Fertile Ground

Mary's unique partnerships in Arizona are bearing fruit for eternity

Few people recognized the mustard seed moment that occurred in 2012, when Monsignor James Shea and Arizona State University (ASU) President Michael Crow announced an unprecedented academic partnership. A small, faithfully Catholic institution and the nation's largest public research university may seem like an unusual pairing, but it's just this sort of unlikely collaboration that sparks growth, creativity, and new opportunities.

Initially, the partnership allowed the University of Mary to offer Catholic studies classes to ASU students - courses that would fulfill their general degree requirements. Relaunched in 2019 as Mary College at ASU, it now serves as a domestic exchange program: ASU students can pursue a Catholic studies minor or major through the University of Mary without leaving Tempe, and Mary students can spend a semester in Arizona with access to a breadth of courses, resources, and perspectives found at few other institutions in the country.

Today, the impact of Mary's presence in Arizona extends well beyond undergraduate education. The university has partnered with the Diocese of Phoenix to launch Nazareth Seminary and the Photina Center for Catholic Counseling. In addition, All Saints Catholic Newman Center at ASU is seeing unprecedented numbers of Catholic converts joining the Church under the guidance of Ben Power '24, a graduate of Mary College at ASU.

Scott Lefor (MBA '22) has served at Mary's Arizona campus since 2019. A former seminarian from Dickinson, ND, with a licentiate in philosophy, he teaches Catholic studies courses and has seen the fruits of collaboration firsthand. "There was already a thriving Catholic community here at ASU, but it has really exploded," he says. "We had been running the core exchange program for years, so when these other initiatives came along, we were well positioned to help."

A New Approach to Priestly Formation

Unlike more traditional seminaries, Nazareth Seminary forms seminarians in parish-based households - immersing them in parish life sooner and enabling priest-formators to get to know the young men more thoroughly. This model also allowed the Diocese of Phoenix to open the seminary without the delays and extra costs of planning and building facilities. The University of Mary agreed to provide the academic formation, and already this spring, the first class of undergraduate seminarians earned bachelor's degrees in philosophy and Catholic studies - the same faithfully Catholic programs delivered on the Bismarck campus, taught by Arizona-based University of Mary faculty.

Beginning this fall, Mary will provide a new dual-degree graduate program: a four-year Master of Divinity (MDiv) coupled to a Master of Arts (MA) in Theology. The divinity degree provides more immediate preparation for priesthood; the MA prepares seminarians for the possibility of doctoral work.

Dr. Eric Westby, chair of the new Graduate School of Theology, spent the past year building those degree programs from the ground up.

At a Glance

• Mary College at ASU: Domestic exchange program for undergrads at University of Mary and Arizona State University; enables ASU students to complete general studies requirements or even major or minor in Catholic studies and main-campus Mary students to experience the scope of a major research university; located on ASU's campus in Tempe
• Nazareth Seminary: Provides innovative priestly formation to seminarians for the Diocese of Phoenix; bachelor's in philosophy and Catholic studies offered through Mary College at ASU; MDiv/MA dual-degree program provided by the new University of Mary Graduate School of Theology in downtown Phoenix
• Photina Center for Catholic Counseling: Offers formation for Catholic mental health professionals in the Diocese of Phoenix, including Mary's existing master's in counseling and Catholic anthropology certificate; located downtown with the Graduate School of Theology

"We not only drafted the curriculum and received approval from the diocese, the university, and the accrediting agency, but we also hired faculty," he says. "Monsignor Shea already came down to lead orientation for them, focusing primarily on Mary's mission and vision for education and formation. You couldn't orchestrate it this quickly - the hand of God is at work here!"

The presence of senior leadership in Arizona for new faculty orientation underscores the university's deep commitment to hiring for mission and to forming clergy to serve in this new apostolic age.

"We are teaching the future priests of the American Southwest," Lefor says. "This is a tremendous opportunity for the University of Mary to serve, and we want to make sure it lives up to our reputation as intellectually rigorous and deeply, authentically Catholic."

