By Fr. Kilian Malvey, O.S.B and Patrick Ryan Cooper, Ph.D.
The Benedictine Institute was formally inaugurated on the twenty-seventh of August in the year two-thousand and eleven by then University President Roy F. Heynderickx, Ph.D., in the third year of his term as the University’s tenth president. The initial announcement of the Institute coincided with the seventy-fifth birthday of Fr. Kilian Malvey O.S.B ’64, who was selected as its’ inaugural director immediately prior to a year- long sabbatical at which time new initiatives for the Institute were to be developed and implemented. The rationale for the Institute’s founding was to articulate, amplify and ultimately form in a continuous, ongoing manner the uniquely “Benedictine” character of Saint Martin’s as a Catholic, Liberal Arts university for its students as well as its faculty and administrative staff.
Initially, this took on the form of various attempts to articulate and make explicit the unique Benedictine charism and identity of the University in the form of various statues, banners and other artistic installations that are adorned throughout the campus, highlighting the values of “Faith”, “Reason”, “Service” and “Community”. Coinciding at this time, with the expansion of campus buildings and facilities, this explicit messaging would equally be reflected in various statues, building projects and artistic installations that over the years have contributed to the distinct iconographic messaging of our university facilities, which include: the Sacred Heart Statue atop Old Main; the bas-relief of St. Martin of Tours at the old staircase of Old Main; the Statue of St. Benedict; the Marian grotto; the Stations of the Cross in the woods behind the Abbey; the Benedictine Reading Room at O’Grady Library; the Benedictine medal and artistic renderings of the history and lineage of Saint Martin’s Abbey, motherhouse and university; the art installation featuring the Rule of St. Benedict and the Reception of Guests (ch. 53) at the main entrance at the Marcus Pavilion.
In terms of student formation, the Benedictine Scholars program was formed with its first cohort in the fall of 2012 to inspire and transform Saint Martin’s University in keeping with its Catholic identity and Benedictine charism through the study of the Rule of St. Benedict amidst intentional community, exploration of faith, service and academic success. At its inception, the Benedictine Institute director, Fr. Kilian Malvey, in conjunction with the Director of Admissions and a Faculty representative, selected the cohort of ten scholars and their reception of a substantial scholarship, based upon both academic excellence, leadership skills and aptitude for service and promotion of the common good. The students were actively chosen to be ambassadors of Benedictine values and mentors to others throughout the wider university population. In terms of human formation, Benedictine Scholar recipients were required to live in intentional community for their first year on the Norcia Leadership Floor in Spangler Hall, while in subsequent years were tasked with mentoring roles of newly selected Scholars in addition to functioning as peer advisors and orientation leaders at the start of the semester and new academic years. In terms of spiritual formation, Scholars were expected to attend morning prayer and breakfast with the monastic community at least twice a week throughout the academic year as an ongoing effort to stimulate their spiritual development. As a part of their intellectual formation, the Scholars gathered in the Oblate room immediately across from the monastic refectory once a month wherein they received ongoing conferences on the Rule of St. Benedict from the Institute Director. Likewise, Benedictine Scholars were required to take the course “Benedictine Studies” from the Religious Studies Department (currently entitled “Benedictine Spirituality” from the Theology & Religious Studies Department) to enrich their knowledge of the history, literary and theological contributions of Benedictine spirituality and values. And finally, with a formation of service and community, Benedictine Scholars both contributed to service projects around the university and facilities, in addition to going on retreat to the Benedictine Sisters of Cottonwood, ID wherein the students engaged in both ora et labora in a retreat-like setting.
Finally, starting in October of 2013, The Benedictine Institute Lecture Series was launched as a distinguished speaker program, while providing a public forum for the discussion of faith-related issues. Over 700 people were in attendance for the inaugural lecture concerning inter-faith dialogue by Eboo Patel, Ph.D. Later distinguished speakers for this annual lecture series included Ken Butigan, Ph.D., Fr. William Menniger and Fr. Edwin Leahy O.S.B from Newark Abbey.
