Study in the Dominican Tradition
An Education for Preaching
At Aquinas Institute, we place our theological study at the service of what Dominicans call the "Holy Preaching." The Holy Preaching is not a discrete experience confined to a few minutes from the pulpit; rather for Dominicans it is an expression of our shared life, where as a community we seek to make a comprehensive and dynamic response to God's presence in our lives and the world.
Building on and from the Dominican preaching charism, we form men and women in a living community where professors and students learn from one another and where those who study with us are well-prepared to go forth into the world preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ in word and deed.
What Sets Us Apart from Other Theology and Ministry Schools?
Our engagement with and access to our Dominican heritage in the 800-year-old rich intellectual tradition of the Order of Preachers and its extraordinary contribution to the intellectual and pastoral life of the Catholic Church serves as the foundation for all we do. At the heart of all our programs is the unique Dominican approach to education that holds as its primary purpose a search for Veritas, the One who is Truth himself, Our Lord Jesus Christ, whom we seek to encounter in all of our programs, coursework and campus life, and whom we seek to share through our mission of evangelization, namely to be useful by preaching and teaching for the salvation of every person.
Our theological orientation is informed and built upon the scholarship and intellectual legacy of the Dominicans of the River Forest School of Thomism and its interpretation of our great patron, St. Thomas of Aquinas whose study of the Word of God led him to engage the world positively in a pursuit of Truth that was expansive, comprehensive, and all-encompassing.
Aquinas Institute likewise undertakes its intellectual mission in the same spirit of St. Thomas by following his example. We seek the Truth of Christ as it has been revealed to us in the Holy Scriptures and Tradition of the Church and we strive to understand it by our engagement with others, with men and women from various cultures, backgrounds, and social strata, which is the contemporary reality of the Church and the world in our own time and place.
Aquinas Institute's Role in Dominican Formation
In promoting the preaching mission of the Order of Preachers, Aquinas Institute serves as the Center of Institutional Studies for the Provinces of St. Albert the Great and St. Martin de Porres. The theological formation of our student brothers is at the heart of our mission, and this commitment to a Dominican formation in the intellectual tradition of the Order underlies all of our degree programs. Dominican brothers in formation are guided by the Ratio Studiorum Particularis of our two provinces, an articulation of the Ratio Studiorum Generalis of the Order, a six-year program of theological formation required by Dominican friars throughout the world.
Contact each province's vocation director for further information.
PROVINCE OF ST. MARTIN DE PORRES
Southern Province
Fr. Carl Paustian, O.P. | Director of Vocations
314-240-3537
vocationsopsouth.org
PROVINCE OF ST. ALBERT THE GREAT
Central Province
Fr. Samuel Hakeem, O.P. | Director of Vocations
314-243-0011 ex. 726
vocations@opcentral.org