What do more than one-third of all active and emeritus bishops and archbishops, including five of the six sitting cardinal archbishops, have in common?

They are all alumni of The Catholic University of America, Washington, and they are joined by some 12,000 priests and religious from around the world.

During the weekend of Sept. 10, parishes across the Diocese will participate in the annual national collection for CUA, which was founded as the national university of the United States by U.S. Bishops and chartered by Pope Leo XIII in 1887.

Contributions to the collection benefit clergy, religious and lay undergraduate and graduate students seeking a Catholic education at the institution, and support scholarships for students in the Diocese of Trenton and other dioceses as CUA strives to achieve their mission of preparing the next generation of leadership for the Church and nation.

CUA serves the Church by engaging its almost 7,000 students in discovering knowledge and truth through excellence in teaching and research. With faculty who bring world-class research and teaching talents to classrooms and laboratories, and a broad range of new programs, CUA strives to be the voice of the Church in response to the issues facing society today.

In a letter to Bishop David M. O’Connell, C. M., CUA president John Garvey wrote, “As we prepare to celebrate the 130th anniversary of our founding, I am proud of the many ways in which Catholic University continues to fulfill the promise Pope Leo saw in the fledgling institution. At Catholic University, we introduce our students to the great reaches of the Catholic intellectual tradition – and we prepare them to make their own contributions to it. We are cultivating the next generation of Catholics minds for art and business, music and politics, architecture and science to serve the Church and to leaven the culture.”

Garvey expressed his gratitude for the American bishops’ longstanding support for CUA which “ensures that Catholic University will continue to serve the Church, the United States, and the world for years to come.”

In 2016 parishioners of the Diocese of Trenton donated $127,800 to the annual CUA collection, making possible for more than 6,000 students from dioceses around the country – including those from the Diocese of Trenton – to obtain an education rooted in the Catholic intellectual tradition.

Bishop O’Connell is the beneficiary of a CUA education, earning a licentiate in 1987 and a doctor of canon law degree in 1990. He then went on to serve as CUA’s 14th president for 12 years from 1998 until 2010 when he was appointed Coadjutor Bishop of the Trenton Diocese by Pope Benedict XVI.

Beginning in 2010, students of the Diocese were invited to apply for The Catholic University of America’s Most Reverend David M. O’Connell service Scholarship, a four-year, full-tuition scholarship.

The scholarship honors Bishop O’Connell’s service to CUA and reflects his Episcopal motto motto “Ministrare non ministrari,” to serve and not to be served, from the Gospel of Mark. First awarded in 2011, the scholarship is open to all students in the Diocese applying to CUA, with the stipulation that the recipient have a demonstrated record of service and a commitment to service while at the university and in the future.