The St. Columcille Institute will promote the New Evangelization called for by Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI by forming both lay and clerical leaders and equipping them with the tools needed to engage the culture and bring the Faith to our modern world.

• The program will seek to strengthen the faith and deepen the understanding of young Catholic leaders through a thorough catechesis, ensuring that participants develop the ability both to evangelize and defend the Faith within secular society. The Institute will respond to the exhortation of St. Peter, "To be always ready with a reason for the hope that is within you." (1 Peter 3:15)
  
• Secondly, the Institute will examine the patrimony of Western Christian Civilization through an in-depth study of the early foundations of Christendom, highlighting the Irish contribution, with its deep Roman roots, and noting the successful evangelization of Europe through Ireland's historically vibrant Christian culture.
  
• Supplementing intellectual formation, in a bold effort to celebrate the Christian imagination, the Institute will explore the fundamental truths of reality and the problems encountered in living the Faith by means of great works of literature and art.
  
• Finally, in order to satisfy the human need for community and leisure, the Institute will provide an atmosphere that fosters true friendship, festivity, and recreation and that nurtures the whole person, mind, body, and soul.

The Institute will be located at Ards Friary, Donegal, in a spectacular part of the northwest of Ireland where local traditions and Irish culture remain strong and vibrant. Ards Friary (the home of St. Columcille himself), is owned by the Capuchin Friars and includes over 200 acres of lovely countryside and a commanding view of the ocean, bay, and surrounding beaches. Situated away from the chaos and noise of modern urban living, the site offers participants opportunity to experience, in an intimate way, wonder at God's creation, amidst the power and order in nature. Ample opportunity to pray and reflect deeply upon that which is permanent—the true, the good, and the beautiful—will reinforce the riches gleaned in the classroom.

Theology 501: Catholic Apologetics (2 credits)
With Dr. Timothy T. O'Donnell, Institute Dean and Professor of Theology
As part of the New Evangelization called for by the Church, these theology courses will present the basic arguments for the credibility of the Catholic Faith and Natural Law. Students will develop cogent arguments for defense to serve as effective means of persuasion. Topics will range from God's existence and the problem of evil to the historical reality of Jesus Christ and the primacy of the Pope.

History 501: The Rise of Western Culture and Christian Ethos (2 credits)
With Dr. Brendan McGuire, Professor of History
This course will cover the rise and development of Christian Europe, highlighting the special contribution made by Catholic Ireland, which spread the inheritance of St. Patrick's Roman roots. In particular, the class will emphasize how Patrick's experiences helped affect a crucial spiritual and cultural union between Roman and Celtic civilization. Moreover, the course will focus on the monastic culture and the great missionary outreach provided by the examples of Sts. Martin and Benedict, and the Irish monks Sts. Columcille, Aidan, Columbanus, Gall, and Kilian. Additionally, the course will demonstrate the important centrality of Rome, as exemplified in the key pontificates of Pope Leo I and Pope Gregory I, in addition to the Carolingian Revival.

Literature 501: Christian Imagination and Prominent Continental Irish Writers (2 credits)
Mrs. Sharon Mahoney Hickson, Professor of Literature
This course will survey fiction, drama, and poetry drawn from the masterworks of the Western Literary Tradition, focusing on the Catholic perspective of man's struggle throughout history to exercise his free will as he encounters both the reality of evil and the force of God's Love and Mercy. Special emphasis on Irish writers will reveal the powerful, universal Truth of the redeeming nature of suffering especially when leavened by the Faith. The authors to be studied will include James Joyce, William Butler Yeats, Walter Macken, Liam O'Flaherty, John Synge, Sean O'Casey, Oscar Wilde, Leo Tolstoy, Graham Greene, Gertrude von Le Fort, and Alexander Solzenitsyn.

Major Speakers
The Institute will enhance its academic program with guest speakers who can offer insight to and highlight specific elements of the New Evangelization. The Major Speakers Program offers the Institution participants for cultural, intellectual, and spiritual enrichment beyond the classroom.

Formation
Following the mind of the Church, spiritual formation will be an essential part of the daily routine of students who participate in the Institute. Daily Mass and communal recitation of the rosary and Divine Office will provide the hinge for each day's routine, and in addition, the Sacrament of Confession and Eucharistic Adoration will be readily available.

 

Dr. Timothy O'Donnell
Dr. O'Donnell received his early education at Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles, California, where he graduated with B.A. degrees in Philosophy and History. He continued there, achieving the M.A. in Church History. He completed his academic pursuits at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome (Angelicum), where he was the first layman to receive a doctorate in Ascetical and Mystical Theology. Dr. O'Donnell is the President of Christendom College, a four-year, Roman Catholic, liberal arts college with a graduate program in theological studies.

