Christendom College began the academic year Aug. 18-20, welcoming 172 new students to campus. In his opening address to begin the academic year, College President Timothy O’Donnell encouraged the student body to deepen and grow in the Catholic faith over the course of the coming year, as together they seek to “restore all things in Christ.”
“My prayer and my hope for each of you as you go forth from this assembly today is that you may continue to be not afraid and open wide the doors of Christ to your hearts,” said O’Donnell. “Continue to bear witness to that faith that was once and for all delivered to the saints. Don’t get caught up in the chaos going on in the world — you have the faith. Let it deepen, grow, nurture and develop in your soul. Study hard and pray hard. My love and prayers will be with you this year. Together let’s have a great semester.”
The student body includes 164 freshmen, four former students who re-enrolled, and four transfer students. The college has now reached its 550 student body capacity and says it will stay at this size to ensure solid education and personalized attention. There was a waiting list of qualified students for the third straight year.
Those 172 new students hail from 33 states, New Zealand and Canada. The students achieved an average SAT score of 1260, with 76 percent of the class earning academic scholarships from the college. The class also includes multiple high school valedictorians and a Cardinal Newman Society Essay Contest winner. The college’s Best Week Ever high school summer program continues to be one of the biggest pathways to Christendom, with 76 percent of the freshman class having attended BWE — a new record.
The school year officially began Aug. 20, with Bishop Michael F. Burbidge celebrating the Mass of the Holy Spirit for the college community in the new Christ the King Chapel. During Mass. The entire college’s faculty made an Oath of Fidelity to the magisterium of the Catholic Church in the presence of the bishop, as they have done every year since the college’s founding.
During his address to the student body, O’Donnell shared that the college had another strong year of fundraising, with an annual fund record of more than $5 million raised. Approximately 5,000 benefactors stepped forward to help fund scholarships, financial aid and to fund building projects, such as the chapel.
Significant improvements were made to campus buildings over the summer, including the conversion of the college’s original Christ the King Chapel into the new Old Chapel Hall, where O’Donnell delivered his address. It will be used for lectures and special events.
The residence halls were repainted and the bathrooms in St. Edmund Campion Hall got a makeover. The wooded area between St. Catherine’s Hall and St. John the Evangelist Library was cleared of brush, with benches and lighting planned for the space this fall.
The college will host a number of special events this fall, including a weeklong Eucharistic Mission to begin the academic year and a conference on J.R.R. Tolkien in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of his death. O’Donnell announced that the college will send 52 students to the college’s Semester in Rome this fall.
This year also marks the beginning of O’Donnell’s final year as president, following his announcement that he will retire at the end of the 2023-24 academic year. The search for a new president is underway.
