Even with 46,000 students on campus, Texas A&M has always had a small-town feel.
“It’s a very open and friendly campus,” said Father David Konderla, who grew up in nearby Bryan, Texas, and whose ties to the university date to a part-time job there in high school.
Yet a long-standing and official Aggie tradition — greeting everyone with a “Howdy!” — seems to be dying a slow death.
Students “all have iPod buds in their ears and they’re all texting away as they walk across campus,” Father Konderla said. “People don’t see each other.”
But while one tradition fades, another is thriving down in College Station: Catholicism. That’s mostly due to the efforts of A&M’s St. Mary’s Catholic Center, which Father Konderla directs. Well known in Catholic campus-ministry circles, it’s now drawing attention outside Texas and among laypeople. Most recently, George Weigel sang its praises in his nationally syndicated column.
“Texas A&M is a special place, culturally; in many respects, it seems to have skipped the ’60s, such that its 21st-century life is in palpable continuity with its past,” Weigel wrote in February. “That’s a deeply Catholic cultural instinct, which St. Mary’s has seized to build a program that is a model for the entire country.”
The program ministers to about 15,000 students. Father Konderla oversees a staff of 30, a $2.1 million budget and a 30,000-square-foot campus center that opened in 1998 and includes a 5,000-volume library and 850-seat church.
Big numbers, but they all start with the One.
“The most important aspect of the center, of the whole thing, is bringing these students face-to-face, if you will, with Jesus,” Father Konderla said. “Putting them into a real, integrated, intimate and personal relationship with Jesus, the very center of everything that is: the center of history; the center of every subject they study on campus.”
No wonder how he identifies the center’s most important programs.
“Mass and the sacraments,” Father Konderla said. “Apart from that, everything else we do coming out of the Mass is getting ready to go back into it.”
There are 14 Masses offered weekly at A&M. Weekend Masses attract 4,000 to 5,000 students. Confession is offered six days a week and also draws lines of penitents.
“The students have a hunger for and a love of the teachings of the Church,” said Douglas Jeffers, a 2010 graduate from Sugar Land, Texas. “All of the various activities — educational programs, service programs, evangelization, etc. — are thus able to be sustained by the grace flowing from the sacraments and are able to refer the students back to the worship of God in the Holy Sacrifice.”
‘High-Energy Encounter’
The most popular program outside Mass is Aggie Awakening, a student-led retreat program held for 100 students three times a year.
“A very high-energy encounter with Christ through their peers” is how Father Konderla describes it. There’s a waiting list of more than 400 students to attend. Six slots are reserved for students from other schools who want to model their retreat program after Awakening.
Father Brian McMaster, a 1995 Aggie grad and now vocations director for the Diocese of Austin, Texas, attended an Awakening as a freshman, then helped staff 10 more.
“It has three main impacts,” Father McMaster said. “One is that it’s a solid expression of the Catholic faith. Secondly, it’s done in a dynamic way, and it’s led by the college students. They are witnessing to the faith themselves. Thirdly, it’s a great introduction into a spirituality of communion, of really receiving charity and love from your fellow students. It’s a way of being drawn into the larger community of the student center.”
Awakening is one of seven retreat programs. There are retreats for incoming freshmen or transfers, for women and a “Busy Student Retreat.” St. Mary’s students each semester also host up to six retreats for confirmation and/or junior-high/high-school students within a 100-mile radius of campus.
“Ask a Catholic a Question” is another popular program. Students are positioned on campus in booths or standing at busy locales while wearing bright-colored shirts that say: “Ask a Catholic a Question.”
“Even when a student’s question cannot be fully answered right away, promoting positive discussion about our faith is a great way to correct false pretenses and fallacies about the teachings of the Church,” said Suzanne Simpson, a senior biology major from Kingwood, Texas.
Conversions and Vocations
St. Mary’s offers numerous other faith-based programs and activities. A sorority, Kappa Theta Beta, has about 90 members. Knights of Columbus Council No. 10624 is in its 20th year on campus and has won several awards for its work. There are groups for weekly Bible study, apologetics, praise and worship, community prayer and devotion, and a weekly Rosary. There are programs for young professionals and graduate students and for A&M faculty and staff. Students can join a social-justice committee, pro-life group or jail ministry. There are opportunities to serve Lenten soup kitchens, attend domestic and international service and mission trips or receive spiritual direction or help with vocational discernment. There’s a Catholic radio station and an institute for non-credit theological studies. And more.
Programs are frequently evaluated and new ones occasionally added. A recent addition, “Revolution,” introduces students to Pope John Paul II’s theology of the body. Small study groups form after introductory presentations.
