Learn@CTU

About CTU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjJU3yuSGqs

For more than fifty years, Catholic Theological Union (CTU) at Chicago has been educating and preparing men and women to serve God’s people throughout the world. Founded in 1968 in the spirit and vision of the Second Vatican Council, CTU has grown to be the largest Roman Catholic graduate school of theology and ministry in the United States.

Called to put its innovative theological education model and programming into greater service to the Church, Learn@CTU provides continuing education and media resources to enhance classroom and online engagement, and to expand the reach of our program offerings to the public.

As an institution of learning formed in the crucible of Vatican II, CTU has always embraced innovation. Today, CTU seeks to heed Pope Francis’ call to “go to the margins” — to serve the Church and its people beyond our campus. We hope that Learn@CTU can be of service to provide access to world-renowned theological resources.

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Whether you are a current student or alumni of CTU, or visiting Learn@CTU for the first time, welcome! We’re glad you’ve entered the conversation.

CTU is the home of the Bernardin Center of Theology and Ministry and related programs as well as the Center for the Study of Consecrated Life, both world-renowned for theological study and public discourse.

The Bernardin Center is where the ideas and spirituality of Cardinal Joseph Bernardin flourish through scholarships, seminars, lectures, and a full array of programs which focus on Cardinal Bernardin’s signature issues, including reconciliation and peacemaking, the consistent ethic of life, youth and young adults, and interreligious dialogue.

Common Ground was founded in an effort to lessen polarities and divisions that weaken the communion of the church. At the origin of the Initiative, the National Pastoral Life Center released a charter statement, “Called to Be Catholic: Church in a Time of Peril,” proposing guidelines for dialogue within the church. The Initiative begun more than twenty years ago by Cardinal Joseph Bernardin continues today.

Catholics on Call is a national vocation discovery program of the Bernardin Center at Catholic Theological Union for young adults that consist of yearly conferences and more.

The Center for the Study of Consecrated Life (CSCL) was established in 2016 to serve as a theological, academic, and pastoral resource for engaging contemporary issues and realities in consecrated life today from a global perspective. The CSCL carries out its mission through courses, symposia, and workshops. The CSCL seeks to encourage new scholarship across disciplines; provide processes for reflective dialogue and creative imagining; assist in the discovery of new calls to ministry; and explore the internationality of consecrated life.

The Thriving in Ministry Initiative at CTU is part of Lilly Endowment’s grant-making to strengthen pastoral leadership in Christian congregations in the United States. CTU is one of 24 organizations taking part in the first phase of the initiative. In support of CTU’s leading efforts to prepare effective leaders for the church, including men and women religious and lay men and women, the grant opens a path for the school to identify and overcome obstacles and stress points that keep those ministering in the Church from thriving in their work, particularly those who are within the first ten years of ministry.