Krings’ exemplary commitment that we celebrate with the 2007 Great Preacher Award,” adds Father Bouchard. The Great Preacher Award will be presented to Rev. James Krings September 30, 2007, at 5:00 pm Mass at Saint Joseph Church (Manchester). A reception in honor of Father Krings will be held immediately afterwards at the parish. For further information, contact Pat Workman at Saint Joseph Church (636) 227-5247. SuperUser Account Mon, 27 Aug 2007 17:32:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:48 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/49/AI-Offers-Instant-Scholarship-Other-Incentives.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=49 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=49&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/49/AI-Offers-Instant-Scholarship-Other-Incentives.aspx Aquinas Institute wants to make graduate theological study affordable. So beginning this fall, new students seeking certain degrees can enroll at a tuition rate that will remain the same for three years. The school also has increased aid to students and, for a short time, is offering qualified candidates a $500 “instant scholarship” for their first course. Your parish priests have received information about this scholarship. Please ask them for a voucher that serves as the scholarship. QUESTIONS? Attend an informational session, schedule a visit, or just call. • Phone 314.256.8806 • Email admissions@ai.edu SuperUser Account Fri, 01 Jun 2007 17:33:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:49 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/52/Next-President-Named-for-Aquinas-Institute.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=52 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=52&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/52/Next-President-Named-for-Aquinas-Institute.aspx  A former French teacher, author, moral theologian and amateur genealogist has been named the seventh president of Aquinas Institute of Theology. Fr. Richard Peddicord, O.P., begins as president on Jan. 1. He was chosen from a narrowed field of four Dominican priests by the governing body of priests and religious brothers in Chicago that sponsors Aquinas Institute. He succeeds Fr. Charles Bouchard, O.P., president since 1989. Peddicord, 48, is a native of Howell, Mich., and a Dominican priest since 1986. He began his priestly career as a French and theology teacher at Fenwick High School near Chicago. That opportunity to delve into “every conceivable moral issue and dilemma” with high school juniors set the stage for him to pursue a doctorate in moral theology at St. Paul University in Ottawa, Canada. He joined the faculty of Aquinas Institute of Theology in 1994 as associate professor of moral theology. He is especially interested in the relationship between faith and ethics as well as helping Catholics understand the Church’s social teaching. Peddicord said he plans to build upon the school’s strengths when he assumes the presidency, which will include educating preachers and raising awareness about the importance of great preaching. “This school is built upon the rich Roman Catholic tradition and the lives and thoughts of such greats as St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Catherine of Siena,” Peddicord said. “I am humbled by the role I will play in keeping alive this tradition and perpetuating the ideas of such great models.” In 2005, Peddicord published The Sacred Monster of Thomism, a book about the life and thought of Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, an influential 20th-century theologian. He recently edited a collection of essays compiled into a book in honor of the oldest living Dominican priest in the Chicago province, Fr. Benedict Ashley, O.P. Peddicord also describes himself as an amateur genealogist, having mastered the basics of French-Canadian genealogy. He will remain in his current role as faculty member at Aquinas Institute and student master of Dominican priesthood candidates until July 1. He and Bouchard will begin his transition into the presidency in the fall. “Rick is assuming this role during a critically important moment,” Bouchard said. “In our first 25 years in St. Louis, it is as if we have left the first hint of a footprint in the metropolitan area and national Catholic community. In the next 25 years, with so many critical developments in the Catholic Church, Aquinas Institute will be in a position to more firmly make its mark in preparing leaders for the Church.” Aquinas Institute, which is sponsored by the Dominican order, or the Order of Preachers, prepares priesthood candidates for ordination. They study alongside vowed religious women and laypeople who want to pursue careers in the Catholic Church or simply better understand their faith tradition. The graduate school moved to St. Louis in 1981 and had 55 students its first year. Today, enrollment has climbed to more than 300 as Aquinas Institute has responded to needs of the Church. In addition to becoming priests, graduates pursue ministries as vowed religious women, administrators in parishes without resident priests, CEOs in Catholic health care, principals in Catholic high schools, campus ministers, hospital chaplains and theology teachers, among other things. SuperUser Account Sat, 26 May 2007 17:35:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:52 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/50/School-with-Preaching-Focus-Seeks-Nominees-for-Annual-Preaching-Award.