The Mission of Saint Meinrad

Saint Meinrad Archabbey ChurchIn the l850s, the Benedictines of the Swiss abbey of Einsiedeln were approached by a priest from Indiana who was looking for a monastery that could begin a foundation in his area. When the monks of Einsiedeln agreed to investigate this proposition, they had three goals in mind: The monks wanted to transplant their Benedictine heritage onto American soil; they wanted to minister to the spiritual needs of a growing Catholic population settling in the southern part of Indiana; and they wanted to start a school to prepare local men for priesthood and ministry to the region. All of these goals were addressed by the founding of Saint Meinrad Archabbey and School of Theology.

Since Saint Meinrad’s founding, much has changed in southern Indiana and in the Catholic Church in the United States. As a result, Saint Meinrad has adapted its mission to address new needs. In addition to preparing priesthood students, Saint Meinrad offers a variety of educational programs for lay persons and deacon candidates. In its outreach to the Church in the United States, Saint Meinrad provides a comprehensive program for the education and formation of ecclesial lay ministers.

Partnership with the local diocese

Saint Meinrad brings to this task almost a century and a half of offering quality education and formation for ministry: an integrated process of spiritual growth, intellectual advancement, and the development of professional identity and skills.  Saint Meinrad is prepared to adapt in order to address the needs unique to the diocese.

Preparation for Integration into the Leadership of the Church

As a school of theology that has provided priesthood formation since the mid-1800’s, lay ministry formation since the 1970’s and permanent deacon formation since the 1990’s, Saint Meinrad is unique in its experience of collaborative formation to build cooperation among ordained and lay leaders in the diocese while respecting and preserving the hierarchy of the Church.

A complete formation program requires a balanced and integrated curriculum.  Each academic course complements the others in content and purpose.  Likewise, the work done in the classroom must balance and strengthen the other areas of formation, that is, spiritual direction, personal and professional skills formation and mentor relationships.  All of the formation components should work together to relate academic disciplines, spiritual development and professional competencies.

 

 

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