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St. Mary's Academy & College
The History of St. Mary's Academy &
College |
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Timeline: 1931 - 1967

St. Mary's began as a mission; for many years it carried on a program of
education in the best Jesuit tradition. Now, St. Mary's College turns to a
different phase of that work, the education of future priests for the Society of
Jesus.
The Jesuit's road to the priesthood is a long one: two years of novitiate, two
of classical studies, and three of logic and philosophy. Then, he is assigned
for three years to a Jesuit high school or college where he teaches, moderates
student activities, acts as a prefect, and learns to guide young men. Finally he
enters on the last stage of his long training -- the four-year study of
theology. Usually at the end of his third year of this course, he is ordained to
the priesthood. Following the fourth year, he makes his tertianship, which
amounts to a third year of novitiate.
It was this last important phase of theological training that St. Mary's College
undertook in 1931 when the faculty and students of the Missouri Province "Theologate"
were transferred here from St. Louis University. In the atmosphere of St.
Mary's, the Jesuit scholastic spent those years when God became the
all-absorbing study of his life, when he would learn to be a doctor of souls
that are sick, and a father to all -- always preparing for that supreme day in
the Immaculata Chapel when he would receive the greatest power given to man: the
priesthood.
Thus, in this little spot in Kansas was fulfilled the three-fold purpose of St.
Ignatius of Loyola's little company: a mission, a school, and a seminary.
During the seminary years, ordinations took place in the Immaculata during three
days in June when the Bishop of Leavenworth (one of Bishop Miége's successors),
or of Kansas City in Kansas, or of Wichita, or another visiting Bishop,
conferred the subdiaconate, diaconate, and (on the final day) the priesthood.
Long lines of ordinandi processed down the hill from Bellarmine to the
Immaculata; then formed on the Immaculata steps in two lines through which the
ordaining Bishop and his ministers passed; at the ordination ceremony in the
chapel, large numbers of visiting clergy participated in the imposition of
hands; newly-ordained priests gave their first blessings to their parents at the
communion railing and outdoors; the ordination banquet took place in the
refectory [present Assumption Chapel]; parties of visitors gathered at the
Memorial Arch awaiting departure (probably on ordination day the train made a
special extra stop at the College gates).
There is an oft-repeated statement that 1,000 priests were ordained in the
Immaculata. In a period of more than 30 years from 1932-1967, that is entirely
possible, as can be seen from the numbers in the yearly ordination classes.
Statistics from some sample years follow: 1943 - 40 ordained; 1945 - 41; 1948 -
39; 1949 - 35; 1950 - 33; 1951 - 21; 1952 - 32; 1953 - 27; 1954 - 24; 1955 - 30;
1956 - 10; 1959 - 17; 1960 - 14. After the war years, the number of ordinandi
are lower, and decline noticeably with the approach of the 1960's.
1933 |
April - Fire in the College building
destroys the attic recreation rooms; the roof is replaced, but smoked
timbers can still be seen there. [This roof, once bristling with
chimneys, has been altered several times. At some point during these years,
most of the dormer windows were removed.] |
1940-1956 |
Fr. Daniel Conway, S.J., is Rector of St. Mary's; he takes
the young priests out to learn how to conduct "street-preaching." A great
missionary, Fr. Conway brought about through "street-preaching" the
formation of Catholic parishes in Kansas towns; Father was President of
Rockhurst College in Kansas City; and after his work at St. Mary's, he was
appointed superior over all the colleges, high schools, parishes, and
missions managed by the 1,269 Jesuits of the Missouri Province. |
1942 |
January - a new bi-monthly publication, Review for
Religious, a journal for religious priests, brothers, and sisters,
begins publication from SMC. By early 1945, its circulation will be more
than 5,000; it will continue publication up into the 1960's. |
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The December issue of The Jesuit Bulletin, published at St.
Mary's during these years, features Midnight Mass in the Immaculata Chapel
on the cover, and inside a glimpse of seminary life at SMC. In an article,
"Working Their Way," William F. Kelley, a second year theologian at SMC,
explains the daily routine of a young Jesuit scholastic at St. Mary's which
hums with activity. |
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"Every Scholastic prepares scrupulously each day for his
four or five classes in Dogmatic and Moral Theology, Sacred Scripture, and
Canon Law. This, together with the research needed for obligatory seminars,
keeps even the most brilliant thoroughly busy... Suffice it to say that St.
Mary's has an enviable record of mothering thoroughly trained Theologians
well worthy of their distinguished ancestry." The writer goes on to explain
how manual work provides a necessary relief from the taxing regimen of
study, and enables St. Mary's to operate with some of the self-sufficiency
of the old monasteries. The scholastics are their own janitors and
groundsmen; they work in the kitchen and wait at table; sacristans prepare
altars and Mass equipment for the seventy-plus Masses celebrated daily by
the priests at the College; scholastics operate shoe-repair machinery;
others do bookbinding and printing; a large staff assists in the library;
the mimeograph crew churns out class notes. There was a tailoring shop on
campus [in what is now the admissions office for the Academy]. You can have
your photograph taken, your watch repaired, or your hair cut on campus. |
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Scholastics assist in the office of the Jesuit Seminary Aid
Association, headquartered at SMC and put in many hour editing of the Jesuit
Bulletin, (circulation, twenty thousand), as well as the clerical work of
the new Review for Religious. The Seminary Aid / Jesuit Bulletin office was
housed in a big classroom in Bellarmine that was a beehive of activity. Work
for the flourishing Kansas State Sodality Union of fifty high schools and
colleges employs ten others. And the councilors of Camp De Smet must plan
afar for their enrollment and the summer's program. During World War II,
with the sons of the small town of St. Mary's enlisted in America's defense,
when Kansas was blessed with bumper crops, SMC theologians pitched in to
provide manpower for the harvest. |
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We must not fail to mention that during this time many
Jesuit Lay Brothers worked at St. Mary's assisting in the kitchen, the
grounds, the farm, the laundry, the infirmary, the offices -- wherever these
dedicated men of God were needed. |
1943 |
June 22 -- St. Mary's College sees 40 of her sons raised to
the dignity of the priesthood by His Excellency, the Most Reverend Paul C.
