2025 Institute for Black Catholic Studies to convene June 29-July 18

Applications are open for the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana, setting the stage for the 45th session of the historic academic and ministry program.

Students, staff, and faculty will gather at the Catholic HBCU in New Orleans for three weeks under the theme “I will never leave you or forsake you,” drawn from Hebrews 13:5. The event will take place during XULA’s centennial year, which celebrates the school's founding by St. Katharine Drexel and the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament in 1925.

“During the 100-year commemoration, the IBCS will gather again June 29 through July 18, to reflect on God's gift of Blackness in theological and ministry studies, to celebrate in Africentric worship and prayer, [and] to practice the values of the Nguzo Saba: The Seven Principles of Kwanzaa in our community life!” said IBCS director Dr. Kathleen Dorsey Bellow in an announcement.

“Make your plans now to attend the Institute—a response in praise and thanksgiving to Christ's faithfulness to us.”

The IBCS program includes a degree program, continuing education courses, and an elder’s retreat. The Master of Theology (ThM) courses this year include Black Approaches to Theology, History of Black Catholicism, Black Psychology, Christology, Slave Narratives, and Catholic Education in the Black Community.

The ThM program consists of a one- or two-class courseload per year and is open to students of all religious backgrounds. Participants include teachers, ministers (ordained and lay), and others from various career vocations.

Weeklong continuing education courses for the summer include Africana Readings of Exodus, Black Approaches to Catechesis, Teaching the Color Purple: Exploring Womanist Theology, Preaching from the Pews, and Facing the Racialization of America, among several others.

As in previous years, IBCS coursework aligns with the intersection of Catholicism and the African-American community, a focus borne from the institute’s founding in 1980 as an outlet for higher education in the Black Catholic tradition.

“[It] exists to prepare those living and serving in the local Black Catholic community of today to discern and use their God-given gifts, wisdom, presence, and action in the global Black Catholic Community of tomorrow,” wrote Sr Jamie T. Phelps, an Adrian Dominican sister who played an influential role in the creation of the IBCS, and later served as director.

“Through an interdisciplinary theological program of community prayer, theological study, and collaborative action, the administrators, faculty, and students prepare to work collectively in communion to continue the mission of Jesus Christ.”

Both the graduate studies and continuing education programs involve community activities during the three-week session, including daily liturgies and theological reflection meetings once a week. Other special events include an ancestor commemoration and a Maafa (“Black Holocaust”) remembrance. A provisional calendar of all events is available online.

Along with all official IBCS liturgies, the institute’s closing Mass and commencement on July 18 will be open to the public and take place at 6pm CT in the university’s St. Katharine Drexel Chapel.

Applications to IBCS will be accepted through June, and scholarships are available for tuition and on-campus housing. The deadline for the latter has been extended to Wednesday, April 30. Those interested in more information on the Institute can email ibcs@xula.edu or call (504) 520-7691.

Nate Tinner-Williams is co-founder and editor of Black Catholic Messenger.

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