“The students at St. Mary’s really walk the walk,” Simpson said. “They practice their faith by living it and leading by example.”
That example bears fruit through a striking number of conversions and religious vocations. Father Konderla said an average of 60 converts enter the Church through St. Mary’s, up to a dozen via baptism and the rest from non-Catholic Christian denominations.
Jeffers, a former Church of Christ member, had begun moving toward conversion prior to his involvement with St. Mary’s. His experience in the ministry and its RCIA program sped along his entrance into the Church at the 2007 Easter vigil.
“St. Mary’s was the place where I was first exposed to its being lived out,” Jeffers said. “The faith was very vibrant there, and I was drawn into a deeper relationship with Christ and with his holy Church through my time at St. Mary’s.”
He’s also among the many A&M students to enter or progress toward religious life. He’s a first year pre-theology student at Holy Trinity Seminary in Irving, Texas, studying to become a priest for the Diocese of Austin.
Father McMaster, another vocation fostered through St. Mary’s, calls the Catholic campus-ministry program a “powerhouse to our vocations.” According to Father Konderla, St. Mary’s has about eight students enter formation for the priesthood or religious life each year. More than 130 have been ordained or professed final vows in the past two decades.
How’s it all managed? The “Howdy Culture” might be specific to Texas A&M, but Father Konderla says a vibrant Catholic campus ministry can happen anywhere.
“There’s not some magic here that makes this the only place this can be done,” Father Konderla said. “It is being done in a number of other places around the country, and it is terribly important that all of us do it and do it well, because we have 90% of our Catholic students at secular schools like A&M.
“It’s too important to the mission of the Church in the United States not to do this well.”
Anthony Flott writes from Papillion, Nebraska.
More Information
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Wow, our parishes should be so vibrant.
That’s my school! Whoop! Proud of the Aggie Catholics! :-D
One thing they don’t mention is that these Aggie Catholics become very active in their post-graduation parishes. The cumulative effect goes beyond vocations, it positively affects the laity in the parishes as well!
As a contemporary of one of the earlier commenters, Jay Stockton, let me echo his sentiments! Aggie Catholics are salt of the earth! He won’t toot his own horn, but Jay was one of the founders of Aggie Awakening, the “high-energy encounter"mentioned in the article.
Sometimes the seeds planted in strong Catholic campuses like Texas A&M take years to germinate and grow. Please keep all American college students, especially baptized Catholics, in your daily prayers. God bless you Jay!
We have been involved with St Marys since our son became an Aggie in 1993 and our daughter in 1997. St Mary’s was the pivotal part of their A&M experince. The environment is so strong, so full of faith that my wife and I wished our parish back in Virginia was as active and vibrant. Both of our children attended and staffed Aggie Awakenings; our son lived in the St Joseph’s Vineyard Catholic “dorm”; and our daughter was married in St Mary’s (with 8 priests on the alter!). Even though they graduated long ago, we still have ties to and support this magnificent Catholic community. Gig ‘em!!
PRAISE JESUS! Then, GIG ‘EM!
We came to College Station in 2001, just 1 month before September 11 and have gone to St. Mary’s ever since. We did not attend A&M but we are Aggies at heart and love the energy and strength of the young adults at St. Mary’s. We go as a family every Saturday and feel we are among other members of our family when we arrive. It is an unforgettable place where one can renew the spiritual strength needed to endure the tribulations of daily life and as said in the article: its members “walk the walk”! I owe so much to St. Mary’s! I will continue to pray for the community to continue to strive and listen and follow Christ. God bless.
I am so proud of St. Mary’s and when I am in College Station, it is so inspiring to Me to see so many students take part in the Mass. My late Granddaughter, Andi McKenna, was very inspried My St. Mary’s.
No wonder the Brazos Valley Coalition for Life is changing the world through their efforts in the Pro-Life movement! These professionals know what they’re doing and attacking it head on. St. Mary’s Catholic Center prepares Aggie Catholics well in the areas of Christian leadership through service. Aggieland is rated #1 Anti-Choice City in the world for a reason!
St. Mary’s is an awesome place. My daughter Lindsay, class of 2007, whoop!, was instrumental in starting the Kappa Theta Beta sorority and we have been blessed by her and our association with A&M and St. Mary’s. If you know someone who doubts the future of our country or our faith go to a mass at St.Mary’s where you will see hundreds of college kids attending, even on a weekday!! Fr. David should also mention how many St. Mary’s kids choose a career as youth ministers in their parishes, we know of 5 ourselves.
Gig em!!
Whoop! Proud of what God is doing at my Alma Mater!
