Saint Meinrad Archabbey exceeds
$40 million campaign goal

The Criterion staff report

A goal of $40 million was achieved—and exceeded—when a five-year campaign by Saint Meinrad Archabbey ended on June 30.

The campaign raised $42.9 million—the largest amount raised by the Benedictine monastery through a campaign.

“I’m just beyond grateful to those who gave of their time and financial gifts to the campaign,” said Bonnie Graham of Washington, Ind., the national campaign chair. “I have an immense sense of pride in being associated with Saint Meinrad.”

Volunteers were key to achieving the goal, she said. “I am overwhelmed and grateful to those people because they were needed; they were a pillar of the campaign.

“It wasn’t just large gifts. It was the work of a lot of volunteers who made calls and wrote letters and made visits. Everybody did things in relation to their commitment and love of Saint Meinrad.”

The campaign raised $21 million for building projects.

Some work on new or existing buildings funded by the campaign is already finished.

In 2004, a renovation and expansion of the St. Thomas Aquinas Chapel, where the Saint Meinrad School of Theology community celebrates liturgies, and a remodeling of the east-west wings of Benet Hall were completed.

The new Archabbey Guest House and Retreat Center was completed in 2005.

Renovations and infrastructure improvements to Sherwood Hall, originally built in 1922, will begin this fall.

Other building projects are yet to be scheduled.

These include the renovation of St. Bede Hall and the construction of a new building to its south for the development of a new wellness center that will include a gymnasium and other physical fitness facilities.

Classroom and office space in Newman Hall will be renovated sometime in the future. And the upper floors of St. Bede Hall will be air-conditioned to improve youth program housing.

The campaign also raised $9 million for six endowments that will aid the ministry of both Saint Meinrad Archabbey and Saint Meinrad School of Theology.

The campaign also provided $10 million in operating support for Saint Meinrad during the past five years.

In addition to Graham, who chaired the campaign during 2005-06, a group of volunteer leaders made up the Campaign Cabinet that advised Saint Meinrad. Chris Marten of Carmel, Ind., was the national chair from 2001-04. Gregory Kempf of Evansville, Ind., was the chair emeritus; he died in January 2005.

Other members were Jim Davis of Louisville, Ky.; Jon Dilts of Bloomington; Dave Eckerle and Joe Steurer of Jasper, Ind.; Barbara Mitchel of Carmel, Ind.; Linus Mundy of Santa Claus, Ind.; Bernie Niehaus of Vincennes, Ind.; Pat Phillips of Indianapolis; Father Joe Rulli of Fort Wayne, Ind.; Father John Thomas of Hopkinsville, Ky.; and Mary Kay Wolford of New Albany.

Saint Meinrad members of the Campaign Cabinet were: Archabbot Lambert Reilly, from 2001-04; Archabbot Justin DuVall from 2005-06; Father Tobias Colgan; Father Mark O’Keefe; Mike Ziemianski, director of development; and Dan Schipp, vice president for development. †