Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary has received a grant of $10 million from Lilly Endowment Inc. to prepare and form ministerial leaders in rural and mission dioceses in the United States. Stabilitas: Renewing Rural Ministry will feature collaboration with nine partner dioceses including the Diocese of Saint Cloud (MN), the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis (MN), the Diocese of Duluth (MN), the Diocese of Rapid City (SD), the Diocese of Sioux Falls (SD), the Archdiocese of Dubuque (IA), the Diocese of Davenport (IA), the Diocese of Cheyenne (WY), and the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings (MT). Saint John’s is joined by the Mexican American Catholic College (MACC) and Catholic Extension Society (CES) as vital partners in the undertaking.
Stabilitas is funded through Lilly Endowment’s Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative. This initiative is designed to support theological schools across the United States and Canada as they prioritize and respond to the most pressing challenges related to preparing pastoral leaders for Christian congregations both now and into the future. Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary’s Stabilitas grant is one of 45 approved by Lilly Endowment to support theological schools as they lead large-scale collaborations with other seminaries, colleges and universities, and church-related organizations.
Saint John’s Stabilitas grant will engage partner dioceses to invest in the formation of lay and diaconal ministers serving 3,215,000 parishioners spread across 961 parishes in six states. Stabilitas will expand Saint John’s curricular and co-curricular offerings to educate ministers already serving in partner dioceses, bolstering formation especially around rural ministerial topics. Stabilitas will also establish a regional diaconal institute dedicated to the on-going support of permanent deacons. The grant further harnesses Saint John’s long-standing partnership with the Mexican American Catholic College to provide further resources for rural and Hispanic/Latino ministry in general and the formation of Spanish-speaking ministers in particular. In an exciting development and in partnership with Catholic Extension Society, Stabilitas offers opportunity to create local diocesan scholarship endowments to support the education and on-going formation of lay and diaconal ministers – an effort to give partner dioceses long-term resources to build up ministry in their areas.
“We are profoundly grateful for this Stabilitas grant, which affirms the vital role these campuses play in preparing principled leaders for the Church and the world”, says Brian Bruess, PhD, President of the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University, “This investment strengthens our long-standing collaboration with MACC and launches an exciting new partnership with the Catholic Extension Society. With support for endowment matching and the chance to work alongside nine rural partner dioceses, we can expand pathways for ministry formation and deepen our commitment to serving rural faith communities. This grant positions Saint John’s as a true national center for rural ministry and leadership — advancing our mission, extending our reach, and enriching the lives of the people and parishes we are called to serve.”
Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary’s Dean, Shawn Colberg, PhD, adds, “We are profoundly grateful to Lilly Endowment for funding Stabilitas: Renewing Rural Ministry. The grant fortifies and expands Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary’s historic commitment to rural ministry, the formation of lay ecclesial ministers, and training for the permanent diaconate. Stabilitas positions us to build further our enrollment and the distinctive learning community which exists at Saint John’s. MACC, Catholic Extension, and our partner dioceses add wider perspective and wisdom that promise to enhance ministry across our region.”
Lilly Endowment launched the Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative in 2021. Since then, it has provided grants totaling more than $700 million to support 163 theological schools in efforts to strengthen their own educational and financial capacities and to assist 61 schools in developing large-scale collaborative endeavors. This Stabilitas initiative builds-upon Saint John’s close collaboration with MACC, established in the second phase of the Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative, Conversatio. Saint John’s commitment to this collaborative work for rural ministerial formation expanded to Pathways for Tomorrow’s third phase, Sustained Encuentro. Both Conversatio and Sustained Encuentro have capacitated Saint John’s to deliver increasingly robust curricular and co-curricular opportunities to a diverse student body, such as ministry placements with mentorship, immersion experiences, cross-listed courses with MACC, and an ongoing commitment to formation in and for rural areas. Lilly Endowment’s investment in Saint John’s has offered students more accessible opportunities to pursue theological and ministerial formation while simultaneously lowering language and cost barriers.
“Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary has long been a beacon of formation for the Church, especially in rural communities where faithful leadership is most needed,” said Bishop Patrick Neary. “This grant for the Stabilitas initiative is a tremendous blessing, ensuring that priests, deacons and lay ministers will be equipped to serve with compassion, creativity and resilience. At a time when rural parishes face real challenges, this investment strengthens the mission of the Gospel and renews hope for the future of Catholic life in central Minnesota and beyond.”
Founded in 1857 as the first school of Catholic higher education in Minnesota, Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary is a national leader in graduate theological education, preparing students for leadership, ministry, and advanced studies in theology. Rooted in its Catholic and Benedictine traditions, students learn in the context of prayer, study, and the communal life. The SOT/Sem offers six-degree programs as well as certificate studies in spiritual direction, intercultural ministry, and Benedictine Spirituality. The distinguished faculty is widely published and serves in varieties of professional and ecclesial leadership positions, including several commissioned through the Vatican and USCCB. In addition to its connections with Saint John’s University and the College of Saint Benedict, the SOT/Sem thrives in a series of wider campus relationships with Saint John’s Abbey, Saint Benedict’s Monastery, the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library, the Liturgical Press, the Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research, Saint Benedict’s Spirituality Center, the Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning, and Saint John’s Benedictine Institute. The SOT/Sem offers full-tuition scholarships for full-time students, and 100% of students receive scholarship support for their studies. Stabilitas further harnesses and advances these assets by expanding opportunity and access to new cohorts of students interested in its programs.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is a private foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion and maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana. A principal aim of the Endowment’s religion grantmaking is to deepen and enrich the lives of Christians in the United States, primarily by seeking out and supporting efforts that enhance the vitality of congregations and strengthen the pastoral and lay leadership of Christian communities. The Endowment also seeks to improve public understanding of about religion and lift up in fair, accurate and balanced ways the roles that people of all faiths and various religious communities play in the United State and around the globe traditions in the United States and across the globe.
Contact: Shawn M. Colberg, Dean – [email protected]
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