Southern Catholic College could become Legion institution

Atlanta, Ga., Apr 21, 2009 / 01:14 am

The Legion of Christ and Southern Catholic College (SCC) have signed a memorandum that opens the possibility for the college to become a Legion institution.

“We are excited about this development,” Jeremiah J. Ashcroft, president of SCC, said in a Monday statement. “By collaborating with the Legion, we’ll be able to attract students from across North America and develop programs with institutions around the world. This expanded reach and support greatly enhances our ability to achieve our mission to prepare moral and ethical leaders who will enlighten society and glorify God.”

Father Scott Reilly, LC, territorial director for the Legion, said the Legion can accelerate its desire to offer a “greater contribution” to higher education in North America by working with SCC. However, the agreement is “not a done deal yet.”

“Southern Catholic is a great college and there would be considerable sharing of best practices with our existing institutions,” Fr. Reilly said. “I expect that SCC will experience significant growth in student population in the years ahead, with added growth coming from Legion-affiliated secondary schools in North America.”

SCC was founded in 2000 as a co-educational liberal arts college. It is Georgia’s first and only residential Catholic college. It has more than 200 students on its campus in Dawsonville, Georgia.

The Legion of Christ, a religious congregation of Pontifical right, was founded in 1941. It operates in 22 countries and has 800 priests and more than 2,600 seminarians. It operates 15 universities, 50 institutes of higher education, and 176 schools.

In January it was revealed that the founder of the Legion, Fr. Marcel Maciel,  had fathered a child with a mistress 22 years ago, and that the Legion had been financially supporting them since.

In March Pope Benedict XVI ordered an Apostolic Visitation of Legion of Christ institutions. The visitation was to begin after Easter.