Dr. Brendan McGuire
Dr. McGuire specializes in the study of medieval Christianity; his scholarly research has focused on a variety of issues related to the Church in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Dr. McGuire received his Ph.D. from Saint Louis University, and has been a member of Christendom's history faculty since 2007. He resides in Front Royal with his wife Susan and their three children.

Prof. Sharon Mahoney Hickson Professor
Prof. Hickson attended Marymount College in Tarrytown, NY, and completed her Master's Degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has been involved with Christendom since its inception and has been teaching in the Language and Literature Department since 2004. She has also been greatly involved with student formation, leading discussion groups, giving talks, and encouraging fellowship by hosting student events.

Spiritual Formation

Fr. Mark Byrne, SOLT; Chaplain
Fr. Mark is from Dublin and is a priest of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity. After graduating with a B.A. in Psychology from University College, Dublin, he received a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology and Research at the University of Kansas. Following ordination, he completed his formal education at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome (Angelicum) with an S.T.D. in spiritual theology, writing on the Divine Pedagogy, and John Paul II's vision for education for a New Evangelization.

• Irish Students: €1,500 ARDS ONLY PACKAGE
  Includes price of the courses, room and board, three full meals per day, all excursions in Donegal
  
  
• American Students: $3750 FULL TRAVEL PACKAGE INCLUDING AIRFARE
  Includes price of the courses, room and board, three full meals per day, all excursions in Donegal and Dublin, roundtrip airfare from the USA.

The program will be conducted at Ards Friary from July 20 through August 7, 2013. Travelers from the United States will depart from Dulles airport on July 19 and be transported to Ards on July 20. On the way, the group will visit Bunratty Castle and Folk Park. When the academic program concludes, students may choose to depart Ards on August 7, stopping to climb Croagh Patrick, and then gather at the National Marian Shrine at Knock for the official conclusion of the program. For American students who wish to extend their experience, a trip to Dublin from August 8-11 is available. The following is a basic itinerary for the final days of the program:

• August 8: Leave Ards for Dublin, stopping to climb Croagh Patrick, stay overnight in Knock.
  
• August 9: After visiting and having Mass at the Marian Shrine of Knock, depart and spend the next three nights in Dublin.
  
• August 9: Explore Dublin, visiting Kilmainham Gaol, the Guinness brewery; free time in the evening.
  
• August 10: Explore Glendalough, visit Trinity College where the Book of Kells is housed; free time in the afternoon, but reconvene in the evening to attend a play at Abby Theatre.
  
• August 11: Fly back home to the United States.

Other Travel
In addition to the classes, proposed excursions in the afternoons and on the weekends throughout Donegal will include the following:

• Visiting scenic and historic Glen Columcille
  
• Climbing Mount Errigal, the second highest peak in Ireland
  
• Hiking in the Blue Stack Mountains
  
• Visiting the historical Donegal Castle and Monastery
  
• Visiting the ancient King's Residence and sun temple of Grianan of Aileach
  
• Visiting the spectacular cliffs of Bunglass, the tallest sea cliffs in Europe
  
• Touring historic Doe Castle and Loch Swilly
  
• Visiting Loch Garten, the birthplace of St. Columcille
  
• Celebrating the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at Doone Mass Rock and Holy Well.
  
• Journeying to County Mayo
  
• Climbing Croagh Patrick
  
• Visiting the site of Our Lady's apparition at Knock
  
• Visiting Derry, the Giants' Causeway, Tory Island, Ballintubber Abbey, and St. Eunan's Cathedral in Letterkenney
  

St. Columcille (also known as St. Columba) was born in County Donegal in 521 and died on the Island of Iona in 597. One of the intellectual giants of his age, he was raised and educated by a priest close to his family. After being trained in the school of Christian asceticism and monasticism, Columcille founded a number of monasteries, including the famous Monastery of Derry in 548. In 563, he left Ireland with twelve companions and sailed for the Island of Iona, where he erected a monastery and began his great mission to Scotland. Iona became a thriving center of the monastic culture that dominated the northwest for centuries. Columcille, a voluntary exile for Christ, returned to Ireland only once in 575 to attend the convention of Ulster of Drumceatt, where his intervention saved the bards and poets of Ireland from banishment. A man of deep faith, great culture, and charity, his life has been recorded for us in the Vita San Columba, written by St. Adomnan. St. Columcille was one of the great lights of the early Middle Ages and one of the great missionary evangelists in the history of the Catholic Church. We are proud to claim him as our special patron.