Christendom’s Graduate School of Theology announced in October that it will launch an Institute for Liturgical Formation (ILF), set to begin in the summer of 2025. The purpose of the ILF will be to soundly educate and train those responsible for liturgical preparation and execution so that they can more effectively serve the Church’s mission to worship God.

Christopher Carstens, Director of the Office of Sacred Worship in the Diocese of La Crosse, WI, editor of Adoremus, and co-founder of the ILF, believes that this new venture will help lead priests, liturgical leaders, and all the baptized deeper into the beauty of the Mass.

“Our goal for the Institute,” Carstens said, “is to assist priests and liturgical leaders in celebrating the liturgy beautifully and reverently after the mind of the Church and to help lead all the baptized deeper into the mystery of Christ present in the Mass, sacraments, and other liturgies.”

When asked what inspired the launch of the Institute, R.J. Matava, dean of the Graduate School, highlighted Christendom’s desire to build up and strengthen the life of the Church.

“We see the Church’s primary mission as to evangelize and catechize people and to worship God,” Matava said. “Our graduate school was founded to support the first of these, and the second is integrally related to it. While it falls primarily to bishops and priests to improve the liturgical life of the Church from a ministerial standpoint, a lot of this effort depends on proper liturgical catechesis—not only for the ordained but for the laity as well.”

“Our institution’s motto is Instaurare Omnia in Christo (Restore All Things in Christ),” Matava added. “The renewal of the liturgy is at the heart of Christ’s cosmic work of renewing the created order, and so it is central to our institutional mission.”

Beginning in 2025, the Institute will offer four summer courses focusing on the liturgy. Participation in the Institute will also provide students with further opportunities for liturgical preparation and participation, fostering a rich communal life on campus for attendants. The Institute will significantly benefit those with diocesan and parish-level jobs in liturgical preparation and execution, as well as priests, religious, and lay people interested in pursuing a deeper understanding of the Church’s liturgy.

“Pope Benedict once claimed that it was sacred art and sacred persons—saints—that were the most moving arguments for the faith,” Carstens said. “Likewise, we want the Institute for Liturgical Formation to promote beauty and sanctity, unto the glory of God.”

To learn more about the ILF and to apply today, visit christendom.edu/liturgy.

_{Image Source: AB/Christendom College}