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Holy Apostles College & Seminary

Cromwell, Connecticut
www.holyapostles.edu

Overview
Ranney Hall, the oldest house in the small
central Connecticut town of Cromwell, has
been a focal point of service to the commu-
nity for one and one-quarter centuries. In
various forms, this building and subsequent
additions have formed a sanatorium for the
emotionally disturbed, a Catholic seminary
and then a Catholic college and seminary.
Holy Apostles Seminary began as a minor
seminary in 1957, founded by Father Eusebe
Menard, O.F.M. It was originally operated by
the Society of the Missionaries of the Holy
Apostles, an order of priests also founded by
Father Menard. An undergraduate college quick facts
was opened for lay students in 1972, and the
Founded: 1972
seminary became a major seminary in 1978. Type of institution: Micro liberal arts college
Later, graduate, distance-learning and Setting: Suburban
non-degree graduate programs were added. Undergraduate enrollment: Six full-time and
22 part-time lay students (2006–07
Today, Holy Apostles College & Seminary is
academic year)
a unique, small-scale Catholic college with
Total tuition cost: $7,800 (for 2007–08)
modest university components. It also is one
Undergraduate majors: Four
that is firmly rooted in the Church.
The seminary has long had strong historic Five Key Points
ties with the Bishop of the Diocese of Norwich, 1. The college is solidly faithful to the
who still serves as chancellor of the expanded Magisterium.
institution. And for more than two decades,
2. Connecticut’s three bishops sit on the
he as well as the Archbishop of Hartford and board of trustees.
the Bishop of Bridgeport have served on the
3. It has a 97-credit, philosophy-based
board of trustees.
core curriculum.
As one staff member told us, “This expan- 4. Lay students benefit from studying
sion of the board gave the college and semi- alongside seminarians.
nary the benefit of episcopal oversight, along 5. Holy Apostles is very affordable.
with ecclesial and professional expertise.” As

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a result, Holy Apostles is a solid example of college in New England, a fact that I think
orthodox Catholicism. many parents and students would want to
know because, at that cost, it is possible to
The seminary has been thriving. Enroll-
graduate without incurring college-loan
ment has been growing in recent years and
debt.”
reached 82 men in the fall 2007 semester.
Nineteen dioceses are represented, the most Yet another appealing aspect of Holy
coming from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Apostles is the opportunity to study at an
Santa Fe, New Mexico. Six religious commu- historic, picturesque and peaceful campus.
nities also are present. Its oldest building was erected in 1751. There
are so many trees that students and visitors
But it was not until about four years ago,
enjoy a guided trail tour known as the Tree
according to Father Douglas Mosey, C.S.B.,
Walk. Many of these trees were planted by
Holy Apostles’ president-rector, that new at-
representatives of the firm of the noted 19th-
tention was directed to the undergraduate
century landscape architect Frederick Law
lay program. He said, “We realize the desire
Olmstead, who was a native of nearby Hart-
and need for truly Catholic colleges. We have
ford.
right here in our immediate area a number of
Catholic high schools, and we are recruiting Students have the option to major in four
there for students and families who want a areas: philosophy, theology, English in the
faithful Catholic education.” humanities and history in the social sciences.
An associate of arts degree in theology also is
The college remains a commuter school—
available. The college is accredited by its re-
there are no residence halls for lay students
gional agency, the New England Association
and no plans to build any. Father Mosey add-
of Schools and Colleges.
ed, “There also are a number of homeschool-
ing families who might want their sons and
daughters to receive higher learning and per-
haps continue living at home.”
Governance
In the fall 2006, there were six full-time In addition to the three Connecticut bishops,
and 22 part-time undergraduate lay students. the Holy Apostles board of trustees includes
There also were 149 graduate lay students five priests of the Missionaries of the Holy
who were studying on campus or through Apostles and nine lay members. One of the
distance learning. The recruitment of under- lay members is Dr. Marie Hilliard, former
graduate students is a critical element in the executive director of the Connecticut Catho-
college’s long-range plan. lic Conference. The Missionaries of the Holy
Apostles turned over the seminary and col-
The opportunity to study in a Catholic en-
lege to the board of trustees in 1984.
vironment with seminarians is compelling to
these students as is the strong core curricu- Father Mosey, who holds a Ph.D., is the
lum, which covers 97 credits or about three- seventh president of the college and semi-
fourths of the graduation requirement. nary. He is in his 12th year as president. All
presidents have been priests.
Also attractive is its affordability. Tuition
for the 2007–08 academic year is $7,800. Ac-
cording to the college’s director of student re-
cruitment, “We are the lowest-priced private

