each, for a total of five weeks of study. They
were challenged—yet intellectually invigorated—during the 2016 summer term by
plunging into the coursework of Models
of Evangelization: Historical and Contemporary; Theological Anthropology; Virtue
Ethics and the New Evangelization; the Letters of St. Paul and the New Evangelization;
and Theology of the Cross.
Sacred Heart’s rector, Msgr. Todd Lajiness, calls the STL educational experience
“one-of-a-kind,” as it combines “deep theological and spiritual exploration together
with practical application.” The experience
of students has already shown, he says, that
the program “nourishes the men intellectually and spiritually” and so “enhances the
witness and leadership they provide when
they return to their parishes.”
“The unique strength of our program,”
says the rector, “is that priests encounter
some of the best scholarship in the world
regarding the New Evangelization and also
interact personally with practitioners who
have been and are currently ‘in the field.’”
The faculty members who taught this summer were Dr. Robert Fastiggi, Dr. Mark
Latkovic, Dr. Ralph Martin, Dr. Michael
McCallion, Fr. John McDermott, SJ, and
Dr. Peter Williamson.
At the same time, the summer session is
an occasion of rewarding collegiality among
fellow priest-students. They share meals together, celebrate Mass together, support
each other in their studies, and even enjoy a
barbecue as a group with Archbishop Allen
Vigneron at his residence. Many of the men
find time to jump in a car to catch a Tigers
baseball game or explore the cultural attractions of Detroit and the surrounding area.
Breathing in the Faith
Three priest-students who attended their
first residency session this summer shared
some thoughts about their experience.
Fr. Frederico Dundas, an Argentinian stationed at a parish in Uruguay, is a priest of
the St. John Society, a religious community
whose main focus is the New Evangelization.
Father says that without Sacred Heart’s
unique blended format program, “It would
not have been possible for me to complete
the years of study,” since he, like most priests,
ca