On Dec. 8, more than 600 guests will gather in St. Paul to celebrate a significant milestone: the 25th anniversary of the Catholic Studies program at the University of St. Thomas.
Don Briel, founder and longtime director of Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, was diagnosed in mid-January with two forms of acute leukemia. He reflected Feb. 8 on his life’s work, the future of Catholic higher education and preparing for death.
In the history of U.S. Catholic higher education since World War II, three seminal moments stand out: Msgr. John Tracy Ellis’s 1955 article, “American Catholics and the Intellectual Life;” the 1967 Land o’ Lakes statement, “The Idea of a Catholic University;” and the day Don Briel began the Catholic Studies Program – and the Catholic Studies movement – at the University of St. Thomas in the Twin Cities.
Homage to Don Briel