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Holy Apostles College & Seminary

Public Identity Masses are reported to be “very solemn


and absolutely beautiful.” Music is provided
Given Holy Apostles’ commitment to its mis- with the work of a choir director. Confessions
sion to cultivating ordained, consecrated and are available. Masses attract some people
lay Catholic leaders for evangelization, it is not from the community, and there are plans to
surprising that its Catholic identity is strong. build a new chapel that will double the cur-
One of the college’s five goals—all related to rent capacity.
faith—is: “To animate the entire college and One professor said, “It is not unusual to
seminary experience in a recognizable, dis- see lay students at the chapel or meeting else-
tinctive, and unambiguously Catholic spirit.” where to say the Rosary together. Catholic
All interviewees emphasized the college’s spiritual life is a major focus at Holy Apostles
Catholic identity with enthusiasm. One phi- College.”
losophy professor, for example, said, “I have Lay students are clearly influenced by the
taught in a number of colleges over the years, presence of the seminarians. Sean Forrest, a
and Holy Apostles College by far has the best student and administrator at Holy Apostles
atmosphere for orthodox teaching, camarade- as well as a Catholic contemporary musician,
rie and friendship. These are reinforced with said, “We have the chance to see the semi-
an integrated liberal arts education. It has the narians’ strong desire to study and to serve
complete package.” others. Having this exposure to the seminar-
And a full-time student told us, “The col- ians makes me love the priesthood even more
lege has the strongest Catholic identity I’ve when I see their commitment.”
ever seen. When you’re hanging out with When Father Frank Pavone, national di-
seminarians in class and on campus all day, rector of Priests for Life, gave a retreat for
you can’t get much more Catholic identity seminarians, it was open to all students. Lay
than that.” students and seminarians work together on
Among the limited number of college pro-life activities, which includes going to an
speakers has been Father Benedict Groeschel, abortion clinic in nearby Hartford on Satur-
C.F.R., who delivered the commencement ad- days and participating in the annual March
dress in 2007. for Life in Washington, D.C. There is a tomb
on campus marking the grave of an unborn
child, a victim of an abortion.
Spiritual Life Holy Apostles, along with the Cromwell
Christian Clergy Association, sponsors the
Two early morning Masses are held daily at Cromwell Ecumenical Lay Theology School
the 120-seat chapel. Students are welcome, (CELTS), which offers informal courses.
but due to the early hour at the commuter
school (7:15 a.m. and 9 a.m.), we are told that Students have the option of participating
not many students attend; most of the attend- in Mass and other spiritual activities, includ-
ees are seminarians. More students attend 5 ing perpetual adoration, at St. John Church in
p.m. Evening Prayer. Cromwell. The parish is staffed by Coventual
Franciscan Friars.

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Catholicism in also promise obedience to the bishop and the


