St. John’s Seminary Receives Millions From Lilly Foundation

(KNSI) – St. Johns University School of Theology and Seminary has received a blockbuster grant from the Lilly Endowment. $5 million will allow the Stearns County school to team up with the Mexican American Catholic College to train the next generation of priests and deacons.

The pilot program specifically focuses on rural parishes with an emphasis on Hispanic communities in the Southwest. The program is called Sustained Encuentro: Accompanying One Another on the Way. Encuentro means meeting in Spanish.

St. John’s School of Theology Dean Father Dale Launderville says the grant will help the college position itself for the changing demographic makeup of Catholic worshipers in the country.

He says, “Partnering with the Mexican American Catholic College moves us forward in our capacity to communicate with and accompany increasingly culturally diverse faith communities in our region and in the nation. The multiplier effect of this partnership and others within our network will be substantial.”

MACC President Father Juan Molina says the program will better help the church in reaching communities that need the most help.

He says, “I know mission dioceses and dioceses in the Southwest will benefit from our offering of new programs to help them prepare ministers. In our multicultural church and society, it is imperative that we prepare people not only to serve others but to do it with a sense of faith and inclusion of those who are most vulnerable and marginalized.”

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