PHILADELPHIA (CNS): The Papal Foundation has awarded US$800,000 ($6.19 million) in scholarships to 106 priests, women religious, brothers and laypeople from 44 disadvantaged countries, allowing them the chance to study at their choice of 16 pontifical universities and institutes in Rome.
Called the Saeman Scholars, the group began their studies with a virtual orientation on October 3. They are named for John and Carol Saeman of Denver, the United States of America, who made an initial US$5 million ($38.75 million) gift for the scholarship programme in 2000 that was matched by The Papal Foundation.
The scholarship programme, named for Pope St. John Paul II, marked its 20th year with the announcement of the new group of scholars. The programme has provided more than US$12 million ($92.9 million) in scholarships to over 1,500 individuals since 2000 and allows recipients to advance their education and prepare them to return to teach in their own countries.
“Following the Lord’s command to ‘go teach all nations,’ seminarians, clergy, religious men and women, and laity need an excellent education and a sound program of spiritual formation in order to secure the future of the church around the world,” Eustace Mita, president of The Papal Foundation board of trustees, said in a statement.
In 1998, St. John Paul II envisioned providing scholarships to seminarians, priests, religious sisters and laity from disadvantaged countries so they could study in Rome and return to their dioceses “to teach future Church leaders in a way that is faithful to the magisterium,” according to the foundation.
“The idea for the scholarship programme may have come from a chapter” right out of his own life, Mita said.
“After his ordination, and shortly before the communists took control of Poland, he was sent to Rome as a student priest to obtain an advanced degree. The opportunity he was given has shaped our Church and his faith-filled response was to provide that opportunity to future generations,” he explained.
The scholars can use the funds to earn a doctorate, a licentiate or a bachelor’s degree in various disciplines, including theology, canon law, biblical studies, and sacred Scripture, among others.
The Vatican Secretariat of State receives the applications, and those scholars who are sponsored by their home dioceses and demonstrate need are then recommended to the Saemans and The Papal Foundation for final approval.
