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 Catholic Intellectual Tradition and its impact on knowledge, culture and faith.

The Center for Catholic Studies is located in Reinbolt Hall.

Established in 2018, the Center supports the University mission in its efforts to be a Catholic, Marianist University where the formation of people in faith is fostered and students are educated to become leaders for the common good through community, integrated liberal arts and professional education, and academic excellence.

The Center 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 by providing academic and scholarly resources that promote dialogue among academic disciplines, faith in culture and the Marianist educational characteristics through intellectual inquiry and action.

The Center for Catholic Studies, under the leadership of the Beirne Director, provides programs dedicated to providing the University as well as the local, national and global Church that serve the mission of the 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 Teachings.

Center-affiliated Faculty, Scholars and Staff Members

  • Sara Ronis, Ph.D., Center-affiliated Faculty, Center for Catholic Studies

  • 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 Alicia Cordoba Tait, D.M.A., Associate Vice President and Beirne Director, 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 Teachings

    • 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

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