March 8, 2022
The gifts support The Defining Moment Comprehensive Campaign
The Marianist Fund for St. Mary’s University has given the institution more than $4.5 million to support key priorities of the University’s largest-ever fundraising effort called The Defining Moment Comprehensive Campaign. These gifts support students pursuing higher education in the Catholic and Marianist traditions.
“The Marianists have guided the educational journeys of generations of St. Mary’s University students since the institution’s founding in 1852,” said St. Mary’s President Thomas M. Mengler, J.D. “They have led from the chalkboards of St. Louis Hall to the altar of Assumption Chapel. These most recent gifts of the Marianist Fund for St. Mary’s University continue that tradition of faith-filled leadership as our campus and its community continues to adapt and change. For these donations and for the work of the Marianists that further our educational mission, we are incredibly grateful.”
The eight scholarship funds supported by the Marianist Fund throughout the campaign include those for graduate education, theology studies and students in the Marianist Leadership Program. The Marianist Leadership Program is a faith-based leadership and service program that cultivates a sense of community. The program provides students with educational and experiential opportunities that impact the University campus and San Antonio.
In describing the Marianist Leadership Program, Brother Fred A. R. Stovall, S.M., said, “When we founded the program, we followed the spirit of Father William Joseph Chaminade and Mother Adèle de Batz de Trenquelléon by providing the personnel and finances to attract and support quality students’ growth in Marianist spirituality through community experiences, leadership development and active faith formation while providing dedicated service to the church and beyond. Donating to St. Mary’s strengthens the University’s broad Marianist mission.”
The Center for Catholic Studies benefited from the Marianist Fund’s generous support as well. The Center for Catholic Studies encourages faculty, staff and students to explore the impact of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, Catholic social teaching and the values of a Marianist education on knowledge, culture and faith. The Center provides scholarly resources that promote dialogue among academic disciplines.
During the pandemic, the Marianist Fund also understood that the University’s Student Emergency Fund played a crucial role in supporting students in their time of need. A gift of the Marianist Fund helped provide emergency funding for rent, utilities, food, bus tickets, Wi-Fi to access online courses and other priorities.
These philanthropic gifts were a crucial part of the St. Mary’s effort to reach the $150 million goal for The Defining Moment Comprehensive Campaign. St. Mary’s publicly announced the campaign in November 2017. The campaign concluded on Dec. 31, 2021, and the University will celebrate the successful conclusion on March 25.
The campaign’s goals have improved every area of the University, including raising more than $50 million in scholarship funding. The Defining Moment Comprehensive Campaign has ignited in alumni and partners a renewed commitment to the vision to make St. Mary’s one of the finest private institutions in the Southwest.
More about the Marianists
The Society of Mary, also known as the Marianists, is a Catholic religious congregation of brothers and priests that is more than 200 years old. A unique feature of the Marianist charism is its embodiment of a discipleship of equals: brothers and priests share equal status within the congregation and, more broadly, play their part in the wider Marianist family, which includes sisters, laymen and laywomen who share in the same charism and work collaboratively.
St. Mary’s University is one of three Marianist universities, each of which provides quality education with a focus on family spirit, service and social justice.
More about the Marianist Fund
The Marianist Fund was created in the 1970s by members of the Society of Mary working at St. Mary’s University. For many years, Marianist brothers and sisters contributed their salaries to a special fund so that the earnings from the fund would be used to help the University fulfill its mission. Each year, the Fund board meets to allocate the Fund’s earnings.