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Institute for Church Life
The United States Conference for Catholic Bishops (USCCB) recently identified catechetical renewal as the most pressing need of the Catholic Church in the U.S. today.
Notre Dame's Institute for Church Life was founded by the Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., more than 30 years ago to address catechesis and other great challenges facing the Church. Through its numerous centers and initiatives, the ICL connects the vast academic resources of Notre Dame to the life of Church, providing opportunities for the Church and the academy to work closely together for a renewal of catechesis.
Spirit of Notre Dame seeks $5 million to assist the ICL in its vital outreach to the Church.
Campaign Priorities for the Institute for Church Life
Central Office of the Institute for Church Life
The central office of the Institute for Church Life oversees the centers and initiatives listed below, providing administrative leadership, funding, and strategic guidance. The office also directs individual initiatives, including the Solidarity with Africa project, which is aimed at establishing partnerships to assist Catholic schools, parishes, seminaries, and ministry training programs in Africa, where the Church is growing faster than in any other part of the world.
Center for Catechetical Initiatives
The main initiative of the Center for Catechetical Initiatives (CCI) is the Faith Formation Leadership Program, an education and formation program for recent Notre Dame graduates willing to serve in partner dioceses as apprentice religious education leaders for two years. At the end of two years, the apprentice is awarded a master's degree in theology. Other programs of the CCI include consultations on catechesis to meet the special needs of various groups within the Church and support for research in catechesis, among other areas.
Notre Dame Center for Liturgy
The Center for Liturgy was established at the invitation of the USCCB to assist with implementing the reforms of Vatican II. It supports the work of priests, liturgists, liturgical musicians and artists, and the lay faithful of the Church in deepening their appreciation for the liturgy. The center also supports scholars whose academic work will have a direct pastoral benefit on the Church.
Notre Dame VISION
The summer vocation institute of the ICL, Notre Dame VISION offers high school youth and their youth ministers programming in vocational discernment, catechesis, and spiritual growth. The program is of equal benefit to the 65–75 Notre Dame undergraduates who serve throughout the summer as counselors.
Liturgical Music Initiative
The liturgical music initiative offers resources and continuing education for leaders in the field of sacred music and, ultimately, for parish music ministers.
Satellite Theological Education Program
STEP utilizes the Internet to provide a variety of faith formation opportunities for the faithful all over the world. Courses range from 4–week book review sessions to 7–week professor–led courses, and are conducted throughout the academic year and summer. Enrolling hundreds of students annually, STEP aids the Church by providing access to high–quality instruction and content that most underserved dioceses could not develop on their own.
How can I help? The Institute for Church Life offers benefactors a variety of ways to get involved, through both modest expendable gifts of $1,000 or more and larger endowment gifts.
Many of the ICL's centers and programs would benefit from the support of an Endowment for Excellence, which can be funded at the following levels: Named ($100,000), Prize ($250,000), Distinguished ($500,000), Presidential ($1 million), and Premier ($5 million). In addition, endowment gifts are being sought to name the institute and its centers, as are directorships to lead these various initiatives.
Questions? Please contact us at spirit@nd.edu.
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