Schulte, S.T.D., Bishop of Leavenworth. Although the nation is at war, these
are happy days at St. Mary's for the newly ordained young priests and their
families. |
1944 |
Spring - Among the Scholastics at SMC are 11 Jesuits from
Mexico. Since the beginning of the century some 70 Mexican Jesuits, driven
into exile by the hostile government, have come to the Missouri Province to
receive their philosophical or theological training at St. Louis or at St.
Mary's. |
1945 |
The "Ordination Issue" of the Jesuit Bulletin shows photos
of seminarians learning the rubrics for their future function as priests:
practicing "dry Masses," learning to administer Extreme Unction, pouring
water on St. Mary's much-baptized "baby" (a doll), and studying the breviary
with Fr. Gerald Ellard. Fr. Gerald and his brother, Fr. Augustine, were both
stationed at SMC. Fr. Gerald, an expert on the Liturgy, prepared at least 20
classes for the sacred functions of the priesthood during his many years at
SMC. |
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Ever since the invention of moveable type during the
lifetime of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the Jesuits have used the power of the
printed word for the work of God. At this time they are producing dozens of
periodicals for the religious and laity. Several, mentioned above, are
published at SMC, where, in addition, the "St. Peter Canisius Writers'
Guild" meets in "the Rock Building" (Coppens Hall, judging by the photos),
to study the great apostolate of the pen. At this time the staff of the
Kansas State Sodality Union at St. Mary's publishes the KSSU Sodality
Bulletin, and distributes a popular series of "Catholics Say" articles
appearing in 36 Kansas newspapers. |
1946 |
The Jesuit Bulletin celebrates its 25th anniversary; still
published in St. Mary's, it is prepared entirely by the volunteer labors of
Fathers, Brothers, and Scholastics. |
1948 |
St. Mary's College celebrates the centenary of its founding.
On June 14, in the Immaculata, 39 Jesuits are ordained to the priesthood by
the Most Reverend Joseph E. Ritter, S.T.D., Archbishop of St. Louis. Since
1931, 700 priests have been ordained in the Immaculata; hence, St. Mary's is
called "Mother of Priests." |
1949 |
June 14 - For the first time at St. Mary's, the ordaining
bishop is also a Jesuit, the Most Reverend Ignatius Glennie, Bishop of
Trincomalee in Ceylon, who ordains 35 candidates. |
1951 |
The 21 members of this year's ordination class have made
their entire priestly preparation under the clouds of war, having begun
their novitiate in 1939, at the outbreak of World War II. |
1956 |
Every year since 1945 has witnessed the entrance of World
War II and Korean War veterans into the Jesuit novitiates. Presently
studying the the Theologate at SMC are 20 veterans who have served their
country in the armed forces, and one, Fr. John J. Halloran, Minister of
Scholastics, who was an army chaplain in both wars. |
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The "Ignatian Year" (400th anniversary of the death of St.
Ignatius of Loyola) -- 10 young men are ordained at St. Mary's on June 18 by
Bishop Hunkeler of Kansas City, Kansas. |
1957 |
March 7, Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas - Archbishop Hunkeler,
Bishop Carroll of Wichita, and 76 diocesan and religious clergy gather at
SMC to honor the Saint. Theology Digest, published at SMC, sponsors a talk
by the famous author, publisher, and lecturer, Frank Sheed (of the Catholic
publishing house Sheed and Ward). Mr. Sheed, recently the first laymen
chosen by Rome for an honorary degree of Doctor of Theology, speaks on "The
Common Sense of St. Thomas Aquinas." |
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December 8 - Alumni of the "Old School" gather to
commemorate the 50th anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone of the
Immaculata and have a reunion. Kansas Governor George Docking sends a note
of congratulations to Rector Francis P. Furlong on achievements of SMC, the
oldest educational institute in the State. |
1960 |
June 15 - In the Immaculata Chapel, Archbishop Hunkeler
ordains to the priesthood three young men from the Missouri Province, and 11
from other provinces. |
1961 |
The "Votel" building (now the Library) is remodeled for
library purposes. First known as the "Juniorate," it was later renamed for
the Rector of 1887-1894 who built it. Now, the fourth floor theater and the
attic are removed, leaving a three-story building with a (leak prone) flat
roof. The remaining three floors on the west side of the building are torn
out and replaced with four levels of library stacks. A fifth level is
planned, but never constructed. The windows are sealed off on the west side
of the building and a special heating system and elevator installed for the
library. You may read more about the history and recent use of this building
here. |
1964 |
There are 181 enrolled in the 4-year minor and 4-year major
Theology courses at St. Mary's College. Jesuit priests on campus number 81
(with two more at Immaculate Conception Parish in town); 133 Jesuit
Scholastics and 9 Jesuit lay brothers are also residing in St. Mary's. |
1966 |
One year before the closing of St. Mary's, there are 168
enrolled in the Theology courses; Jesuits on campus count 77 priests, 127
scholastics, and 7 lay brothers. |
Prologue:
Early Threads in the History of St. Mary's
Time Line: 1827 - 1847
Time Line: 1848 - 1869
Time Line: 1869 - 1931
Time Line: 1931 - 1967
Time Line:
1967 - 1978
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