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=50 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=50&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/50/School-with-Preaching-Focus-Seeks-Nominees-for-Annual-Preaching-Award.aspx Aquinas Institute of Theology is calling on Catholics to help the graduate school identify an outstanding preacher to receive the 2007 Great Preacher Award. The school will honor the 13th recipient of the award at a Mass and reception at his parish or religious community in October. To nominate a preacher, please send a letter or an email to Aquinas Institute explaining how the nominee has touched lives and made the Catholic community stronger through his preaching. Nominating letters are not considered votes, so it is not necessary to generate several letters for a single nominee. The selection committee will choose finalists based upon nominations and visit their parishes or communities to hear them preach. Aquinas Institute will accept nominations until June 29 and name a recipient by the end of July. Letters should be addressed to Great Preacher Award, Aquinas Institute of Theology, 23 S. Spring Ave. St. Louis, MO 63108. Send emails to events@ai.edu. Aquinas Institute of Theology established the Great Preacher Award in 1995. It is presented to an outstanding preacher whose leadership and preaching have transformed lives of those who hear him. Aquinas Institute considers the Great Preacher Award a powerful means of renewing the Church and promoting good preaching while raising awareness about the importance the Dominican order places on preaching and preaching education. The school hopes that the award will not only sustain preachers of the Word but make Catholics more attune to hearing the Word. SuperUser Account Tue, 22 May 2007 17:34:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:50 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/51/Siena-Winners-Ministry-Rooted-in-Community.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=51 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=51&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/51/Siena-Winners-Ministry-Rooted-in-Community.aspx Brenda Pehle had six months under her belt as a pastoral associate at St. Joseph Church in Lebanon, Ill., when the parish community’s only priest was reassigned. She found herself in a leadership role because she was “compelled to do what I could do to get us through that priestless period.” That was 1993. That year, Pehle assumed the duties of a parish life coordinator. Bishop Wilton Gregory, now archbishop in Atlanta, formally appointed her as a PLC in 1995. She was the first PLC in the Diocese of Belleville and among fewer than 300 PLCs nationwide—deacons, vowed religious and laypeople who run parishes without resident priests. Because of Pehle’s gifts for ministry, and because of her leadership in a role that so few held when she began, Aquinas Institute of Theology has named her the 2007 recipient of the St. Catherine of Siena Excellence in Ministry Award. The school will present her with the award during 10:30 a.m. Mass at St. Joseph Church on Sunday, May 27. A reception will follow. When Pehle learned she had been named this year’s recipient, she said she had to stop herself from objecting. She had nominated someone else for the award and thought her choice was more deserving. “That anecdote reveals the Brenda that we hear about from those who know her,” said Beth Moritz, director of institutional advance for Aquinas Institute. “Her humility and her caring for others are what make the word of God so real to people to whom she ministers.” Pehle said whatever she is able to give to parishioners in this rural Illinois community is a reflection of what they give to her. “It is a mutual respect,” Pehle said. “I draw strength from listening to them, knowing their personal struggles and seeing their faith through the challenges of aging, illness, family issues ….” As parish life coordinator, Pehle runs every aspect of the parish minus the sacramental piece. She plans liturgies, prepares couples for marriage and new parents for baptism. She visits the sick and works with families of those who have died to prepare the funeral. She trains lectors, acolytes, and Eucharistic ministers. She oversees RCIA and the parish school of religion. She readies those who are about to be confirmed. She manages the parish’s outreach to the poor and leads its ecumenical participation in the community. She pays the bills, keeps the bishop abreast of business at the parish and above all, tends to the needs of parishioners. In the early days of her role as parish life coordinator, she said she worried too much about the ever-present paperwork that came with administering the parish. Today, she sees her role as far more pastoral. “We gather for morning prayer, and I hear folks say, ‘Did you hear so-and-so went in for tests …,’” she said. “The people within the community, out of concern and