Moments: St. Meinrad, Indiana to CTU, Chicago

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The Passionists studying theology moved a lot. St. Louis, Chicago, St. Paul, Louisville, maybe even Sierra Madre and Citrus Heights, California. As their Passionist mentors moved so did the students.

Halfway through my novitiate year another move was announced in anticipation of an alignment with Bellarmine College. About 70 of us, as freshmen and sophomores, began our journey and displaced our theologians to Holy Cross Hall, St. Meinrad's Archabbey in St. Meinrad, Indiana, home of the Benedictines.

This was a dream of many religious men and women to meet the tenets set forth by Vatican II. No longer would these religions study in the shadow of their monasteries and convents; no longer would they be separated from the urban world around them. The new provincial, Fr Paul Mary Boyle, approved this approach which was spearheaded by Fr Ignatius Bechtold ending isolation of theological training within the Order

The number of professed students was still large across college and the house of theology. The Exodus of the 1960s had yet to begin. Only the powers that be within the Order knew whether this move was temporary or permanent...

...Temporary, as it turns out. Enough time for some to complete their theological studies reaching ordination. The Catholic Theological Union came into being, arising from the former 9-story Aragon Hotel. CTU as it was called would be the future home of about 100 theologians from the Passionists, Servites, and Franciscans.

CTU continues today, after 52 years, as a vibrant and active institution led currently [2021] by its 8th and first female president, Sr. Barbara Reid, O.P. Fr. Donald Senior, C.P. stands out as a President Emeritus. The accredited institute now opens its doors to at least 24 religious communities.