Magisterium. This is done annually when
the Classroom Bishop Michael Cote of the Diocese of Nor-
wich comes to campus to celebrate the Mass
The college emphasizes that the curriculum is of the Holy Spirit at the beginning of the aca-
philosophically based and in the Catholic lib- demic year. All members of the academic and
eral arts tradition. The 97-credit core includes formational faculty of the seminary are ap-
six Catholic theology courses, which range proved by the bishop on the recommendation
from “Catechism I and II” to “Liturgy.” There of the rector of the seminary.
also are eight specific philosophy courses,
including “Philosophy of God.” The philoso- One professor praised the scholarship
phy requirement is only two courses short of at the college, but said, “Everything is sub-
a major. One student said, “The strength of ordinated to spiritual formation. You need
[the college] is in the theology and philoso- a school where you can maintain your faith
phy courses.” and receive the intellectual component as
well, and Holy Apostles College does this.”
Other required courses include three in
Latin and work in the traditional liberal arts Students especially praised two profes-
disciplines, especially in literature and his- sors. Father Peter Girard, O.P., called by one
tory (together accounting for 10 courses). All student a “dynamic teacher,” offers courses
students need to complete a senior project. on Christology, Church Fathers, Saint Paul
The core curriculum helps satisfy the college’s and the Doctors of the Church. Sister Mary
objective: “To prepare college seminarians for Ann Linder, F.S.E., an associate professor of
the study of theology and to prepare lay stu- catechetics, teaches courses in humanities.
dents for graduate study and most especially The college has attracted a wide range of
for life.” students, from traditional recent high school
Accordingly to Father Mosey, the presi- graduates to senior citizens. Some come for
dent-rector, the college developed its cur- two years to get the personal formation, we
riculum, with an emphasis on philosophical are told, and then move on. Some opt to take
foundations, after studying a 1961 college cat- the two-year associate of arts degree and re-
alogue that described Fordham University’s turn later to Holy Apostles or elsewhere to
Jesuit approach to the curriculum. Fordham complete a bachelor’s degree.
has long since abandoned it. There are some undergraduate seminar-
Some of the courses are taught in an in- ians who take courses with lay college stu-
terdisciplinary manner, which fits well at a dents. The lay students we spoke to consid-
school of such small size. One example of an ered this to be an important benefit. A college
interdisciplinary, team-taught course is one administrator said, “Because seminarians
offered on the Middle Ages by Dr. Angelyn and lay students study, pray and interact in
Arden, assistant professor of humanities. She class, they are able to share their unique per-
is a licensed clinical psychologist who previ- spectives and thus deepen each other’s over-
ously taught in the Great Books program at all learning experience.”
the University of Dallas. The college also has hosted the Pope John
Faculty members teaching philosophy Paul II Bioethics Center for the past 25 years.
and theology make a profession of faith and The center sponsors lectures and publica-
tions.

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Holy Apostles College & Seminary

Student Activities
There are no organized college clubs. Student
activities are limited at this all-commuter col-
lege. There are informal, student-initiated ac-
tivities such as cookouts, going to movies or
playing soccer.
The campus is quiet, but the college sees
this as a plus. The campus website comments:
“Students treasure the abundant peace and
extraordinary beauty of Holy Apostles’ hill-
side campus above the Connecticut River be-
cause moments of quiet and beauty are often
times when you learn the most about God While students may come from several
and yourself.” nearby communities, health services are avail-
able at two hospitals, Middlesex Hospital and
This perspective resonated with the moth- Connecticut Valley Hospital, each located five
er of a daughter who began her freshman minutes away in Middletown.
year at Holy Apostles in August 2007. She
said, “The atmosphere on campus is comfort-
able and peaceful. Everyone, whether they The Community
know you or not, is kind and thoughtful. This
is truly a Catholic institution that is thriving Cromwell is a town of 13,500 people which is
in spite of its size.” 15 minutes from the state capital of Hartford
and about one-half-hour from New Haven.
The quiet town also is a safe one, with vir-
Residential Life tually no violent crime and a crime rate only
about 40 percent of the national crime index.
There are no residential facilities for lay stu-
dents. Some share local apartments, but most Hartford, a long-time center of the insur-
commute from their homes. Here, too, the ance industry, has a population of 125,000. It
college views its lack of facilities as a positive has a number of attractions including the Mark
point, citing how residential life can easily Twain House and the Hartford Civic Center,
distract students from their studies. Residen- which hosts cultural and sports events.
tial life, they also note, is costly for the col- The north-south Interstate 91 serves Crom-
lege—and the student—because it requires well, while the east-west Interstate 84 and In-
health services, resident advisors, campus terstate 91 meet in downtown Hartford. Am-
social activities and personnel to supervise trak services Hartford, and the city’s Bradley
them, and a security force. International Airport provides non-stop ser-
Further, they say, commuter students liv- vice to several major cities, including Los An-
ing at home “can bring the Truth you have geles, on national carriers.
learned back to your community and start
sharing it and living it immediately.”

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The Bottom Line pus are limited. But the college sees all this
as major selling points in presenting an en-
One representative of Holy Apostles College vironment that sticks to the essentials—faith
said they like to promote their institution as formation and liberal arts education without
being “really Catholic, really close and really frills.
affordable.” Add to that, “really supportive of At this point, the college is unlikely to draw
the Catholic intellectual tradition,” and you many students from around the country. It is,
have a rather impressive mix. however, an attractive option for students liv-
The college, long dedicated to training ing in central Connecticut and perhaps the
seminarians, is embarking on expanding its rest of the state as well. If fidelity to mission is
very small lay presence. It does not have resi- any indicator, Holy Apostles College & Semi-
dential facilities, and social activities on cam- nary has a bright future.

130 The Newman Guide

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