love for others, bring things to me that require a response. That is what speaks to me each day, and that is why I do not let the everyday administrative duties of parish life interfere with the pastoral side.” When Pehle took this job, the word “call” felt awkward to her. She saw it as a term reserved for the ordained and vowed religious. But as her work continued at St. Joseph Church, she came to see herself as called to this ministry. “This is a vocation,” she said, “without doubt.” Aquinas Institute of Theology began the St. Catherine of Siena Excellence in Ministry Award in 2003 to call attention to what the Church can accomplish when it calls upon the gifts of all of its members. The award celebrates a lay person who possesses extraordinary gifts for ministry. Pehle graduated from Aquinas Institute of Theology with a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies in 2006. Today, she is one of 10 parish life coordinators in the Diocese of Belleville and, according to data from the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University, one of about 565 in the United States. SuperUser Account Tue, 24 Apr 2007 17:34:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:51 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/53/AI-Freezes-Tuition-Rate-for-Newcomers-Offers-More-Scholarships.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=53 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=53&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/53/AI-Freezes-Tuition-Rate-for-Newcomers-Offers-More-Scholarships.aspx To keep preparation for ministry careers as affordable as possible, Aquinas Institute of Theology has announced a three-year freeze on tuition for students who begin to pursue certain degrees in Fall 2007. In addition, the school will offer tuition breaks to students financially supported by another Catholic agency, add one more full-ride scholarship and increase by more than 75 percent the amount awarded for partial scholarships. “Our students aren’t here because they want to make millions,” said Fr. Charles Bouchard, O.P., president of Aquinas Institute. “They are here because they realize the need for well-qualified lay ministers in the Church today, and they feel called to serve. We want to do everything we can to help them respond to that call.” The tuition freeze means that degree-seeking students who enroll for the first time in August will pay the same rate through 2009-2010. Based on a typical annual increase of 4 percent each year, those students will save about $600 their second year of full-time study and about $1,200 their third year. The school also intends to offer a fifth Presidential Scholarship, which is a 100 percent tuition award to students who show academic promise and potential for ministry. The partial scholarship awards will offer several more students savings that range from 25 percent to 50 percent of tuition. Finally, students who secure a donation of 33 percent from their parish or diocese will receive a 33 percent grant from Aquinas Institute as well. Students already enrolled in most degree-seeking programs also will get a break next year. Tuition for them will stabilize at this year’s rate. The cost of higher education continues to rise nationally. According to data released by the College Board in October, tuition and fees are up 4.4 percent this year at public four-year universities and 5.9 percent at private four-year schools—a rate that exceeds inflation. “We’re among a handful of schools bucking a trend because we want to be accessible,” Bouchard said. “It is important not only to students who have gifts for ministry but to the Church.” Aquinas Institute is a Roman Catholic graduate school of theology in Midtown St. Louis where priesthood candidates study alongside vowed religious women and men and laypeople seeking careers in ministry or simply to better understand their faith lives. Find out more at www.ai.edu. For details about scholarships and academic programs, contact Jared Ainsworth-Bryson, director of admissions, at 314.256.8806, or ainsworth-bryson@ai.edu. SuperUser Account Tue, 27 Feb 2007 18:38:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:53 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/54/Aquinas-Institute-Seeks-Nominations-for-Lay-Ministry-Award.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=54 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=54&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/54/Aquinas-Institute-Seeks-Nominations-for-Lay-Ministry-Award.aspx Aquinas Institute of Theology is seeking nominations for the St. Catherine of Siena Excellence in Ministry Award for 2007. The school will honor the recipient during a Mass and reception at Aquinas Institute on the feast day of St. Catherine of Siena, Sunday, April 29. Nominations are due by March 1. The school established the Catherine of Siena Excellence in Ministry Award in 2004 to recognize the increasingly widespread role of the non-ordained in the Catholic Church. St. Catherine of Siena was a 14th century mystic and a lay member of the Dominican order. She at times lived a quiet life of prayer and writing, and at other times lobbied the pope and worked actively with him to unite the powers of Christian