Campaign Highlights
Next Generation Challenge
Ennobled by her concern for the alarming number of young people drifting away from the Church, a dear friend of CTU has offered us this bold challenge: for every dollar we raise devoted to welcoming young people into the Catholic Church, she will match it with a dollar of her own, up to $400,000 dollars.
- Donations from New Supporters.
- Donations from Previous Supporters who have not made a gift to CTU in the past two years.
- Significantly Increased donations from current supporters equaling five-times their largest gift.”
Through the Forward in Faith campaign, CTU seeks to raise resources from the next generation of donors to intensify our recruitment efforts and resources so that the next generation of young men and women who prepare for ministry can complete their theological and pastoral studies without debt.
Transformative Gift to Enhance Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations Program
In June 2018, CTU announced a three-year, $652,000 commitment from a family of Muslim philanthropists to CTU’s Catholic-Muslim Studies Program (CMSP). The purpose of the gift is to advance CTU’s signature interreligious dialogue efforts by expanding programming in Christian-Muslim understanding, mutual esteem, and cooperation for justice. Among the key initiatives funded by this generous gift will be the appointment of an additional Muslim faculty member with expertise in Islamic and intercultural studies, as well as new full-tuition scholarships for Muslim students seeking either masters- or doctoral- level degrees in interreligious dialogue or related fields.
Another key initiative funded by the gift is the Beloved Community Internship Program, designed to afford students the opportunity to integrate their theological studies with work for social transformation.
Expanding the Crown-Ryan Chair in Jewish Studies
CTU was one of the first Catholic schools of theology in the world to include a program in Jewish studies as an essential part of its training of future priests and ministers. At the heart of the program is the Crown-Ryan Chair in Jewish Studies, established almost two decades ago on Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2001 by the prominent Chicago families of Lester and Renée Crown and Patrick and Shirley J. Ryan. The collaboration of these two families, one Jewish and the other Catholic, embodies the spirit of CTU’s program. Lester Crown noted, “Together with the Ryans, we wanted to do something as far as bridging the relationship between Catholics and Jews. Teaching both priests and Catholic lay leadership is very important.”
As part of CTU’s “Forward in Faith” capital campaign, the Crown and Ryan families “doubled-down” on their original investment, expanding the Chair to a full-time role at CTU and helping to support its expanding programs.
John E. Linnan, CSV, Theology and Ministry Scholarship Established at CTU
In honor of the former president of Catholic Theological Union, the Viatorian community has established the John E. Linnan, CSV, Theology and Ministry Endowed Scholarship. The $1,000,000 scholarship endowment fund will provide funds for graduate theological education to those inspired by and drawn to the vision of the Clerics of St. Viator. The full-tuition scholarships will be made available to premier students who are committed to preparing for ministry and leadership in service to the church with the ecclesial vision of Vatican II and Pope Francis
Rankin Family Establishes Lecture Series on God's Creation
The Dr. Barry Rankin Sunday at CTU Series on God’s Creation has been established at CTU to permanently remember the scholarship and contributions of the late Dr. Barry Rankin, a key organizer of Catholic Theological Union. The series will be underwritten and then, as part of an estate plan, CTU will receive a contribution to endow the annual lecture series. The annual lecture will be held each year to explore themes of eco-theology, celebrating a “cosmos saturated with divinity.
