Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology explained

Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology
Established:	1857
Type:	Roman Catholic seminary and school of theology
Affiliation:	Catholic Church (St. Meinrad Archabbey)
City:	Saint Meinrad
State:	Indiana
Country:	United States
Students:	170 (78 undergrad, 92 postgrad)
Rector:	Denis Robinson
Campus:	Rural; 250acres

The Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology is a Roman Catholic seminary and school of theology in Saint Meinrad, Indiana. It is affiliated with the Saint Meinrad Archabbey in St. Meinrad, Indiana. The institution was named after Meinrad of Einsiedeln, a ninth century hermit living in what is today Switzerland.

History

In 1857, several Benedictine monks travelled from Einsiedeln Abbey in Einsiedeln, Switzerland, to southern Indiana to establish Saint Meinrad Seminary. At its beginning, Saint Meinrad was a high school program. By 1861, the monks had added courses in philosophy, business, theology and classical literature. A fire in 1887 destroyed the seminary buildings.

When Saint Meinrad reopened after the 1887 fire, it focused only on preparing seminarians for priesthood.^[1] It had two divisions:

• A minor seminary with four years of high school and the first two years of college
• A major seminary with two years of college courses in philosophy and theology

In 1959, Saint Meinrad reorganized into three divisions:

• A traditional four year high school, which closed in 1968.^[2]
• A four-year college, which closed in 1998.^[3]
• A theologate, or graduate school of theology

In February 2019, after an internal investigation, Saint Meinrad added two priests to the Diocese of Evansville list of clergy with credible accusations of sexual abuse:^[4]

• Warren Heitz was accused of misconduct dating from the 1970s and 1999. Removed from public ministry in 2002, he spent ten years living in a supervised residence for offenders at Saint Meinrad.
• Robert Woerdeman had faced one accusation of misconduct. He was defrocked as a priest in 1975.

Academics

Saint Meinrad offers the following advanced degrees:

• Master of Divinity
• Master of Theological Studies
• Master of Arts in Catholic Philosophical Studies
• Master of Arts (Theology)
• Master of Arts (Pastoral Theology)^[5]

Saint Meinrad offers programs in:

• Priesthood formation
• Theological formation for permanent deacon candidates
• Lay degrees in theology
• Continuing adult education
• Youth leadership

History at a glance

Saint Meinrad Abbey's school	Established	1857
	Type	secondary school
Saint Meinrad College	Opened	1861
	Type	liberal arts college
	Closed	1887 due to fire
	Transferred to	Jasper Academy
Saint Meinrad Seminary	Opened	1887
	Type	major seminary, minor seminary
Saint Meinrad High School, Seminary, and College	Reorganized	1959
	Type	major seminary, minor seminary, liberal arts college, secondary school
Saint Meinrad College	Closed	1998^[6]

Saint Meinrad is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools. It has also been accredited by the Higher Learning Commission or its predecessor, the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, continuously since 1979.^[7]

Alumni

Ordinaries

• Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein, Bishop Emeritus, Archdiocese of Indianapolis
• Father Ralph S. Pfau, author

Deceased alumni cardinals

• Joseph Cardinal Ritter, O'1917; Archdiocese of St. Louis

Living alumni bishops

• Paul J. Bradley, DD, O'1971; Diocese of Kalamazoo
• J. Douglas Deshotel, DD, O`1978; Diocese of Dallas - Auxiliary
• Gerald A. Gettelfinger, DD, O'1961; Diocese of Evansville (retired)
• Joseph H. Hart, DD, O'1956; Diocese of Cheyenne (retired)
• James Vann Johnston, DD, T'1990; Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph
• Peter A. Libasci, DD, O'1977; Diocese of Manchester
• William F. Medley, DD, O'1982; Diocese of Owensboro
• Carl F. Mengeling, STD, O'1957; Diocese of Lansing (retired)
• Thomas J. O'Brien, DD, O'1961; Diocese of Phoenix (resigned)
• Patrick Pinder, DD, O'1979; Archdiocese of Nassau
• David L. Ricken, DD, O'1980; Diocese of Green Bay
• João Noé Rodrigues (Sabbaticant 1993); Diocese of Tzaneen, South Africa
• James Peter Sartain, DD, O'1978; Archdiocese of Seattle
• Joseph M. Siegel, STL, O'1988; Diocese of Evansville
• David P. Talley T`1989; Diocese of Memphis
• Anthony B. Taylor, DD, O'1980; Diocese of Little Rock
• Charles C. Thompson, DD, T'1987; Archdiocese of Indianapolis

Deceased alumni bishops

• Herman J. Alerding, O'1868; Diocese of Fort Wayne
• John G. Bennett, O'1914; Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana
• William D. Borders, DD, O'1940; Archdiocese of Baltimore
• Joseph Chartrand, O'1892; Diocese of Indianapolis
• Francis R. Cotton, O'1920 Diocese of Owensboro
• Joseph R. Crowley, O'1953; Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend (Auxiliary Emeritus)
• Robert W. Donnelly, DD, O'1957; Diocese of Toledo - Auxiliary
• Laurence J. FitzSimon, O'1921; Diocese of Amarillo
• James R. Hoffman, O'1958; Diocese of Toledo
• E. B. Ledvina, O'1893; Diocese of Corpus Christi
• Thomas F. Lillis, O'1885; Diocese Kansas City, MO
• Denis O'Donaghue, O'1874; Diocese of Louisville (Emeritus)
• Theodore Revermann, O'1901; Diocese of Superior
• John C. Ward, O'1884; Diocese of Leavenworth

Others

• Ron Broglio, Professor at Arizona State University.
• Fr. Cyprian Davis, OSB, Black Catholic historian and the first African-American to join the St Meinrad monks.
• Joseph A. Favazza, 11th president of Saint Anselm College.
• Luke Timothy Johnson, Ph.D., author and professor at the Candler School of Emory University.
• Fr. Thomas Scecina, US Army chaplain killed during the sinking of the Japanese prison ship Arisan Maru in 1944.^[8]

Notes and References

1. Web site: History . 2022-04-22 . Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology.
2. Web site: January 1, 1997 . St. Meinrad College closing, ending legacy of educating priests-to-be . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230120195629/https://religionnews.com/1997/01/01/news-story-st-meinrad-college-closing-ending-legacy-of-educating-priests-to/ . 2023-01-20 . 2022-04-25 . Religion News Service . en-US.
3. Web site: Haworth . Karla . May 16, 1997 . Saint Meinrad College to Close Next May . 2022-04-25 . The Chronicle of Higher Education.
4. Web site: Goffinet . Jared . O'Rourke . Kate . February 25, 2019 . 2 priests found credibly accused after Saint Meinrad internal investigation . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20190228184934/https://www.14news.com/2019/02/25/priests-found-credibly-accused-after-saint-meinrad-internal-investigation/ . 2019-02-28 . 2022-04-22 . WFIE 14 News . en.
5. Web site: M.A. (Theology) - Welcome | Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130511035739/http://www.saintmeinrad.edu/lay-degrees/ma-(theology)/ . 2013-05-11 . 2013-07-03.
6. Web site: Higher Learning Commission . Ncahlc.org . 2020-04-15.
7. Web site: Higher Learning Commission . Ncahlc.org . 2020-04-15.
8. Web site: Henriott . Paul D. . March 31, 2005 . Chaplain Reverend Father Thomas J. Scecina . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20051101003357/http://www.rtcol.com/~oakland/scecina.html . 2005-11-01 . Tribute To True Heroes.