territories. The award bears her name because she is a patron saint of Aquinas Institute and an example of what the Church can accomplish when it calls upon the gifts of all of its members. Through the award, Aquinas Institute seeks to highlight effective ministry rooted in theological education. Nominees, then, should have studied theology and have established themselves in long-standing roles as paid ministers of the Catholic Church. Nominating letters should describe nominees’ gifts for ministry. Please send nominating letters to Siena Award, Office of Institutional Advancement, Aquinas Institute of Theology, 23 S. Spring Ave., St. Louis, MO 63108. Or, you can send an email to nelke@ai.edu. Please include the phone number of the person submitting the nomination. For more information, call 314.256.8858. Aquinas Institute is a Dominican-sponsored seminary and graduate school in Midtown St. Louis where priesthood candidates study alongside vowed religious brothers and sisters and laypeople seeking careers in the Catholic Church or simply to better understand their faith lives. SuperUser Account Mon, 05 Feb 2007 18:39:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:54 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/55/Explore-the-Role-of-Bishops-in-a-Local-yet-Universal-Church.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=55 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=55&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/55/Explore-the-Role-of-Bishops-in-a-Local-yet-Universal-Church.aspx The Catholic Church today still struggles to fully realize its role as an authentic global Church, suggests theology professor Richard Gaillardetz, Ph.D. Gaillardetz, in the 25th annual Aquinas Lecture, will explore the role of the bishop in a Church that attends to the relationship between each diocese and the universal Church. He describes that role as “the servant of the local church’s apostolic memory and the privileged agent for maintaining communion among churches (worldwide).” The lecture, “For You I am a Bishop, with You I am a Christian: A New Episcopate for a Global Church,” is 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 28 in the ballroom of St. Francis Xavier “College” Church, at Grand and Lindell boulevards. Admission is free. Vespers, or evening prayer, will follow at 5 p.m. at Aquinas Institute, which is within walking distance of the church. Gaillardetz teaches ecclesiology—translated loosely as the nature, constitutions and functions of Church—and systematic theology—or doctrine—at the University of Toledo. He has written several books, including The Church in the Making: Lumen Gentium, Christus Dominus, Orientalium Ecclesiarum (Rediscovering Vatican II), and By What Authority?: A Primer on Scripture, the Magisterium, and the Sense of the Faithful. The Aquinas Lecture traditionally focuses on a contemporary theological question and often applies the thinking of St. Thomas Aquinas, a Dominican and great theologian in the history of the Church, to a 21st-century issue. St. Thomas Aquinas’ feast day is Jan. 28. Find out more at www.ai.edu. SuperUser Account Fri, 05 Jan 2007 18:40:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:55 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/56/Aquinas-Institute-President-Announces-Resignation.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=56 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=56&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/56/Aquinas-Institute-President-Announces-Resignation.aspx Fr. Charles Bouchard, O.P., announced Monday he would resign as president of Aquinas Institute of Theology effective Jan. 1, 2008. He has been president since 1989. Bouchard has led the school during 17 years of unprecedented growth—from 101 in 1989 to about 300 today. During his tenure, the school has met several critical church needs, including educating health care executives in roles formerly held by vowed religious women so they can maintain the tradition of Catholic health care. The growth led to a bold move this year, when Aquinas Institute left its building on the campus of Saint Louis University and more than doubled its space with a move into a newly restored, century-old factory in Midtown. Bouchard’s successor will be named in April. The next president will be a Dominican priest from the body of priests who represent the Midwest region of the United States. While the school educates Catholic laypeople, vowed religious and Christians from other faith traditions, its fundamental purpose is to prepare Dominican priesthood candidates. The bylaws of the school demand that the president be a Dominican priest. Fr. Michael Mascari, O.P., who manages all aspects of the Midwest region of Dominicans, will oversee the selection process of the next president. It will be essential, he said, that the new president maintains the character and mission of the school. Bouchard plans to go on sabbatical in early 2008 and consider his future. He said he chose now to resign for three reasons. First, when he departs in 2008, he will have completed his 18th year in the position—a job he assumed when he was 37. Simply put, he wants to try something new. Second, the school has a reputation