The Center for Catholic Studies at St. Mary’s University has both strong support and an ambitious mission to encourage faculty, staff and students to explore the richness of the living Catholic Intellectual Tradition and its impact on knowledge, culture and faith.

The Center for Catholic Studies is located in Reinbolt Hall.

The Center for Catholic Studies is located in Reinbolt Hall.

Established in 2018, the Center supports St. Mary’s University in its mission to foster the formation of people in faith and to be a community where students are educated to become leaders for the common good through academic excellence across an integrated liberal arts and professional education.

The Center encourages faculty, staff, alumni and students to explore the impact of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, Catholic social teaching and the characteristics of a Marianist education on knowledge, culture and faith. The Center offers practical and scholarly resources to promote exploration of academic disciplines, faith in culture and the Marianist educational characteristics, with a focus on both intellectual inquiry and action.

The Center for Catholic Studies, under the leadership of the Beirne Director, provides programs dedicated to enriching the University as well as the local, national and global Church, especially in regard to social issues and cultural reflections of faith practice that highlight Southwest regional Catholic traditions. These programs create opportunities for dialogue, research and community outreach that focus on key elements of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition and Catholic Social Teaching.

  • Apply to be a Center-affiliated Faculty, Scholar or Staff

    “Affiliate” appointments to the Center for Catholic Studies recognize professional contributions to the Center by an individual whose principal employment lies external to the Center.

    Affiliate nominations can be made by their department chair or supervisor, the Beirne Director, or at the request of the individual. If approved, the appointment is for a one-year term, renewable at the discretion of the Center’s Beirne Director in consultation with the affiliate’s department chair/supervisor and the president or provost, as applicable.

    For more information, please contact Allison Gray, Ph.D., Interim Beirne Director for the Center for Catholic Studies, at centerforcatholicstudies@stmarytx.edu.

  • The Catholic Intellectual Tradition

    • Commitment to Universal Truth
    • Compatibility of Faith and Reason
    • Integral Relationship to the Catholic Church
    • Importance of Hospitality, Community, Tradition and Dialogue
    • Sacramentality and the Appreciation of Creation
    • Dignity of the Human Person and the Common good

  • Catholic Social Teaching

    • Life and Dignity of the Human Person
    • Call to Family, Community and Participation
    • Rights and Responsibilities
    • Option for the Poor and Vulnerable
    • The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers
    • Solidarity
    • Care for God’s Creation

The Center for Catholic Studies integrates the study of Catholic teachings with the nuances of the Characteristics of a Marianist University, which includes five elements that characterize the Marianist approach to education:

  1. Educate for formation in faith
  2. Provide an integral, quality education
  3. Educate in family spirit
  4. Educate for service, justice and peace, and integrity of creation
  5. Educate for adaptation and change

… with the ultimate goal of …

Building a community of scholars who engage in academic environment that is nourished by our Catholic mission and Marianist identity in order to form people in faith and justice, a mission that is [in] a search for right relationship with God, self, others and creation.

Characteristics of Marianist Universities, 2019, 19

Upcoming Events

Sorry, there are no events to display.

Back to top