Faith for the Future - Campaign Priorities

The Current Situation

The 2008-2009 academic year began at Kenrick-Glennon with 117 seminarians. Of those, 53 were preparing to serve as priests for the Archdiocese of St. Louis. This is an increase of 17 seminarians from our Archdiocese in just four years. While a tremendous blessing to our Archdiocese, the facility cannot fully accommodate their housing and academic needs.

The aging seminary building was completed in 1931 during the Great Depression, a time of historic economic challenge. While in excellent structural condition, many infrastructure improvements and enhancements have been deferred for a number of years, leaving it well below today’s building standards. Critical upgrades must be made to provide an adequate and safe facility for priestly formation in the twenty-first century.

To ensure Kenrick-Glennon is prepared to meet the needs of the increasing number of seminarians today and is ready to accommodate future generations of seminarians, the Archdiocese conducted an extensive study of the facility. Meetings were held with Archdiocesan priests, leaders, faculty, seminarians and alumni leaders to help prioritize the requirements. A master plan was developed, identifying $50 million in immediate capital and endowment needs for the seminary.

An invitation

To respond to the academic, structural and financial needs of Kenrick-Glennon Seminary, the Archdiocese of St. Louis has launched Faith for the Future. The success of this important effort will improve the quality of education and living accommodations for the next generation of seminarians – our future priests, the future of our faith.

We turn to priests during the most significant times of our lives. At weddings, baptisms, anointing of the sick, funerals and countless other moments of grace, our priests are there to guide us. They serve as educators, counselors, leaders and friends.

We are blessed with a vibrant community and a long legacy of giving that comes together with a common heart and spirit. Through your participation, your stewardship and your generosity, we can provide for those who will give their lives in priestly service of others. The Holy Spirit has called these men to guide the faithful and provide a foundation for the faith of future generations of Catholics.

Now is the time to address these needs, to support the seminarians of our Archdiocese, to promote priestly vocations while strengthening the learning and living environment at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary.

Infrastructure

Addressing health and safety concerns

Providing a suitable living and educational environment for seminarians is imperative to the Archdiocese. Since the building was dedicated nearly 80 years ago, time and technology have changed the educational landscape. Advances in communications, combined with a more intertwined culture, have greatly impacted societal norms. Kenrick-Glennon must address not only the academic and facility needs in order to remain a leading seminary, it must also prepare men for a new century.

The seminary building has not had major renovations to its systems since it was built. Electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling, as well as information technology systems have been inadequate for some time. Only general maintenance and emergency repairs have been made to ensure basic safety within the facility.

Necessary renovations will provide a suitable standard of living, reduce monthly expenses and ensure that all safety requirements are met.

Faculty Offices

For a growing staff

The priests and lay faculty at Kenrick-Glennon are respected educators and theologians, and are committed to providing a quality environment for faith, formation and learning, to prepare men for their life-long service as priests of Jesus Christ for the twenty-first century.

In order to fulfill its mission of instilling a priestly identity in its growing number of candidates, Kenrick-Glennon Seminary requires a larger faculty and staff. To help attract and retain professors of the highest caliber, sufficient office space must be created.

Additional Seminarian Rooms

The building is structurally solid and should be fully utilized. The beautiful campus setting in Shrewsbury, Missouri is an ideal place to foster faith and encourage growth in our seminarians. However, portions of the current facility do not meet the changing needs of our seminarians, faculty, alumni and guests. The proximity of faculty offices to dormitory rooms does not comply with newly established protocols for seminaries. This space will be renovated to create 15 rooms that will provide accommodations for overnight guests of Campaign Priorities the seminary, including prospective seminarians, family members, visiting vocation directors, out-of-town alumni and bishops, who wish to make a visit to the seminary.

Learning Resource Center

A library for the twenty-first century student

The library is inadequate to properly serve our seminarians. Many students currently study in areas away from the library due to a lack of appropriate workspace. Meeting rooms to host discussions or group study sessions are limited but are required by today’s student more than ever before.

The construction of a new state-of-the-art library facility with current technological infrastructure will help secure Kenrick-Glennon’s reputation as a leading institution of higher learning.

The creation of a new library will provide an appropriate study environment and media center, as well as protect the volumes of historic books. Through this new construction, existing library space will be converted into several much needed additional classrooms.

Endowment

Planning for the future

In contrast to what has been witnessed by dioceses throughout the country, the number of seminarians attending Kenrick- Glennon has risen in the last four years. As with most institutions of higher learning, the cost to educate these men has also increased. Although seminarians are asked to pay a portion of their tuition costs, the endowment helps defray the cost of undergraduate and graduate level education and living expenses for seminarians. Current budgetary needs are supported by the generous donors to the Annual Catholic Appeal and through the seminary’s own fundraising efforts.

By increasing the current endowment established in 1997, the Archdiocese will ensure that it always has the resources to educate and form those who are called to a vocation to the priesthood, and will be viewed positively by the accreditation board.

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