as an innovative, even trend-setting, institution, and Bouchard believes a new president will bring the fresh ideas to maintain that reputation. Finally, the region from which the next president will be named has an especially strong roster of candidates from which to choose. “Aquinas Institute has been blessed by Fr. Bouchard’s guidance for 18 years,” said attorney John Gillis, chairman of the board of trustees for the school. “Under his leadership, the school has grown from a small, little known institution to a thriving graduate theology school educating priests, religious and lay Catholics for meaningful roles in the Church. Through his drive to make Aquinas Institute relevant in a changing environment, the school has developed innovative programs for laypeople with leadership positions in the Church and in Church-sponsored institutions. He will leave Aquinas Institute a much stronger place than the one he first led in 1989.” Aquinas Institute is a Roman Catholic graduate school of theology in Midtown St. Louis where priesthood candidates study alongside vowed religious women and men and laypeople pursuing careers in the Catholic Church or simply seeking to better understand their faith lives.  SuperUser Account Wed, 13 Dec 2006 18:41:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:56 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/58/Rehab-Work-of-Factory-Turned-Seminary-Wins-Prestigious-Award.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=58 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=58&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/58/Rehab-Work-of-Factory-Turned-Seminary-Wins-Prestigious-Award.aspx Paric Corp., the firm that oversaw the gut renovation of the building that today houses Aquinas Institute, won the prestigious Keystone Award on Thursday from Associated General Contractors of St. Louis. One judge described the renovation as the “most creative reuse” in the city this year. Aquinas Institute moved into this century-old former factory in January. The building had been vacant for two years and neglected for years before that. Water and fire had left the space damaged and filthy, but leaders of Aquinas Institute saw its potential, and Paric Corp. had the resolve to get the job done. “Paric Corp. did more than complete the job,” said Fr. Charles Bouchard, O.P., president of Aquinas Institute. “They worked closely with architect Alan Nehring, and with us, to transform this beat up factory into a building that captures beautifully the personality of academic and religious community who occupy it.” In the center of the building, where a blackened concrete floor faced cracked windows and stained ductwork, builders erected a chapel, a brilliantly lit and brightly colored space where graduate students and priesthood candidates gather weekdays for prayer. Along the building’s southern wall, where rain had worn away bricks that encased 15-foot windows, builders restored the exterior and created a space that houses thousands of theology books and invites students to linger as they read. “Paric Corporation, and everyone involved in this renovation, gave Aquinas Institute a space that brings together the old and the new much as the school itself takes the time-tested tradition of the Catholic Church and uses it to respond to issues important today,” Bouchard said. “We’re delighted with the space, and thrilled that Paric has been recognized for it.” Associated General Contractors presented the award at the Millenium Hotel in St. Louis. The awards serve to honor the most outstanding and innovative construction projects in the city each year. The Aquinas Institute project won “Project of the Year” for building construction less than $5 million. Awards were presented in eight other categories. Aquinas Institute of Theology is a seminary and Roman Catholic graduate school where laypeople study alongside candidates for the priesthood. The school also offers several alternative-format programs in which students study online and occasionally spend weekends on campus in St. Louis. SuperUser Account Fri, 03 Nov 2006 17:47:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:58 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/59/Relic-of-Saint-of-Hopeless-Causes-to-be-Part-of-Healing-Service-Here.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=59 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=59&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/59/Relic-of-Saint-of-Hopeless-Causes-to-be-Part-of-Healing-Service-Here.aspx St. Louis Catholics will have a rare opportunity soon to participate in a Mass and healing service that includes an arm relic of St. Jude Thaddeus, the saint known as the patron of hopeless causes. The Shrine of St. Jude of Thaddeus, based in Chicago and sponsored by the same region of Dominicans priests who sponsor Aquinas Institute of Theology, will bring the relic to Aquinas Institute in Midtown St. Louis for 6 p.m. Mass on Wednesday, Nov. 8. The arm relic of St. Jude will be present in the chapel. Following Mass, participants may stay for a healing service, when they may venerate the relic, or pray, and may also receive a blessing with St. Jude oil. The oil is part of a 6th-century tradition in which oil placed