from Courier-Journal...St. Meinrad School of Theology in Southern Indiana now has the sixth-highest enrollment of priests-in-training of any Roman Catholic seminary in the nation, and it's renovating a historic hall to accommodate its growth.
It was just a few years ago that St. Meinrad, located in Spencer County, Ind., about an hour west of Louisville, broke into the top 10, according to figures from Georgetown University's Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate.
Enrollment for 2010-11 is at a 25-year high of 136 seminarians, according to St. Meinrad's latest newsletter, and it includes 48 newcomers. Some are career changers, while others are coming directly from college seminaries.
St. Meinrad draws numerous students from dioceses in Indiana and Kentucky but also from a wide circle of other dioceses around the country and the world.
And its lay-degree program has a record enrollment of 97 students -- all but six part-time.
"Saint Meinrad's reputation in ministry formation is stronger than ever,” said the Rev. Denis Robinson, president of the seminary, which is affiliated with the adjoining Benedictine archabbey. He said more dioceses are also joining the seminary's training programs for permanent deacons.
"It's a very exciting time and we're doing what we have always done, grown and adapted to serve the needs of the Church," he said.
To accommodate growth, the school has launched a $4 million fund-raising campaign to renovate its 60-year-old St. Bede Hall.
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