ITI launches Studium Generale
19 April 2010 - On the day the Church commemorated the 5th anniversary of the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, the ITI launched its 1-year Studium Generale program which answers to a growing need amongst young people to find foundation and orientation in their lives before embarking upon their careers, be it university or employment. The program is on offer with the start of the 2010 Fall semester. For more information about the program click here.

NEU: Studium Generale – Ein Jahr der Lebensorientierung
19 April 2010 - Große Fragen stellen sich nach der Schulzeit: Orientierung ist gefragt!
Unser Studium Generale bietet eine breite Allgemeinbildung in klassischer, humanistischer und katholischer Tradition für junge Menschen. Das ist die beste Basis für alle spezielleren Studien –  eine akademische Grundbildung, welche zugleich die ganze Persönlichkeit entwickelt, einschließlich ihrer menschlichen und geistlichen Dimensionen. Für mehr Informationen geht es hier weiter!

Cardinal Schönborn on a Six-Day Trip to the US for the ITI

16 February 2010 - Christoph Cardinal Schönborn took an inspiring trip to the US to help the ITI’s recruitment and fundraising efforts. The six day tour of the US started in Kansas City, Kansas where he gave a talk at nearby Benedictine College. (read more)

His Eminence then travelled to New York and DC where he spoke at two fundraising dinners for the ITI. He spoke on “Pope Benedict, Regensburg and the Recovery of Christian Roots.” (Read about it in the St Michael Society Blog and Catholic Vote Action blog)

Fr. Juraj Terek and Fr. Yuriy Kolasa joined Cardinal Schönborn in promoting the ITI with stories of how the ITI has helped them and countless others to re-evangelize their countries. In meeting with many ITI graduates during the trip, they found out that there is hardly a faithful Catholic college in the US that does not have ITI graduates or professors helping to lead the institution.

In New York, Cardinal Schönborn met with Priests for Life, which supports the work of the ITI. He congratulated them on their good work and invited Fr. Pavone to come speak to the ITI and in Vienna. While in the Washington DC, he also met with journalists, with state department officials about the plight of Christians in Iraq, and delivered a talk at the Catholic University of America (read more and click here to see a video of the lecture)

During the trip, His Eminence was inspired by the good initiatives coming from the US and the ITI made many new friends.

ITI Graduate Receives Pontifical Award

27 January 2010 – John Mortensen received the Pontifical Academies award for his doctoral thesis entitled, “Understanding St. Thomas on Analogy”. The prize, according to the Vatican website, “is awarded periodically to a person - a young artist or university - or an institution, whose research, work or activity contributes significantly to the development of religious studies, Christian humanism and its artistic expressions.” It was last awarded in 2004, during the pontificate of John Paul II.

The prize was presented by Vatican Secretary of State, Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone, S.D.B. on Wednesday, January 27th. The next day, Pope Benedict XVI received the Pontifical Theological Academies in an audience, and John, his wife, Beth, and their four children were presented to His Holiness.

„Fit für Ehe“ – Eine Erfolgsgeschichte

Die Ehevorbereitungskurse der Initiative Christliche Familie, die auf dem ukrainischen Ehevorbereitungs-Programm aufbauen, das von ITI-Absolvent Pater Yurko Kolasa entwickelt wurde, sind auch in Österreich ein Erfolg.

„Zu Beginn des Jahres 2009 bereiten sich junge Paare in Vorarlberg und St. Pölten in unserem Ehevorbereitungskurs „Fit für Ehe“ auf ihre Ehe vor. Der Kurs stößt auf großes Interesse und für das Jahr 2010 haben wir vier Anfragen von Pfarren in Vorarlberg, Wien, Oberösterreich und Niederösterreich, die uns bitten, den Kurs in ihren Pfarren durchzuführen”, so der Jahresbericht der Initiative Christliche Familie.