near the tomb of St. Jude was said to have healing properties. “For the people who participate, this is a touchstone with the divine,” said Fr. Jim Spahn, O.P., director of the St. Jude Shrine. “This is someone God touched. By that touch, we know that God’s power is present here.” St. Jude was one of the 12 apostles and believed to be the nephew of Mary and Joseph. He was beaten to death and then-beheaded in first-century Persia. In the 13th-century, the global Dominican order, of which Aquinas Institute is part, was entrusted with the care of St. Jude’s tomb. The saint has become more popular in the last century, especially in the American Church, which is experiencing a more intense interest in popular Catholicism—or traditions not necessarily led by priests such as praying novenas, venerating relics and lighting candles in prayer. The greater interest also is related to the increase in immigrants from Latin America. St. Jude Shrine in Chicago (www.shrineofsaintjude.com) receives 200 visitors a day and more than 2,000 prayer requests each week. The plan to travel with the relic to Aquinas Institute is an unprecedented venture. Aquinas Institute of Theology (www.ai.edu) is a graduate school and seminary where priesthood candidates study alongside vowed religious women and men and laypeople seeking careers in the Catholic Church or simply to better understand their faith tradition. For details about this event, call 314.256.8886.  SuperUser Account Fri, 20 Oct 2006 17:48:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:59 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/60/Buddhist-Monk-and-Political-Refugee-to-Talk-about-Buddhism-and-Christianity.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=60 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=60&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/60/Buddhist-Monk-and-Political-Refugee-to-Talk-about-Buddhism-and-Christianity.aspx Arjia Rinpoche, who lived for 18 years in a Chinese forced labor prison camp and today directs a Tibetan cultural center in Indiana, will talk about Buddhism at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12, at Aquinas Institute of Theology in Midtown St. Louis. His words will be part of a conversation with Sr. Catherine Vincie, RSHM, faculty member at Aquinas Institute. The pair will discuss practices typical to Buddhism and Catholic Christianity and connect them to ultimate religious goals. “We talk often about many paths to the top of the same mountain,” said Fr. Scott Steinkerchner, O.P., visiting professor for interreligious dialogue at Aquinas Institute. “I’m not certain. We may all be on different mountains. This dialogue is an opportunity to explore in broad strokes the issues that can shed light on what is similar and what is different in these faith journeys.” Rinpoche is the second-highest High Lama to go into exile after the Chinese invaded Tibet in the 1950s (the highest is the Dalai Lama). He moved to the United States in 1998, and today is director of the Tibetan Cultural Center in Bloomington, Ind., a Buddhist community begun by the Dalai Lama’s brother. Steinkerchner describes Rinpoche as “a holy and extraordinary man dedicated to interreligious dialogue and understanding.” The History Channel is featuring the monk’s life in a soon-to-be-aired show, and he was recently a featured speaker at Stanford University. The event at Aquinas Institute is free. After presentations from Rinpoche and Vincie, the two will ask each other questions, and then open the event to audience questions. For more information, call Steinkerchner at 314.256.8869. Although registration is not required, it is requested; please call 314.256.8810. This public dialogue is possible with funding from a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation. SuperUser Account Mon, 02 Oct 2006 17:52:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:60 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/61/New-Degree-Format-Makes-Ministry-Careers-PossibleRegardless-of-Address.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=61 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=61&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/61/New-Degree-Format-Makes-Ministry-Careers-PossibleRegardless-of-Address.aspx You can keep the house. That’s the message from Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, which is offering a degree for people who feel called to serve God in new ways but can’t turn their lives upside down to study. The Aquinas@Home program is a spin-off of a successful degree program the school offers in Oklahoma City, which combines online study with occasional weekends of face-to-face study. The last time Oklahoma City and Aquinas Institute sought applications, they came from as far away as Florida and New York City! “That is when we knew we were onto something,” said Jared Ainsworth-Bryson, admissions director. Here is how Aquinas@Home will work: The first group of students—limited to about 25—will begin their studies in Fall 2007. They will spend eight to 10 weeks on each course. They will discuss their readings online with faculty and other students. Once during each course, they’ll gather in St. Louis for a weekend, where they will study and