Howdy Aggie Catholics:
I am from Ghana-West Africa, and I attended Aggie Awakening # 89, when I was a grad student at Texas A&M University from 2006 to 2008 and my life has changed completely through the power of God’s Love.Amen.
The Mystical Body of Christ (MBOC) is very strong in Aggie Awakening members.
Long Live the Faith in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Thank you Father David and also Father Mike for the magnificent job you have done. The spirit at St.Mary’s and Texas A&M is incredible. We started attending St. Mary’s when I began work on my doctorate in 1989. Our daughter and son followed in the late 90’s and continued to 2005. St. Mary’s is a tremendous source of Aggie Catholic Pride. I hope that my ACTS brothers and sisters in Friendswood, Texas and surrounding areas will get the opportunity to experience St. Mary’s at Texas A&M University in College Station.
I know Fr. Brian Mcmaster. He was a priest at our parish, Santa Cruz, in Buda, TX. He is very dynamic and all the parish was so sad when the Bishop took him to do the job he is now doing.
Yes, A&M has a vibrant Catholic Community. We were witnesses to that when our son attended A&M back in the 90’s.
If every college could do this, our Catholic faith would continue to grow in the young people, who sadly, are leaving the faith in other areas of the United States.
God Bless the A&M center.
Renee Hill
I’m so proud to be an Aggie Catholic… it is because of St. Mary’s TOB (Theology of the Body) program that I decided to enter our One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church on the Easter Vigil of 2010! I love the Sacraments and Adoration! WHOOP!!!
I came to Texas A&M during the Fall 1991 as a “lukewarm” and “cafeteria Catholic” who was planning to become either non-denominational, Episcopal, or Methodist. or non-denominational. (Funny thing is, I had attended a “Catholic College” a couple of years to my arrival there.) After some persuasion from some Catholic students and my mother, I began attending a few events St. Mary’s offered (particularly after the arrival of Fr. Michael Sis and Fr. Dean Wilhelm in 1992) I began to see the flaws in my earlier formation due to poor catechesis, cultural influences, moral relativism, voices of dissent from church officials, etc. Texas A&M was instrumental in turning that around, where my “reversion” began. No longer was I a “one hour Catholic” who just attended Mass, got checked off, and left. A&M has the “real deal”, and the “under 30 generation” is hungering for the truth, not dissent, not moral relativism, and not watering down. That is why A&M is thriving, and I tell parents of teenagers that the majority of the students who experience St. Mary’s Catholic Student Center will stay Catholic.
I also need to thank Fr. Brian McMaster and Fr. Patrick Ebner, who became friends of mine there while they were undergraduates (I was ‘94, where Fr. Brian was ‘95), and I thank Fr. Konderla for his leadership of carrying the fire for this authenticity. My money goes to the St. Mary’s Catholic Student Center. In the past 11 years, I have given zero dollars to that one “Catholic College” I attended beforehand.
St. mary’s was such a major part of my college experience. I met my husband at aggie awakening, and we got married in st. mary’s by fr. Konderla. We both love the church so much, it left big shoes to fill when we moved and looked for another church. But there is only one st. marys! If only we could bring st. mary’s with us to houston! Definitely miss it.
Way to go Catholic Ags! WHOOP!
You make us so PROUD!
When we dropped our oldest son off at A&M back in 98, I was so relieved to hear Father Mike and his down to earth Catholic sermon at Mass. As Nick went through his four years at A&M, his faith was deepened as he got the opportunity to participate in Aggie Awakening. His brother Chris followed in 2002 and is now a Catholic Pro-Life doctor doing his residency in pediatrics. Brother Tony started in 06 and is a committed Catholic. Their sister Emily started in 09 and sang at the Easter vigil this year. And their youngest sister Mikaela will begin A&M in a year. Thank God for St. Mary’s and how they have kept our children close to the faith.
Had in not been for St. Mary’s, I don’t know if I would have been as enthusiastic about sending my children to college 700 miles away from home. A&M is a great school, but it would not be what it is without St. Mary’s
Peace be with you! The Lord used Fr. Chris Downey, Dustin Janak Class of 2011, the Grand Knight for the Aggie Knights of Columbus to be a part of the Last Rites and a Holy Rosary for our son Charles Torres. God listens to His People and and He is in charge of everything. Our son is alive and he is Healing, Amen! Our sons Charley & Christopher both attend Texas A&M and they are officers for the “Aggie”, Knights of Columbus Council #10624. St. Mary’s Catholic Church is a True Body of Christ; named after Our Holy, Blessed Mother, Mary. His, Your Holy Sister by God’s Holy Grace
Way to go, Aggies! This story just made my day!
Atta boy, Doug! Keep up the Lord’s work, St. Mary’s!
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