Weitere Informationen finden Sie unter: ICF

ITI Students Greet Cardinal Schönborn at the Convocation of the ITI

October 10, 2009 - Over 500 guests joined the Grand Chancellor of the ITI, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, to celebrate the opening of the ITI in Trumau. His Eminence celebrated Holy Mass in the parish church of Trumau and then blessed the Schloss which houses the classrooms, library, administration and professor offices of the ITI. 

Cardinal Schönborn gave a homily on the four pillars of the ITI: the importance of the theological studies from the sources, the community life, the bridge function between East and West, and the importance of marriage and the family.   He pointed out that a good theologian listens to the word of God and showed the importance of studying from the sources – the great Masters in Theology and Philosophy.  He spoke of the great joy he feels when he sees the many families who study at the ITI, and their many children who add so much to the community life.  He said that the faith is truly communicated and passed on in families like these. 

Abbot Gregor Henckel Donnersmarck, the Abbot of Heiligenkreuz, spoke of the joy in seeing the medieval buildings, which were entrusted to the care of the Abbey of Heiligenkreuz in the Middle Ages, become a center for the study of Theology.

Many thanks are due to those who helped prepare the Schloss so that students could smoothly begin their classes on October 5th.  Architect Dipl. Ing Peter Mensdorff renovated the Schloss with attention to the preservation of the historic site.   The Mayor of Trumau, Mayor Otto Pendl, provided housing for students, staff and professors during this first year until the ITI student housing is built.  Then there were many students and people in the administration who spent their time over the summer to prepare the Schloss to become a fitting space in which to study and pray.

The new location will allow the ITI to double its student capacity to at least 120.  By the authority of the Holy See, the ITI grants four degrees which are also recognized as Papal degrees by the State of Austria:  Master of Sacred Theology (STM), Licentiate in Sacred Theology (STL), Doctorate in Sacred Theology (STD), Master of Studies on Marriage and the Family (MMF).  Each class never has more than thirteen students and classes are conducted in a seminar style with discussion and elaboration of the issues.

There is still more renovation work to be done to continue to provide for the expansion and growth of the campus.  When funds are raised, the ITI plans to renovate a lecture and event hall, a cafeteria, build a Byzantine Chapel, and renovate the Hofrichterhaus for more classrooms and offices.  In the meantime, the life and spirit of the ITI continues in this new place with joy and hope for the future.

Come Celebrate the Opening of Our Academic Year in Trumau

You are invited to the first convocation of the ITI Academic year in Trumau! The Convocation and Blessing of the Schloss will be held on October 10, 2009. Our Grand Chancellor, His Eminence Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, will be the main celebrant. Festivities will begin with Holy Mass at 15:30 in the Trumau Parish Church, followed by the blessing of the Schloss, presentations and a reception at 17:00. Click here for the official invitation and more information.

Work in Progress – New Campus Buildings are Taking Shape!

Trumau 15 July 2009 – On July 1, 2009, the ITI completed its move from the Kartause Gaming to its new campus in Trumau. As of that date, the ITI’s new address is: Schloss Trumau – 2521 Trumau - Austria. In the meantime, as the above pictures show, the construction of the new student housing is also making good progress, while the beautiful 12th century Schloss itself,the centerpiece of the new campus, is being readied for the new semester with offices, classrooms and the library.

(click on pictures for a larger view)

The ITI Celebrates Graduation

May 16, 2009 – The ITI had its thirteenth graduation ceremony with nineteen students from Austria, Ireland, Lithuania, USA, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Poland, India, and Romania receiving degrees of Sacred Theology Doctorate, Sacred Theology Licentiate, Sacred Theology Masters or Masters in Theological Studies on Marriage and the Family.  The Right Reverend Mag. Gregor Henckel-Donnersmarck, O.Cist, Abbott of Heiligenkreuz, began the ceremony by celebrating Mass in the Kartause Maria Thron Church.  He then conferred the degrees while family members and friends cheered for each graduate.  Everyone gathered for photos, congratulations and food and the festivities carried on late into the evening with a BBQ and impromptu singing from the ITI choir.

