Aquinas Institute of Theology
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Established | 1939 |
| Affiliation | Dominican Roman Catholic |
| Location |
St. Louis, MO, USA 38°38′03″N 90°14′16″W / 38.6343°N 90.2379°WCoordinates: 38°38′03″N 90°14′16″W / 38.6343°N 90.2379°W |
| Website | www.ai.edu |
Aquinas Institute of Theology is a Roman Catholic graduate school and seminary in St. Louis, Missouri within the Archdiocese of St. Louis. It was founded by the Dominican Order and sponsored by the Province of St. Albert the Great.
Mission
Aquinas Institute educates men and women to preach, to teach, to minister, and to lead, impelled by the Catholic faith and in the Dominican spirit.
Degrees/Programs of Study
The Institute offers a number of graduate degrees in theology and ministry, including a Master of Arts in Theology (M.A.), a Master of Divinity (M.Div.), and a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies (MAPS).
The Institute has also been a leader in online theological study and currently offers four separate graduate programs in a blended online/intensive format, including a Master of Arts in Health Care Mission (MAHCM), a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (MAPS), the Aquinas@Home Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry (MAPM), and the country's only Roman Catholic doctoral program in preaching (D.Min.). Excellence in preaching is further promoted through AI’s Summer Preaching Institute.
Graduate Certificate Programs are offered at Aquinas Institute in Biblical Studies, Pastoral Care, Spiritual Direction (also offered now in an online format), and in Thomistic Studies.
Aquinas Institute is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada.
Community Offerings
In addition to its academic programs Aquinas Institute offers several community programs, including monthly Roundtable lunch and lecture; Theology on Tap featuring local theologians discussing relevant topics; a Business Forum for local business leaders to discuss faith-related issues in their professions; and the Apollos Project, a Lilly Endowment-funded project to identify and train lay ministers in St. Louis area parishes.
History
1900 - The Dominican Order decides not to expand the House of Studies in Washington, D.C., founding a new House of Studies in River Forest, Illinois.
1912 - The Master General of the Dominican Order makes the House of Studies a Studium Generale. He also formally establishes the Central Province of St. Albert the Great, and the school is intended primarily to prepare the province’s members for priesthood. The Studium Generale operates from 1939 to 1951.
1923 - The Studium faculty moves to the campus of the Dominican College of St. Rose of Lima in Dubuque, Iowa, and experiences a period of rapid change.
1956 - The two Dominican colleges, St. Rose of Lima and the Studium Generale, are incorporated as one, the Aquinas Institute of Philosophy and Theology.
1964 - Aquinas Institute is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.
1965 - The Association of Theological Schools of Iowa is formed, the first ecumenical consortium established in the country.
1967 - The first women students begin their studies.
1968 - Aquinas Institute becomes one of the first five Catholic schools to enter the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada and to be accredited by it.
1981 - Aquinas Institute of Theology moves to St. Louis, Missouri, where it enters into a "Cooperative Project for Theological Education" with Saint Louis University, on whose campus it resides. During that time, the school inaugurates the Great Preacher Award (awarded to an outstanding homilist in the St. Louis area), the Catherine of Siena Excellence in Ministry Award (awarded to a layman who has contributed through ministerial work), and the annual Aquinas Lecture (given by leading theologians on current topics in theology). The Dubuque campus is sold to Emmaus Bible College.
2005 - The school moves again, this time to a former factory in Midtown St. Louis, built in 1903 to house the Standard Adding Machine Company, which prospered with the invention of a 10-key adding machine. The renovation of the building is part of a larger urban renovation project which will include residential and commercial space.
On January 1, 2008, Rev. Richard Peddicord, O.P., professor of moral theology, assumes the role of president of the Institute.
