CUA collection to benefit Church in U.S. and diocesan family

The annual national second collection for The Catholic University of America is scheduled for Sept. 2-3, Labor Day Weekend.

The question arises frequently, why contribute to CUA when many other Catholic colleges and universities do not have special collections? When CUA was founded by the bishops of the United States in 1887, it was designated as the national university of the Catholic Church in our country, more commonly known as “the bishops’ university.” Pope Leo XIII approved its establishment with a papal charter on the condition that the American hierarchy would support CUA. A national collection was later created to fulfill that commitment.

Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., joined current CUA president, Dr. Peter Kilpatrick who recently hosted a reception for New Jersey alumni in Spring Lake. Courtesy photo

Although there are more than 200 Catholic colleges and universities in the U.S. established before and after CUA’s foundation, CUA has the distinction of being the only papally chartered American institution of higher learning. CUA includes three “pontifical” faculties: philosophy, theology and canon law among its 12 schools.

Additionally, CUA is the only Catholic university in the U.S. with a School of Canon Law. Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M.; Bishop John M. Smith, and Bishop John C. Reiss, along with several priests of the Diocese of Trenton are graduates of its program in Canon Law and a number of priests received their seminary theological preparation there.

The ties with the Diocese of Trenton are significant, with Bishop O’Connell having served as CUA’s 14th president (1998-2010) before becoming the 10th Bishop of Trenton. A central campus building, a university professorship in English and an undergraduate scholarship bear his name, as does the plaza across the street from the campus.

In recent years, CUA has noted that the Diocese of Trenton had the largest representation of undergraduate students in its 12 schools of any diocese in the U.S. The Trenton Diocese also has regularly contributed the largest annual collection.

Popes St. John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis have each visited CUA and the neighboring Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

CUA features a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III program with the moniker “Cardinals” and has won several national championships.

On its website, www.cua.edu states “Catholic University is a national research university with more than 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students in 250+ academic programs on a residential campus in Washington, DC.” While some American Catholic colleges and universities have more name recognition, CUA is considered a place “where the Church does its thinking.”

All seven U.S. cardinals and eight other diocesan bishops serve on CUA’s governing Board of Trustees along with 35 other prominent lay women and men. The Archbishop of Washington is the ex officio University Chancellor. The current president is Dr. Peter Kilpatrick who recently hosted a reception for New Jersey alumni “at the shore.”

Bishop O’Connell said of the collection, “CUA has had a lasting impact on many of the students, the priests and even the bishops of the Diocese of Trenton. Supporting this campaign is very much supporting the Church in the United States, and, in particular, our diocesan family. I ask the faithful to be as generous as your means will allow. Thank you for whatever you can do.”