A time to celebrate! Graduates will receive their college degrees from three Catholic colleges in central and southern Indiana

Compiled by John Shaughnessy

Graduation day!

It’s always a special time of celebration in the lives of the graduates and the people who have supported them in their journey toward a college degree.

Once again this May, college students—and their families, friends and the educators who helped shape and guide them—will celebrate this defining accomplishment.

Here is a glimpse of the graduation ceremonies that will take place at the three Catholic colleges in the archdiocese.

MARIAN UNIVERSITY

Marian University in Indianapolis will award degrees in three commencement ceremonies on the weekend of May 2-4.

During the commencement weekend, 963 students will earn their degrees.

Students at Marian’s Ancilla College campus in Plymouth, Ind., will receive their undergraduate degrees during a May 2 ceremony at 5 p.m. in the Ancilla Domino Chapel. The commencement address will be delivered by Suzi Light, retired chief executive officer of the Kosciusko County Community Foundation.

A commencement Mass will be celebrated at 2:30 p.m. on May 2 in the chapel.

Undergraduates at Marian’s Indianapolis campus will receive their degrees during a 1:30 p.m. commencement ceremony on May 3 in the university’s Arena and Convocation Center in Indianapolis. The commencement speaker will be Vop Osili, the president of the Indianapolis City-County Council.

A commencement Mass will be at 10 a.m. on May 3 in the Arena and Convocation Center.

Graduate students and medical students will receive their degrees during a 10 a.m. ceremony on May 4 in the Arena and Convocation Center of Marian’s Indianapolis campus. The commencement speaker will be former Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, who served in that role from 2017 to 2025.

Graduation events will be streamed live at marian.edu/livestream.

SAINT-MARY-OF-THE-WOODS-COLLEGE

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in St. Mary-of-the-Woods will celebrate its commencement on May 10 for 373 graduates, including the largest campus graduating class in the college’s history.

There will be two commencement ceremonies—one for on-campus students receiving their bachelor’s degrees, while the other will be for graduates of Woods Online and graduate degree programs.

Both ceremonies will be in the college’s Hamilton Arena in the Jeanne Knoerle Sports and Recreation Center.

The commencement ceremony for on-campus students will be at 10 a.m. The speaker will be Jonathan Hayden, who has earned a bachelor’s degree in theology.

The commencement ceremony for graduates of Woods Online and graduate degree programs will be at 3 p.m. The speaker will be Eleni Miller, a registered nurse who has earned a master’s degree in nursing.

During this ceremony, the first doctorate degrees in the history of the college will be awarded—a Ph.D. in Global Leadership.

As part of the commencement, the college will also have a Mass at 1 p.m. in the Church of the Immaculate Conception.

The ceremonies will be livestreamed, and they can be viewed on smwc.edu.

SAINT MEINRAD SEMINARY AND SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY

Thirty-five students will earn master’s degrees when Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology in

St. Meinrad will hold its graduation ceremony on May 10.

The ceremony will be at 11 a.m. Central Time in

St. Bede Theater on the Saint Meinrad campus.

The commencement speaker is Dr. Clayton Jefford.

As part of the commencement, a Mass for the graduates and their guests will be at 9 a.m. Central Time on May 10 in the Archabbey Church of Our Lady of Einsiedeln. †