Special to The Message
St. Meinrad Archabbey recently received a $75,000 planning grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc. to study how artificial intelligence is shaping the faith of young adults in the midst of a rapidly changing workplace.
St. Meinrad will use the grant to convene a Faith and AI Summit of scholars and pastoral leaders and to investigate the experiences of Catholic young adults through formal sociological studies. The grant is being funded through Lilly Endowment’s Growing in Faith in the Age of Artificial Intelligence Initiative.
This initiative aims to help youth and young adults draw on the wisdom of Christian traditions and engage in spiritual practices to navigate the complexities of digital technologies, especially artificial intelligence applications, enhance their overall well-being and deepen their faith.
St. Meinrad is dedicated to the formation of priests, deacons and laity to minister together effectively in the service and evangelization of the Church and the world. By discerning the signs of the times in light of the Gospel, St. Meinrad proactively responds to epochal change and adapts its approach to formation to more effectively prepare its community of learning for ministry in a new age.
“St. Meinrad has always been known for its twofold commitment to tradition and innovation,” says Chase J. Cloutier, director of St. Meinrad’s Graduate Theology Program and grant project supervisor. “This planning grant will enable us to study how Catholic young adults can draw on Christian wisdom and Benedictine practices to deepen their faith while navigating technological change. As Pope Leo has poignantly reminded us in his encyclical “Magnifica Humanitas”, the irreducible dignity of human work, love, freedom and ministry cannot be replaced by artificial intelligence.”
Using the research findings, St. Meinrad intends to develop programs to form Catholic young adults to live their faith in the workplace and to respond to this AI moment in a faithful and responsible way. The grant period will run through May 2027, with the planning activities laying the groundwork for potential future offerings for young adults at St. Meinrad.