pray together. “This is more than an academic pursuit,” said Sr. Mary Kay Oosdyke, O.P., academic dean. “We will prepare these students for work in ministry, and fundamental to their success will be the development of a strong spiritual and ministerial identity.” Students also will complete internships in ministry at locations close to their homes. The first students in the program will graduate in spring of 2011. They will be qualified for positions such as campus minister, hospital chaplain, administrator of a diocesan agency or ministry, director of a parish without a resident priest or a parish pastoral associate. “We have heard from so many people who seek a greater purpose in life but because of family and career commitments, they can’t stop everything to make the transition,” said Fr. Charles Bouchard, O.P., president of Aquinas Institute. “This degree format makes it possible.” Aquinas Institute of Theology is a Roman Catholic graduate school affiliated with Saint Louis University. Priesthood candidates study alongside vowed religious women and men and lay students preparing for careers in the Church, or seeking simply to better understand their faith lives. To find out more about Aquinas@Home, go to http://www.ai.edu/keepthehouse (so named because you can!)  SuperUser Account Mon, 25 Sep 2006 17:55:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:61 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/62/Dialogue-Broadens-Understanding-Makes-Better-Ministers.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=62 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=62&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/62/Dialogue-Broadens-Understanding-Makes-Better-Ministers.aspx Aquinas Institute’s new visiting professor of interreligious theology says he simply wants people to think differently. He doesn’t want Hindus to become Christians or Christians Hindus. He’s not even seeking common ground. Fr. Scott Steinkerchner, O.P., merely wants to look at other faith traditions and learn from them. To that end, Steinkerchner, who arrived in July, will work with faculty this year to incorporate other religions into Catholic courses. In a course studying Jesus Christ, for example, he would like to see professors introduce Buddha and Krishna. In a course on Scripture, students also would discuss the Qur’an. In a classroom conversation on ministering to the sick, the class would explore Buddhist thoughts on dealing with pain. Steinkerchner’s work at Aquinas Institute is possible through a three-year, $195,000 grant from the Henry Luce Foundation. He describes the interreligious teaching position as “cutting edge” in Catholic seminaries today, and predicts interreligious dialogue will be at the center of growth in Catholic theology for the next 50 years. “Conversation with other religious traditions will make theology better and prepare better ministers,” Steinkerchner said. “The world is smaller. Communication is better. A true religious professional today has to know about other religions.” The Dominican friar earned his Ph.D. in theology from Boston College in 2005; his dissertation was on interreligious dialogue. He spent the following year in Nepal, studying in a Tibetan Buddhist monastery That eclectic background is reflected on the bookshelves in Steinkerchner’s office. While Catholic resources claim more shelves than any other tradition, he devotes entire cases to titles that represent Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and traditions such as Scientology. “I love to find disparate ideas that are great in their own right, and bring them together to see what happens,” he said. “It might affirm what we know as Catholics. It might expand what we know as Catholics. It might even force us to rethink some things. Above all, it will help us think differently.”  SuperUser Account Wed, 06 Sep 2006 17:55:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:62 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/63/Apartment-Community-for-Students-to-Open-Soon.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=63 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=63&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/63/Apartment-Community-for-Students-to-Open-Soon.aspx Students who enroll for the Spring 2007 semester at Aquinas Institute will have the opportunity to become inaugural residents of an apartment community open for the exclusive use of the school. When University Village Loft Apartments opens in January, 41 of the 242 units will be designated as housing for Aquinas Institute. They will serve students who are in classrooms at Aquinas Institute every week and others who come occasionally from across the United States for long weekends of intensive study. The layout of apartments will allow students to form a community within a community, sharing common spaces such as a meeting room, meditation area, and kitchen. Each unit also will have its own kitchen. The building, mere yards from the front door of the school, is one more piece in a $55 million renovation project on this once-blighted block of Midtown St. Louis. The new Aquinas Institute, which opened in January, was the first completed piece of the project. The renovation of this