Counseling for the Whole Person

Mary's well-established counseling program and close collaboration with the diocese made the university an ideal partner for Bishop John Dolan's latest initiative, the Photina Center for Catholic Counseling. The Photina Center is dedicated to the formation of clinically trained mental health professionals who are deeply rooted in Catholic anthropology and recognize the inherent dignity of every human person. Named for Saint Photina, "the woman at the well" in Saint John's Gospel whose encounter with the Lord led to healing in her own life and conversion for many others, the center will share a space with the Graduate School of Theology in downtown Phoenix.

"Better access to Catholic mental health services is desperately needed across the country - and it's an issue near and dear to Bishop Dolan's heart," says Monsignor Shea. "The Holy Spirit has led this relationship from the start: Catholic universities exist to serve the Church, and we are here, in the diocese. We already offer an accredited Master of Science (MS) in Counseling and a graduate certificate in Catholic anthropology for mental health professionals. It was just a matter of bringing them to Phoenix."

"This is a tremendous opportunity for the University of Mary to serve, and we want to make sure it lives up to our reputation as intellectually rigorous and deeply, authentically Catholic."

In this case, the Photina Center will offer the university's existing MS program in a flexible, blended format designed for working professionals, combining online learning with in-person classes. Online courses are already underway, and diocesan employees will be able to take up to 50% of classes on-site beginning this fall. The center will also coordinate practicum and internship opportunities, provide professional development and resources, assist the diocesan Office of Mental Health Ministry, and co-sponsor an annual conference on Catholic mental health ministry - building community and support for mental health care across the region.

"Secular mental health training often considers the human person in a very limited way - and, increasingly, in a way that is openly hostile to the Christian understanding," Monsignor Shea says. "To have Catholic anthropology woven throughout counseling formation enables therapists to perceive the actual good for those being treated and truly serve their well-being, protecting and affirming their essential dignity as created in the image and likeness of God."

First Fruits of Collaboration

Major initiatives like Nazareth Seminary and the Photina Center don't overshadow the immediate fruits of collaboration at ASU: record numbers of students giving their lives to Christ and the Catholic Church. Ben Power earned degrees in Catholic studies and Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership from Mary College at ASU and Arizona State University. He teaches humanities full-time at Great Heart Veritas Preparatory Academy, a classics-based public charter school in Phoenix - but when the Newman Center contacted him about leading their revamped OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation for Adults) program, he couldn't refuse.

"They knew that I was familiar with the Newman community, so they reached out to me about a part-time position," he says. "Now I'm teaching at the high school I went to and leading OCIA at the university I attended."

Ultimately, the sacraments are the most important thing, because grace is real and more powerful than any program we can come up with."

The new program forms students for the sacraments of Baptism, Holy Communion, and Confirmation in a single semester. It includes weekly classes, but candidates and catechumens are also expected to join a FOCUS Bible Study (led by campus missionaries from the Fellowship of Catholic University Students), a Mary College at ASU course, or a Newman Center retreat.

Offering the program over the course of one semester encourages students to commit to the program and avoids the shifting course schedules that can make it a challenge.

"Ultimately, the sacraments are the most important thing, because grace is real and more powerful than any program we can come up with," Power says. "The additional commitments - a Bible study, class, or retreat - provide authentic community and fellowship."

The new program was launched last fall: 52 students were fully initiated into the Church before Christmas and 48 more this Easter. Power has approximately 30 inquiries for the summer session.

"Our record before was 39 students in an entire year," he says. "This isn't a backlog of Catholics who just never got confirmed. It's the collective influence and effort of the FOCUS missionaries, the Newman Center, and Mary College sending people my way."

Many prospective converts show up hungry to join, rather than questioning whether or not they should. Power attributes their zeal to the culture of loneliness and disillusionment among many young adults, coupled to an abundance of solid Catholic content available online.

"I think students are finding that the Catholic Church fulfills the deepest desires of their hearts," he says. "They arrive saying, 'I want to become Catholic. I want this in my life.' When that happens, we need to get out of the way. We give them a solid understanding of the Catholic faith and let God do the rest!"