ITI Trumau Campus Foundation Stone Laying and Blessing

May 11, 2009 -  Under bright blue skies, the Foundation Stone of the student housing was blessed for the new ITI campus in Trumau. The ceremony was presided over by ITI Grand Chancellor and Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, the Governor of Lower Austria, Dr. Erwin Pröll, and Trumau Mayor, Otto Pendl. Bishop Klaus Küng and the rest of the Board of Trustees of the ITI, the Right Reverend Gregor Henckel-Donnersmarck O.Cist, Abbott of Heiligenkreuz and 300 other guests also attended the ceremony to show their support and to wish the ITI well in continuing its important work of education in the new location.  The ITI’s next academic semester will begin in Trumau on the first of October.

Weihe und Grundsteinlegung für ITI-Studentencampus in Trumau

Unter strahlend blauem Himmel wurde am 11. Mai 2009 der Grundstein für den neuen ITI Campus in Trumau gelegt. Die Zeremonie wurde von Großkanzler, Erzbischof Christoph Kardinal Schönborn, dem Landeshauptmann von Niederösterreich, Dr. Erwin Pröll, und „unserem“ Bürgermeister Otto Pendl, Abgeordneter zum Nationalrat, vorgenommen. Das vollständige Kuratoriums der ITI Hochschule und an die 300 Gäste nahmen an dem Festakt teil, der auch wieder deutlich machte, welche Bedeutung dem ITI zukommt.

New Campus Construction Begins!

April 7, 2009. Fitting for the feast day of St. John Baptist de La Salle – who himself founded many schools - construction work has begun today on the new ITI campus. In this first phase of construction, housing for 120 students (including apartments for families), is being built. On May 11th, 2009, ITI Grand Chancellor, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, along with the Governor of Lower Austria, Dr. Erwin Pröll, and the mayor of Trumau, Mr. Otto Pendl, will lead a festive ceremony for the laying of the foundation stone, assisted by the ITI Board of Trustees and numerous guests from Austria and abroad. “The Mind of the Church at the Heart of Europe”, as the new campus project has been fittingly called, has begun!

Baubeginn der Hochschule in Trumau bei Wien

7. April 2009. Passend am Festtag der Hl. Johannes Baptist de la Salle - Ordensgründer eines Schulordens-  war es endlich so weit: Bagger und LKW’s begannen am neuen Campusgelände der Hochschule ITI in Trumau mit dem Bau der Wohnstätten für Studenten und Familien. Am 11. Mai 2009 wird dann die feierliche Grundsteinlegung von ITI Grosskanzler Erzbischof Christoph Kardinal Schönborn, Landeshauptmann Dr. Erwin Pröll und Abg.z.NR Bürgermeister Otto Pendl  in Anwesenheit des vollständigen Kuratoriums und zahlreiche Gäste der Hochschule vorgenommen. Damit entsteht noch in diesem Jahr im Süden von Wien und im Herzen Europas eine neue Bildungsstätte mit Wirkung weit über die Grenzen Österreichs hinaus.

Conference “In the Footsteps of the St. Apostle Paul”

Rome. On 2-5 of April, 2009, the Ukrainian Catholic Institute of St. Clement the Pope, hosted the Conference “In the Footsteps of St. Apostle Paul”.  Two ITI graduates, Oksana Stanishevska and Oleg Novoselsky, were among those invited to take part in the conference. Oleg Novoselsky’s talk was in the spirit of preparation for the feast of the Easter, and entitled “The Priest and the Sacrifice: The High Priesthood of Christ in the ‘Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews’ by Thomas Aquinas”. The text of his talk, which was delivered in Ukrainian, will be published this autumn in the theological journal of the Ukrainian Catholic University, Lviv.

manches möglich machen …

wie den neuen Standort des Internationalen Theologischen Institutes für Studien zu Ehe und Familie in Trumau.