century-old, former factory has won rave reviews for its architectural innovations and sensitivity to historic preservation. The apartments, mostly one- and two-bedroom units with one four-bedroom unit, will offer residents high-speed internet access, cable television and parking in a garage that is connected to the building. Developer Rick Yackey said the apartment building also will have a swimming pool, exercise room, coffee shop and a restaurant. For Aquinas Institute, the apartments are a chance to bring to an even deeper level the school’s commitment to fostering a culture in which students progress individually and collectively through study and prayer. Ron Knapp, dean of students for Aquinas Institute, said the addition of the residential space also will have practical benefits for students. “For the person who likes to save the time and gas of commuting, this is ideal,” he said. “For a person who doesn’t want a car and prefers to live more simply, this could be a great option.” For information about the apartment community, call Knapp at 314.256.8803.  SuperUser Account Fri, 01 Sep 2006 17:56:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:63 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/64/Aquinas-Institute-Names-Fr-Dale-Wunderlich-the-2006-Great-Preacher.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=64 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=64&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/64/Aquinas-Institute-Names-Fr-Dale-Wunderlich-the-2006-Great-Preacher.aspx A St. Louis priest who developed his preaching style with help from standup comics and television evangelists has been named the recipient of the 2006 Great Preacher Award. Fr. Dale Wunderlich, pastor at Christ Prince of Peace Church in Manchester, was chosen from more than 65 nominees. He will receive the award at Christ Prince of Peace on Sunday, Oct. 22. The event begins with vespers, or evening prayer, at 5 p.m. The reception and awards presentation follows at the parish school. Wunderlich was ordained in 1974. That first year as a priest, a conversation he had with two young people left a profound impact. The young people hadn’t been attentive, and Wunderlich approached them. “I said to them, ‘You don’t seem to be too interested in what is going on here,’ to which they replied, referring to the presider, ‘He doesn’t seem to be too interested. Why should we?’” Wunderlich realized then the “paramount importance” of liturgy done well, conscientious presiding and the value of good preaching. That’s when he began to look for effective preachers and communicators. He found one in a local Baptist minister whose sermons were on radio and TV, and eventually other television evangelists. He also learned something from “Evenings at the Improv,” a show featuring comedians in front of live audiences. “Perhaps part of their effectiveness and attraction is that comedians can see the lighter side of truth without a jaundiced eye,” Wunderlich said. “Not a bad goal for anyone in ministry.” Thus began the ascent from good preacher to great preacher for Wunderlich. In his 33-year career, the priest has served as administrator and chief executive officer at Duschesne High School (1983-1992), director of spiritual life and worship at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary (1993-2005), spiritual director at Kenrick-Glennon (1993-1995), and pastor at Epiphany of our Lord Church in St. Louis (1995-2004). He became pastor at Christ Prince of Peace in July 2004. Interest in copies of his homilies has led to a book—Manna, An Invitation, a collection of years of preachings that Wunderlich taped at the prompting of a parishioner, who transcribed them for the book. They contain words delivered to high school women, parish communities, vowed religious women and priesthood candidates. “Fr. Dale is truly an agent of Christ in all that he does and all that he preaches,” wrote Tom and Lisa Marshall in a letter nominating Wunderlich. “He is gifted at incorporating humor, firmness and Biblical history into his sermons. As a listener, you are entertained, challenged and inspired to become closer to the Lord.” Aquinas Institute of Theology is a Roman Catholic seminary and graduate school for vowed religious women and laypeople in Midtown St. Louis. The school is sponsored by the Dominicans. Central to its mission is to educate students to powerfully preach the Gospel. It presents the Great Preacher Award each year to call attention to the importance of preaching. The honor is bestowed upon a priest who has strengthened the Catholic community and transformed lives through his words. Wunderlich is the 12th recipient of the award. For the first time this year, Aquinas Institute will hold the awards presentation at the recipient’s parish, which is an attempt to allow parish communities to more fully celebrate with their honoree. For information about tickets to the reception and awards presentation, or to request an invitation, please call Dodie Nelke at 314.256.8857. Aquinas Institute will award the Catherine of Siena Excellence in Lay Ministry Award as part of commencement ceremonies in May. SuperUser Account Thu, 03 Aug 2006 17:57:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:64