In 1857, several Benedictine monks travelled from Einsiedeln Abbey in Einsiedeln, Switzerland, to southern Indiana to establish Saint Meinrad Seminary. At its beginning, Saint Meinrad was a high school program. By 1861, the monks had added courses in philosophy, business, theology and classical literature. A fire in 1887 destroyed the seminary buildings.
When Saint Meinrad reopened after the 1887 fire, it focused only on preparing seminarians for priesthood.[1] It had two divisions:
A minor seminary with four years of high school and the first two years of college
A major seminary with two years of college courses in philosophy and theology[1]
In 1959, Saint Meinrad reorganized into three divisions:
A traditional four year high school, which closed in 1968.[2]
In February 2019, after an internal investigation, Saint Meinrad added two priests to the Diocese of Evansville list of clergy with credible accusations of sexual abuse:[4]
Warren Heitz was accused of misconduct dating from the 1970s and 1999. Removed from public ministry in 2002, he spent ten years living in a supervised residence for offenders at Saint Meinrad.
Robert Woerdeman had faced one accusation of misconduct. He was defrocked as a priest in 1975.[4]
Academics
Saint Meinrad offers the following advanced degrees:
