Greetings!
Welcome to Catholic Theological Union. I am Sr. Barbara Reid, a Dominican Sister of Grand Rapids Michigan and it is my great pleasure to serve as CTU’s seventh President. CTU is one of the largest schools of theology and ministry in the U.S., forming students from more than forty countries to be effective leaders in the Church. In 1968, on the heels of the Second Vatican Council, the three men’s religious communities who founded CTU—Franciscans, Passionists, and Servites—followed the Spirit’s lead to create a new model of seminary formation: in the midst of the city, near a major university, and in a neighborhood where there could be close ecumenical and interreligious engagement. Today, the number of men’s communities who are the corporate owners of CTU has grown to twenty-three. Within two years of its founding, CTU expanded its mission to include women religious and lay women and men, who prepare together with men religious for collaborative ministries in the global church. Our graduates can be found in more than sixty countries throughout the world in myriad ministries, as leaders in parishes and diocesan offices, teachers and administrators in schools, hospital chaplains, campus ministers, leaders in justice ministries, and in interreligious and ecumenical work, and much more.
The strength of our academic programs at both the Masters and Doctoral levels is upheld by our stellar faculty, who are not only extraordinary teachers, but also world-renowned scholars who publish extensively. In addition to academic formation, faculty and staff place equal emphasis on human, spiritual, and pastoral formation of our students. Two unique formation programs are the Augustus Tolton Scholars Program and the Oscar Romero Scholars Program, providing tuition scholarships to Black and Hispanic lay Catholics.
CTU is also home to the Bernardin Center, founded in 1996 to preserve the legacy of Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, who was a champion for interreligious dialogue, peacemaking and reconciliation, and the Catholic Common Ground Initiative. Today the Bernardin Center houses CTU’s Catholic-Jewish Studies and Catholic Muslim Studies Programs as well as the Robert J. Schreiter, CPPS, Institute for Precious Blood Spirituality. As well, being the largest hub of men’s and women’s religious communities in the country, CTU promotes and supports religious life for the twenty-first century through its Center for the Study of Consecrated Life.
It has been an enormous privilege for me to minister at CTU since I was appointed to teach New Testament Studies in 1988. The changes in the world, the church, and theological education since then have been enormous. CTU’s founding president, Fr. Paul Bechtold, CP, said, “How CTU will develop no one can foresee or foretell. But the school must never be frozen in one format. Only by being willing to change will CTU remain true to its original inspiration.” With the expertise of CTU’s Board of Trustees, the commitment of the Corporation, along with our extraordinary faculty, dedicated and skilled staff and formation directors, amazing students, and myriad friends and supporters, CTU is well equipped to be a transformative force in the Church and world, witnessing to Christ’s good news of justice, love, and peace in these new circumstances.
President Sr. Barbara Reid, OP
Voices of Appreciation for Sr. Barbara Reid, OP
Sr. Barbara has distinguished herself as an expert administrator but also as a first-rate scholar who has deepened our understanding of the Word of God in today's diverse and challenging world.
I want to commend Catholic Theological Union on the magnificent choice of Dr. Barbara Reid to serve as the next president. I have had the privilege of working with Dr. Reid as senior administrative colleague while in Chicago, and she has served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Association of Theological Schools. This is a timely appointment. Dr. Reid is the right leader to guide CTU in this time of significant change in theological education. She is an embodiment of the mission of CTU. I cannot think of a better person to guide CTU into its future. CTU is the light that all religious orders need.
When it comes to theological formation for the challenges of today’s world, CTU is the light that all religious orders need.