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The Rosary is a big deal at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas.
On Sept. 8, hundreds of students will join in an enormous outdoor rosary to renew the college’s consecration to Mary, an event which includes burying miraculous medals around the perimeter of campus and a picnic.
Dean of the College Dr. Kimberly Shankman spoke about the college’s devotion to the Rosary in an interview with the college’s student newspaper, the Benedictine College Circuit.
“The weekly Rosary started when Stephen Minnis became the president of the college,” Shankman told student reporter Olivia Wieger. “He is very dedicated to Mary and wanted to bring her to campus.”
President Minnis started the weekly Rosary which he says with Dean Shankman on Wednesday mornings at 7:30 am.
“We decided on Wednesdays because of his personal prayer,” Shankman said. “President Minnis has always dedicated his Wednesday Rosary for Benedictine College.”
On Sept. 8, 2016, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Fatima apparitions, the college began the 5:10 Daily Raven Rosary which invites members of the Atchison Catholic Community including: Benedictine College, St. Benedict’s Abbey, Mount St. Scholastica Monastery and St. Benedict’s Parish, to pray the Rosary in Mary’s Grotto.
In its invitation to say the Rosary at Sept. 8’s event, the college quotes Pope Pius IX saying “Give me an army that recites the Rosary and I will conquer the world.”
Benedictine College has taken steps in that direction already.
One mother who moved students into two campuses this year wrote of the very different messages the two colleges sent. The student who went to Benedictine College found a rosary and prayer card from the president welcoming her to her room. The one who went to a state school found a red solo cup filled with condoms to welcome him to his room.
The Sept. 8 event follows a number of events on Mary’s birthday on campus — including the original consecration of the college to Mary five years ago and the construction of Mary’s Grotto on the campus 10 years ago.
“We always say Benedictine College is chosen by Mary to be in this place at this time,” said President Minnis.
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.