Das Internationale Theologische Institut für Studien zu Ehe und Familie (ITI) wird im Juni 2009 seinen neuen Standort im Schloss Trumau bei Wien beziehen. Der neue Standort ermöglicht es, die Studentenzahl zu erhöhen und das Lehrangebot zu erweitern. Die Österreichischen Lotterien unterstützen das ITI gerne auf seinem Weg, eine der besten Bildungsstätten für Theologie in Europa zu werden. Als österreichisches Unternehmen freut es uns, einen wichtigen Beitrag für den Bildungsstandort Österreich zu leisten.

ITI Graduate Receives
John Templeton Award for Theological Promise

Hope College, Michigan, USA – Congratulations to ITI graduate, Dr. Alyssa (Lyra) Pitstick (STM ’00, STL ’02), who was recently named as one of twelve international recipients of the 2009 “John Templeton Award for Theological Promise.”  The recipients are selected by members of an international, interdisciplinary, and multi-religious committee of scholars based upon the applicants’ doctoral dissertation or first post-doctoral book.  The book Lyra submitted was the revised version of the doctoral dissertation she did at the Angelicum in Rome, which was itself a vastly developed extension of her final thesis at the International Theological Institute in Austria.

Lyra is on the religion faculty at Hope College.  Their press release states:

The recipients are recognized on the basis of their doctoral dissertations related to the topic of God and spirituality, and chosen by an international and inter-religious panel of 25 judges.  Each recipient receives an award of $10,000 plus an additional stipend of up to $10,000 for two years to support giving public lectures at the invitation of academic institutions.

The award program is a cooperative effort of the Research Center of International and Interdisciplinary Theology of the University of Heidelberg in Germany and the John Templeton Foundation of Pennsylvania.  The winners will be honored during an awards ceremony and also participate in a colloquium at the university in May.
The international mix of scholars includes six based in the U.S.; three in Germany; and one each in Denmark, Scotland and Norway.

Pitstick wrote her dissertation while completing her doctorate in sacred theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, Italy, in 2005.  In 2007, it was published by the Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company of Grand Rapids as “Light in Darkness: Hans Urs von Balthasar and the Catholic Doctrine of Christ’s Descent into Hell.”

Both before and after its publication, her critique of von Balthasar has been the subject of vigorous debate.  After an intense exchange in several issues of the journal “First Things,” its founder, the recently deceased Rev. Richard John Neuhaus, called Pitstick “a first-rate theological talent.” 

Theological Dialogue
Jewish-Christian Perspectives

March 17, 2009 - The ITI hosted a theological dialogue between His Excellency Dr. Andreas Laun, Auxiliary Bishop of Salzburg, and Rabbi Dr. Alon Goshen-Gottstein, Director of the Elijah Interfaith Institute, Jerusalem.  For two weeks in March, Rabbi Goshen-Gottstein taught a block course at the ITI entitled “Theological Introduction to Judaism”.  The lively, insightful and often humorous theological dialogue, held as part of the ITI Lecture Series, enabled all ITI students and those interested to get an insight into Jewish-Christian perspectives – ways in which they are similar, and how they are different.

BeSt Messe Wien – Education Fair in Vienna

VIENNA. On the 5-8 of March, 2009, in order to better promote the ITI among Austrian students, the ITI participated in the first of a series of BeSt Messe education fairs held in Austria for the year 2009.  Oleg Novoselsky, ITI Assistant Dean, and Sebastian Hoogewerf, ITI Office Director, along with other faculty and staff, promoted the ITI among prospective applicants. 

The BeSt Messe Wien was the largest National Education Fair of Austria organized, among others, by the Federal Ministry for Sciences and Research and by the Federal Ministry for Education, Art, and Culture.  Students who participated were either sent by their schools, came with their parents, or alone, to meet representatives of most of Austria’s major universities and institutes of higher education, as well as numerous foreign universities and institutes from Germany, the Netherlands, England, Ireland, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia, Belarus, and the USA. There were 313 schools and institutions present at the fair and they ranged from language and au pair schools to technical and health institutes. Entry was free for visitors.   There were approximately 78.000 visitors at the fair, making the BeSt Messe a good platform to promote the ITI.

