By John Rohlf
The Message assistant editor
St. Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology leadership highlighted strong numbers in both the seminary and monastery at their annual Evansville alumni and friends dinner.
St. Meinrad alumni and friends packed the lower level of The Bauerhaus for the annual event, which was held Sept. 5. Among those in attendance were priests and deacons of the Diocese of Evansville.
Benedictine Father Denis Robinson updated those in attendance on the state of the seminary at St. Meinrad. He said the seminary year is “off to a great start.” They have 34 new seminarians this year, which Father Robinson said is a nice, large number. They are serving 22 dioceses and seven religious communities. They are serving 16 countries of origin, he said.
Father Robinson highlighted growth in the propaedeutic program at St. Meinrad. They have 19 individuals in the program this year after having 10 in the program last year, Father Robinson said.
“That group is one of the most interesting, focused groups of young men that I’ve met in a long time,” Father Robinson said.
Father Robinson also highlighted the great enrollment in their graduate degree program. He said the number of permanent deacon candidates is the highest in the history of over 25 years of that program. He also said they are having success with their youth programs.
Archabbot Benedictine Father Kurt Stasiak said they are doing well in the monastery, with five men in formation right now.
“Most of the other monasteries in the country would be very happy to say they have five men in formation,” Father Stasiak said. “We can say that without pretending. So we’re very excited about that.”
One of the four transitional deacons in the Diocese of Evansville, Deacon Keith Hart was the speaker at the annual event. At the conclusion of his final year of seminary formation, Deacon Hart will have spent three out of his eight years of seminary formation at St. Meinrad. He said his time at St. Meinrad has been “some of the best years of my life.”
He said St. Meinrad seeks to show her men who God made and always intended them to be. Deacon Hart said St. Meinrad treats her students as adults who are fundamentally in charge of their own formation, begins with the assumption the man takes his formation seriously, that he prays and seeks to be a man of prayer and that he seeks to learn intellectual formation so he knows something about the God he loves and seeks to introduce to others.
“St. Meinrad teaches her men how to be authentic,” Deacon Hart said. “How to authentically be who God has made each of them to be, unique and unrepeatable.”
Diocese of Evansville Bishop Joseph M. Siegel delivered the final remarks and closing prayer. A graduate of St. Meinrad, Bishop Siegel referenced his recent alumni reunion, where he and his classmates recalled their experiences at St. Meinrad. He said the class composites are a reminder of how St. Meinrad and the School of Theology has impacted the diocese throughout its history. So many of the diocese’s priests, deacons and laity were trained at St. Meinrad and impacted by the life of prayer and example of the St. Meinrad monks, he said.
Bishop Siegel said his three years on the hill made all the difference in his seminary formation, future ministry and life. Everyone attending the alumni dinner was impacted by their time at St. Meinrad, Bishop Siegel said. He said together they pray the Lord will continue to bless the monastic community, the many ministries on behalf of the Diocese of Evansville and the church in the United States.