Archbishop Blesses Renovated Spaces in Catholic Studies Center

St. Louis Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski visited the Catholic Studies Center at Saint Louis University on Monday, Feb. 28, to bless more than 3,700 square feet of newly renovated spaces in Boileau Hall.

The renovations added a new seminar room, library, podcast studio, break room and two faculty offices to the Catholic Studies Center. Also included in the renovations were new custom-built bookcases for the first-floor gallery space of Boileau Hall. The bookcases incorporate back-lit stained-glass windows recovered from a former convent in St. Louis.

“It was a great joy to have the Archbishop with us and to receive his blessing on our newly renovated spaces,” said Fr. Matthew Baugh S.J., director of the Catholic Studies Center. “He seemed right at home among the students.

In addition to blessing the facility, the Archbishop celebrated Mass in the chapel of St. Edmund Campion on the first floor of Boileau Hall for the roughly 120 students who participate in the weekly “Campion Night” hosted by the Catholic Studies Center. He stayed for dinner with the students—a Mardi Gras meal of jambalaya prepared by a team of benefactors and alumni of SLU. After dinner, the Archbishop spoke for about 20 minutes before opening up for questions from the students.

In his remarks, the Archbishop focused on the major discernment process he is currently leading called “All Things New,” which will help the Archdiocese determine where to invest its energies in the years ahead.

Savannah Smith, a senior from Nashville majoring in Social Work and minoring in Catholic Studies, said she was impressed by the Archbishop’s answer to her question about how the process will affect the poor.

“I’ve been concerned about the impact this will have on our urban, Catholic parishes and schools,” she explained. “Archbishop Rozanski assured us that ‘All Things New’ is a vehicle to increase evangelization, not a plan to abandon our brothers and sisters. And he gave us great advice on how we, as students at Saint Louis University, can contribute to evangelizing this Archdiocese.”

Smith also noted how moving it was to have the Archbishop bless the spaces where she and her friends spend so much time as students at SLU.

“We have floods of people coming through the Catholic Studies Center daily for classes, community and worship,” said Smith. “It is such a sacred space. And it’s such a privilege to have those spaces blessed so that we can continue to learn from Christ the Teacher in all those different ways.”

The most recent renovations build on a steady stream of improvements made to Boileau Hall and Cartier House since University President Fred P. Pestello, Ph.D., designated the space as the Catholic Studies Center six years ago. Among these, the creation of a 100-seat chapel in Boileau by famed church architects Emil Frei & Associates may be the most dramatic of the transformations. Donations by SLU alumni and friends of the Catholic Studies Center have made the improvements possible.

“There is nothing quite like the SLU Catholic Studies Center at other universities,” said Baugh. “The ability to move seamlessly between classroom, chapel and community spaces helps students reach a high level of personal integration and Christian maturity.”

Noah Elbert, a senior from Hermann majoring in History, Philosophy, and Catholic Studies, echoed that sentiment. He sees the academic, spiritual and personal formation he has received at SLU as preparing him for life after college.

“The care we experience at Catholic Studies is so important, and very soon we’ll be called to live out the faith that has been nurtured here in our future parishes,” said Elbert. “For me, the most meaningful aspect of the Archbishop’s visit was the reminder that we are a part of something so much bigger.”