Prior to the Vienna Fair, the ITI was advertised in one of the largest newspapers of Austria, Die Presse, in the March 5th issue. Die Presse has a circulation of 300.000 in Austria. In addition, free copies of this issue were distributed at the Fair on the first day of the event. The ITI was also advertised on the official website of the BeSt Messe (www.bestinfo.at).

Look for the ITI booth at these other BeSt Messe education fairs:  Klagenfurt, on the 26-28 of March; Graz, on the 5-7 of November; and Salzburg, on the19-22 of November.  

New Campus Trumau Land Blessing
by His Excellency Bishop Hlib Lonchyna

12. March 2009 – After giving a retreat to the ITI priests and seminarians, His Excellency Bishop Hlib Lonchyna, Ukraine Bishop of the Curia and of the Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Halych, celebrated the first Divine Liturgy at the new ITI campus in the chapel at Schloss Trumau.  Also celebrating were ITI Byzantine rite chaplain, Rev. Juraj Terek, Rev. Yuriy Kolasa, Prefect of the ITI Formation Program, and ITI students, Rev. Tomas Labanic and Rev. Eduard Shestak.  Bishop Lonchyna and the priests then blessed the land of the ITI building site.  Rev. DDr. Marian Gruber O. Cist, the Trumau parish priest, joined the ITI for this special occasion.  Henri van Lidth de Jeude, Campus Project Manager, showed everyone around the building site and then fixed a wonderful dinner for the guests in the schloss – the first dinner at the new campus!  Though the ITI will not be officially established in Trumau until the summer of 2009, this blessing marked the beginning preparations for the move to the new campus. 

ITI Priest and Seminarian Retreat Preached
by His Excellency Bishop Hlib Lonchyna

8-11. March 2009 – As part of the ITI Formation Program for Priests, Religious Men and Seminarians (IFP), His Excellency Bishops Hlib Lonchyna, Ukraine Bishop of the Curia and of the Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Halych, gave a retreat on the theme of “Vocation” to ITI priests and seminarians.  The retreat was held at the monastery of the Community of St. John in Marchegg, Austria.  Bishop Lonchyna preached several conferences whose topics included:  “Our Father in the Faith, Abraham”;  “Mary, a Woman of Faith and the First Believer of the New Testament”;  “Living Life for Others”;  “A Rejection of Love”;  “Salvation Has Come to this House”;  and “The Last Words of Jesus on the Cross”.   

The IFP was founded in the Fall of 2003.  Inspired by the encyclical Letter Pastores Dabo Vobis by John Paul II and in response to the bishops and superiors, who entrust the International Theological Institute (ITI) with their candidates, Msgr. Dr. Larry Hogan and Rev. Fr. Juraj Terek presented to His Eminence Dr. Cardinal Christoph Schönborn the great need for an ongoing formation program for seminarians, religious men, and priests – all from different backgrounds, cultures and rites - who come to study at the ITI. Our Grand Chancellor, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, gave his blessing to the proposal and the Formation Program was begun.

Conference Communiqué

The Mission of the Eastern Catholic Churches in the Life of the Universal Church and for the Modern World

March 4-6, 2009 - The International Theological Institute (Internationales Theologisches Institut) in Gaming, Austria, in cooperation with the Institut für Theologie und Geschichte des Christlichen Ostens, Katholisch-Theologische Fakultät der Universität Wien and the Ukrainian Catholic University (Lviv), hosted an international symposium on the mission of the Greek Catholic Churches in Central and Eastern Europe. Among the 150 participants were 17 bishops (15 Greek Catholic), numerous priests, leading scholars, students, and laypersons from over 20 countries. The conference program was based on common prayer and reflection animated by critical analysis of the history and contemporary life of the Greek Catholic Churches. German, English, and Italian were the official languages of the conference, but some ten languages were used in the liturgical celebrations, presentations, and dialogue. The discussions were enriched by the interventions of the hierarchs representing the courageous ecclesial experience of Christians who withstood persecution to preserve their mission and Greek Catholic identity in Communist times.

