Our Catholic Character

Our College's Catholic Nature and Character, as inspired by
Ex Corde Ecclesiae

holy-rosary-and-a-rose

The name of the College, along with its mission and related statements of its core principles, clearly identify the nature and character of the College as Catholic. The “Rosary” is a Catholic prayer that was officially approved by the Catholic Church in the 15th century by Pope Sixtus IV. The College’s reason for existing, as expressed in its mission statement, is to provide “education in the Catholic tradition”. The College’s vision is to continue the movement in America towards renewed “Catholic liberal education”.

 
What the College means by “Catholic tradition” and “Catholic liberal education” is interpreted in light of foundational and authoritative Church documents, namely, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the apostolic constitution on ecclesiastical universities and faculties Sapientia Christiana (1979), the 1983 Code of Canon Law (especially canons 807 – 821), the apostolic constitution Ex Corde Ecclesiae (1990), and The Application for Ex Corde Ecclesiae For The United States (USCCB 2001). The College also refers to other relevant ecclesiastical documents governing Catholic higher education, including, for example, the Second Vatican Council, pronouncements of the Holy See, and statements of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
 
Ex Corde Ecclesiae, which translates into English as “from the heart of the church,” is the Apostolic Constitution of the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II On Catholic Universities. As an “apostolic constitution” of the Catholic Church, it is a document that contains the Pope’s most steadfast and solemn decrees. The university itself, this document reminds us in its first line, is born from the very heart of the church, and as a Catholic institution, Rosary College aims to make the heart of the Catholic Church its life-preserving force.
 
The College also takes direction from the magisterium of the Catholic Church. At least annually, the president or a designated member of the governing board engages the bishop of the Diocese of Charleston in dialogue about ways of strengthening the institution’s Catholic identity and how the institution can contribute to the life of the Church.
 
What makes an institution of higher education Catholic? Echoing St. Augustine, Ex Corde Ecclesiae unambiguously identifies the true vocation of the Catholic university:

Catholic Universities are called to explore courageously the riches of Revelation and of nature so that the united endeavour of intelligence and faith will enable people to come to the full measure of their humanity, created in the image and likeness of God, renewed even more marvellously, after sin, in Christ, and called to shine forth in the light of the Spirit (Ex Corde Ecclesiae 5).

A Catholic higher education should therefore consist of intelligently and faithfully studying nature and God’s Revelation in order to develop the full measure of students’ humanity, where humanity is understood as having been made in God’s image, redeemed by Christ, and called to evangelize. In Apostolicam Actuositatem, the Church identifies the Catholic laity as bearing a ministerial role:  “lay people, too, sharing in the priestly, prophetical and kingly office of Christ, play their part in the mission of the whole people of God in the Church and in the World” Apostolicam Actuositatem no. 2). Catholic higher education is a ministerial endeavor, which calls humanity to eternal salvation. Faculty are “called to be witnesses and educators of authentic Christian life” (Ex Corde Ecclesiae 22).According to Ex Corde Ecclesiae, a Catholic university will have four essential characteristics:

4 Essential Characteristics of a Catholic University

1. A Christian inspiration not only of individuals but of the university community as such

2. A continuing reflection in the light of the Catholic faith upon the growing treasury of human knowledge, to which it seeks to contribute by its own research;

3. Fidelity to the Christian message as it comes to us through the Church

4. An institutional commitment to the service of the people of God and of the human family in their pilgrimage to the transcendent goal which gives meaning to life (Ex Corde Ecclesiae 13)

The founders of Rosary College desired a respected institution rooted in classical and Catholic liberal arts education that would aid the human family in the search for meaning, knowledge, and truth amidst an era of rapid technological and scientific advancement and “incomparably fertile dialogue with people of every culture” (Ex Corde Ecclesiae 6). The College becomes Catholic in reality when its faculty, and every employee of the College, affirm and act on the principles contained in the College’s Mission Statement. All faculty members and employees, along with the Board of Trustees, are expected to publicly declare the Catholic Profession of Faith, and anyone who is exempted is expected in virtue of their contract of employment to respect and support the College’s Mission Statement. The College’s faculty and employees bear a ministerial role in the Church as participants in the priestly office of Christ, and have a responsibility to promote eternal salvation. Each faculty member is, in addition, expected to reflect on the College’s Catholic nature and character by reading Ex Corde Ecclesiae annually, attending an annual faculty meeting on the apostolic constitution, and considering how their teaching and research contributes to the Catholic mission of the College. Rosary College’s expectation of faculty and employees is that upholding and promoting the College’s Catholic nature and character is the responsibility of the entire College community. Furthermore, the Mission states that the College will encourage “students to use prayer and work in their quest to discover the truth and beauty of God”. The College finds inspiration in the Benedictine tradition of ora et labora, and faculty are required to begin each class with prayer or spiritual reading and incorporate these ideals into their research and teaching. Meeting these expectations is a consideration in faculty and employee hiring and evaluations. Additionally, every year there is an internal review of the congruence of the academic program, student life program, and other activities with the institution’s Catholic mission, including the ideals and principles expressed in Ex Corde Ecclesiae, and a report is sent to the Board of Trustees.

Top