Programs & Organizations   >   Institute of Catholic Studies

MISSION: St. Mary’s Institute of Catholic Studies at Texas A&M University is a center of learning and formation in the tradition of Catholic Higher Education. The purpose of the Institute is to help form students as well as faculty and staff to grow in knowledge and understanding of the theological and religious principles found in the Catholic Church.

To fulfill its mission, the Institute will offer the following:

A systematic program of formation for a wide-range of college students, including:

• Non-credit classes offered by St. Mary’s staff. These classes will be in different formats including:

1. A 3-year program which will ground each student in a college-level understanding of Catholic theology. This systematic program will have a 12 week course of studies every semester. These courses will have a nominal fee and students will not be tested or graded.
2. Short courses. These will be offered periodically throughout the year to engage students in various topics that are of current interest to them.

• For-credit classes. We hope to offer these classes within the next few years. Using either an on-site theologian or distance-learning equipment, we will offer classes in Catholic thought that will transfer for credit to Texas A&M.
• St. Mary’s Library. Our current library holds 5,000 volumes and 4,000 titles. In supporting the Institute, the library allows students access to Catholic theology, philosophy, biblical studies, multimedia resources, spiritual writings, history, and more. Our library is maintained and catalogued by professional librarians.
• Guest Lectures. These lectures will happen at least annually and feature prominent Catholics, who will speak on a wide-range of issues facing our Church in the modern world.

“In man there is an inextinguishable yearning for the infinite. None of the answers attempted are sufficient. Only the God himself who became finite in order to open our finiteness and lead us to the breadth of his infiniteness responds to the question of our being. For this reason, the Christian faith finds man today too. Our task is to serve the faith with a humble spirit and the whole strength of our heart and understanding.”

-Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI)