Aquinas Institute of Theology and the Western Province of the Congregation of the Mission [the Vincentians] recently entered into a ministerial cooperation and facilities sharing agreement in order to further their respective educational and religious missions.  

“This new venture represents most importantly a promising partnership between Aquinas Institute and the Vincentian priests and brothers for strengthening our respective missions by collaborating on projects where institutional and mission goals coincide, especially in the areas of education, formation, and evangelization” says Fr. Mark Wedig, OP, president of Aquinas Institute.  

With Aquinas and the Vincentians sharing the same mid-town building for their respective administrative, ministry, and academic offices, the two Catholic organizations plan to also share faculty and programming, as well as local and regional outreach for the initial and ongoing formation of ordained ministers in the Catholic Church. “The Vincentians have had a long mission tradition in the St. Louis Archdiocese and elsewhere in serving the formation and education needs of the clergy.  This mission to the clergy is near and dear to the heart of our Holy Founder, St. Vincent DePaul.  The partnership with Aquinas renews our mission and commitment of service to the clergy,” says Fr. Patrick McDevitt, C.M., the Provincial Superior of the Vincentians Western Province.  

A memorandum of understanding provides further direction for future collaboration between these two Catholic entities.

The Vincentian priests and brothers of the Western Province follow Jesus Christ, evangelizing the poor, in the spirit and after the manner of their founder, St. Vincent de Paul.  In Word, Sacrament and Service they serve the poor, educate young people, form holy priests, and spread the Gospel to the world. The Vincentians of the Western Province sponsor DePaul University, the largest Catholic university in the United States, serve in more than twenty parishes, preach parish missions, work as hospital chaplains, assist with the formation of future priests in seminaries across the United States and lead a substantial mission in the Region of Kenya.

Aquinas Institute of Theology is a Catholic, Dominican-sponsored graduate school of theology and ministry that is part of the world-wide Order of Preachers (the Dominicans). Aquinas serves as a Center of Institutional Studies for forming Dominican friars from the Provinces of St. Albert the Great (Central USA) and St. Martin de Porres (Southern USA) as well as for the education and formation of priests, religious sisters, and lay men and women preparing for service to the Church. Since its relocation to St. Louis from Dubuque, Iowa in 1981, Aquinas has shared a long-standing formal agreement with Saint Louis University that allows cross-registration, joint degree programs, complete library use, and access to student and health services, including the recreation center.