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Benedictine College Prays for Science Advancement

ScienceMemorareStatueSquareThe Gregorian Institute thanks you for your involvement in the Memorare Army prayer campaign for religious freedom. Below find a letter from Benedictine College President Stephen D. Minnis about a new Memorare prayer campaign.

“If you help me out of this difficulty, I shall always call on thee.” – Benedictine College founder Fr. Henry Lemke’s storm promise to Mary

Benedictine College has a new prayer campaign: The Memorare Army for Benedictine Science Advancement.

Mother Teresa, who visited Atchison’s Benedictine sisters in 1981, started the first Memorare Army in Calcutta, India, gathering pledges for 85,000 Memorares to raise needed funds for a new building. We are proud to follow in her footsteps.

Today, I am asking you to pray for donations as we seek to build a new Science and Engineering facility. This new building project is the cornerstone of a campuswide commitment to the sciences that is crucial for our times. This $25 million building project will make a huge impact. Click here to see our plans for this urgently needed project.

Our goal is to secure 250 members of the Memorare Army for Benedictine Science Advancement who each pledge to pray 1,000 Memorares in 2016 for this important project.

In the past, I have asked help in Memorare Army campaigns to pray for more students and for two building projects: Mary’s Grotto and the Ferrell Academic Center (see Mary’s Miracles for details). Additionally, at Archbishop Joseph Naumann’s request, we started a Memorare Army for Religious Liberty.

Pope Francis has made science education a priority for colleges, called Catholics to “an encounter between faith, reason and the sciences” and to “encourage greater openness to the Gospel on the part of all.”

At Benedictine College, we believe faith, morality and ethics are just as important in the sciences as in every other part of our lives. They cannot be separated. That is why it is so important to train future doctors, engineers and scientists at a place like Benedictine College that understands the essential role of faith, morality and ethics in the sciences.

The building is urgently needed after a decade of STEM emphasis at Benedictine College. The school:

  • Invests more in STEM faculty than any other academic area, hiring 15 professors in the last 10 years.
  • Invests far more yearly operating dollars to STEM disciplines than any other area.
  • Invests more in attracting science majors than any other students: Science majors receive the largest academic scholarships of any majors on campus.

The prayer campaign begins on January 1, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God — and the beginning of the year 2016, which marks 100 years of science degrees being offered at Benedictine College.

Click here to join.

Sincerely,

Stephen D. Minnis
President, Benedictine College

The Gregorian Institute is Benedictine College’s initiative to promote Catholic identity in public life by equipping leaders (the Gregorian speech digest), training leaders (the Gregorian Fellows), defending the faith (the Memorare Army for Religious Freedom), and celebrating Catholic identity (the Catholic Hall of Fame).


Benedictine College

Founded in 1858, Benedictine College is a Catholic, Benedictine, residential, liberal arts college located on the bluffs above the Missouri River in Atchison, Kansas. The school is honored to have been named one of America’s Best Colleges by U.S. News & World Report, the best private college in Kansas by The Wall Street Journal, and one of the top Catholic colleges in the nation by First Things magazine and the Newman Guide. It prides itself on outstanding academics, extraordinary faith life, strong athletic programs, and an exceptional sense of community and belonging. Benedictine College is dedicated to transforming culture in America through its mission to educate men and women within a community of faith and scholarship.