Kansas City, Kan., Sep 19, 2009 / 12:08 pm
Benedictine College is a gem among Catholic institutions of higher learning in the U.S. In its guide to "Choosing a Catholic College," the Cardinal Newman Society said of Benedictine, "All the elements of a vibrant Catholic spiritual life are present at BC . . . While many Catholic colleges have de-emphasized their ties to religious orders, Benedictine College celebrates its Benedictine Heritage."
Those are distinctions which haven’t gone unnoticed on high. Archbishop Pietro Sambi, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, made the same observations when he celebrated the school’s opening Mass and Convocation on September 1.
Bishop Robert W. Finn, Kansas City, Kansas Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann and recently installed Omaha Archbishop George Lucas joined other bishops and numerous priests and religious alumni of Benedictine in opening the school year. The entire Freshmen class and hundreds of upper-classmen and women packed the Abbey Church to overflowing and welcomed the Nuncio displaying exuberant school spirit.
In his homily, Archbishop Sambi gave an extensive reflection on the role of Catholic Colleges as "places of encounter with the Word, with the Good News, with Jesus Christ." The Archbishop taught on Pope Benedict’s vision of the "liberating mission of a Catholic education, especially within societies where a secularist ideology separates truth and faith," and of the Holy Father’s "desire to see that [the Church’s] schools at all levels maintain a strong Catholic identity."