Earning a Master of Divinity from the Kenrick School of Theology

Dedicated to education and the Catholic Church, Father Thomas Maikowski serves as a parish administrator and the director of a parish preschool. Father Thomas Maikowski has demonstrated his commitment to education by earning eight degrees from Catholic colleges and universities, including a master of divinity from Kenrick Seminary in Missouri.

To earn a master of divinity from Kenrick Seminary, now known as Kenrick-Glennon Seminary, seminarians must complete the curriculum and assessments required by the Kenrick School of Theology, which is the main seminary for the Archdiocese of Saint Louis. Additionally, students focus on one of the four dimensions of formation: spiritual, human, pastoral, and intellectual.

The four-year theological studies program is designed to align seminarians with the heart of the Good Shepherd and ready them for the priesthood of Jesus Christ. Accredited through the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada, the theologate is based on the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Program of Priestly Formation and the Apostolic Exhortation of Pope John Paul II, “Pastores dabo vobis.”                            

U.S. Air Force Academy - Creating an Open and Secure Base

An experienced educator and spiritual leader, Father Thomas Maikowski currently serves as a parish administrator and the director of a parish preschool. Father Thomas Maikowski also leverages more than two decades of experience with the U.S. Air Force to serve as a U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA) admissions liaison officer, which involves recruiting high school students to become cadets.

In a recent article, the USAFA in Colorado Springs explained that it is preparing for a new year of training, classes, football games, and family visits by implementing strategies to maintain a campus that is both secure and open. The article notes that there are unique security challenges at the academy because of its dual purpose as a military installation and a college campus.

According to the academy’s antiterrorism officer, extra security measures are currently being integrated and executed to ensure the safety of the base population and the cadets. The USAFA combines these strategies with a number of scheduled emergency-event exercises, in which cadets and academy staff practice emergency response methods.                            

Catholic Education for Youth by Father Thomas Maikowski

A recent U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey of Americans 18 and older discovered that Catholics may not know their own faith as well as hoped. Approximately 40 percent of those polled were unaware of the Church’s position that the Eucharist becomes the body and blood of Jesus, rather than merely symbolizing it.

Amid growing concern over similar trends in the Church, dioceses across America are looking for innovative methods to properly train Catholic youth. One such method, implemented in Page, Arizona, created a space for religious training outside of traditional Sunday schools and private Catholic schools. Students at Page High School, a public institution, can now, during the school day, leave the campus and go across the street to the Catholic church to take a class in Catholic doctrine.

Avoiding conflict with the separation of church and state, no classes will be held on school grounds. Similar to an educational release program implemented for Mormon students seeking to include religious education in their traditional curriculum, the program establishes a winning compromise for both school administrators and religious families.

About the Author: Father Thomas Maikowski, retired Air Force Chaplain and Lieutenant Colonel, serves the Immaculate Heart of St. Mary Church in Page, Arizona, as a Pastoral Administrator.