The symposium presentations and discussions focused on the contribution that the Eastern Catholic Churches of Central and Eastern Europe are called to make to the broader Christian community and the world at large. The speakers combined historical and theological (ecclesiological) methodologies and analyzed cultural, ethnic, and national factors in the past experience and future mission of Greek Catholics....Click to Download Full Text English

Click to Download Full Text German

Click to Download Full Text Italian

Click to Download Full Text Slovak

English Zenit Article 12.Mar 09

German Zenit Article 11.Mar 09

More Symposium News Articles Below

ITI Graduate Deaconate Ordination

Feb. 10, 2009 - Many blessings and congratulations go to ITI graduate Br. Thomas Bolin (David Bolin), a monk at the Benedictine Monastery in Norcia, Italy, who was ordained a deacon on the Feast of St. Scholastica, February 10, 2009. He made his solemn vows a month earlier on January 8th.

Celebrating the Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas

Jan. 27, 2009 – On the eve of the Feast of our Patron, St. Thomas Aquinas, the ITI had a celebration that began with Holy Mass presided by His Excellency Mag. Dr. Franz Scharl, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Vienna.  After Mass, everyone was invited to a reception to visit with Bishop Scharl and continue the festivities. Bishop Scharl addressed the need for all of us to follow Christ and to keep the Faith, to build up a culture of life, and to continue to work in our international institute for an understanding between cultures.

Summer Latin Program May 18-Jun 5, 2009

A Summer Latin Program will be offered from May 18-Jun 5, 2009 by Dr. Andrei Gotia. It is open to all who have had at least a year of latin. Students will sample texts covering twenty-two centuries - from Plautus to Benedict XVI. (Click here for more details)

Catholic-Orthodox Forum 10-14 Dec. 08 

Fr. Yuriy Kolasa was sent to the first European Catholic-Orthodox Forum as an official Greek-Catholic Church representative at the request of His Eminence Christoph Cardinal Schönborn and His Beatitude Lubomyr Husar.   He was one of thirty delegates invited by the Council of European Bishops Conferences (CCEE). The forum theme was "The Family: A Good for Humanity," and was held in Trent, Italy on December 10-14, 2008. Fr. Yuriy delivered a talk entitled, “The Family as a Place of Religious Education.”
At the end of the forum, he was invited, together with other experts, to draft the final joint statement on the family which included; a definition of marriage and family, the mission of the family in Europe, statements on family and education, challenges and opportunities during the crisis of our society, and recommendations and appeals to the European public authorities. Fr. Yuriy’s main contribution in the final joint statement was in the section on “Family and Education” and in the recommendations and appeals to the European public authorities.   He stressed the point that parents are the primary educators.  He also pointed out that Europe should be concerned about a current major source of problems which is caused by wages that do not sustain families.  This forces the migration of one or both parents to earn money in a wealthier country – to the detriment of the family.  He also proposed asking public institutions to recognize and respect the work of the mother in the home, because of its value for the family and for society.   
The final joint statement and more information can be found at: http://www.zenit.org/article-24587?l=english  and http://www.catholic.org/

Dr. Gotia Wins Latin Prize

On November 30, 2008,  in an imposing building on Via della Conciliazione in Rome, Italy, the prizes were awarded for the 51st edition of the Certamen Vaticanum.  The Certamen Vaticanum is the yearly international contest for Latin prose and poetry organized by the Vatican Foundation Latinitas. ITI’s own Latin and Greek Professor, Dr. Andrei Gotia, won ex aequo a publica laus (3rd prize) for prose with a story called Iosephus et Maria.