Leon Joseph Cardinal Suenens
The Cardinal Suenens Center honors the life and work of Leon Joseph Cardinal Suenens (1904-1996), Archbishop of Malines Brussels and Primate of Belgium.
The Center exists since 1998 to serve the vision of the Second Vatican Council especially as its themes intersect with the legacy of Cardinal Suenens. Those themes include the Church and co-responsibility of the people of God, ecumenism, interfaith dialogue, spirituality of the laity and the education and formation of seminarians and priests. We maintain an intense interest in fostering academic research, study, publication, and conversation devoted to the spirit of renewal that illumined the life and work of Cardinal Suenens.
To respond to Cardinal Suenens’ passionate interest in the education and formation of seminarians and priests, the Center has hosted three major conferences – one each in Leuven (Belgium), Rome (Italy) and Chicago (USA). Under consideration now is an international conference for seminary rectors and deans on the re-integration of science into the curriculum of seminaries. The John Templeton Foundation has provided funding for determining the need and potential interest for such a conference. A planning group will meet in Brussels on February 2-3, 2014.
Following our inaugural conference, “Retrieving Charisms for the 21st Century,” held at John Carroll University in 1996, the Cardinal Suenens Center at John Carroll University has been supported principally through the generosity of Mrs. Margaret F. Grace of New York.