St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at St. John’s University has joined a group of 16 Catholic colleges and universities in a new initiative aimed at improving listening, dialogue, and decision making within the US Catholic Church.
The initiative is supported by a $10-million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to Loyola University Chicago as part of its Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative. This funding will establish the Catholic Education Network to Enact and Resource Synodality (CENTERS), which seeks to help theology schools address challenges in preparing pastoral leaders for the future.
The project responds to Pope Francis’ 2021 call for increased listening, dialogue, and shared discernment within the Church. CENTERS aims to support participating schools as they renew internal operations, update curricula, and strengthen partnerships to better equip pastoral leaders for changing needs.
Loyola’s Institute for Pastoral Studies will anchor CENTERS, which will provide funding for institutional projects, organize retreats and training sessions, hold national assemblies, and endow a ministry leadership formation program for students.
St. John’s College plans to participate fully in all aspects of the network’s work. The college will focus on engaging both the university community and local Catholic communities in ministry activities, leadership education, and formation programs.
“The CENTERS initiative allows St. John’s to contribute to the formation of Catholic leaders who build collaborative networks that protect human dignity and promote the common good,” said Teresa Delgado, Ph.D., Dean of St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies. “I am thrilled that this partnership will nurture what Pope Francis called ‘a listening church’ that animates us to encounter each other’s humanity as a corrective to societal indifference, social injustice, and ecological devastation.”
The grant funds will be distributed among the 16 participating institutions over five years from 2026 through 2030. Alongside St. John’s University and Loyola University Chicago, participants include Catholic Theological Union; Gonzaga University; Loyola Marymount University; Loyola University New Orleans; Mexican American Catholic College; Xavier University; Xavier University of Louisiana; St. Joseph’s University; Santa Clara University; Southeast Pastoral Institute; University of Dallas; University of Dayton; University of San Francisco; and Villanova University.
Governance of CENTERS will be shared among all member institutions. The network also plans to offer development opportunities for Catholics outside these colleges or universities.
Lilly Endowment Inc., founded in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. with his sons Eli and J.K. Jr., is an independent foundation funded by gifts from their pharmaceutical business but remains separate from Eli Lilly and Company with its own governance structure.
The endowment focuses on supporting community development, education, and religion—particularly Christian congregations—in Indianapolis, Indiana, its home city and state. It works to strengthen both pastoral leadership within Christian communities across the United States as well as public understanding about religion.
St. John’s University operates as a Catholic institution affiliated with the Vincentian Community according to its official website. The university supports multicultural initiatives through various centers focused on local and global efforts as detailed online. With campuses in Queens and Manhattan plus international locations in Rome, Paris, and Limerick per university information, it offers more than 100 undergraduate majors across six schools as noted on its website. Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P., serves as president according to official sources.
