Boston College receives $1 million grant from Lilly Endowment
Boston College has received a $1 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help the Gloria L. and Charles I. Clough School of Theology and Ministry (CSTM) establish the program titled “So I Send You: Together in Christian Leadership and a Synodal Church.”
“So I Send You” is being funded through Lilly Endowment’s Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative, which is intended to help theological schools across the United States and Canada strengthen their educational and financial capacities to prepare and support pastoral leaders for Christian congregations both now and into the future.
“The Clough School of Theology and Ministry is deeply grateful to Lilly Endowment for its generous support of ‘So I Send You,’” said Clough School Dean Michael C. McCarthy, S.J. “This grant will provide an opportunity for pastoral leaders in the Boston Archdiocese to deepen their own faith and grow in service to their Church communities.”
Clough School Dean Michael McCarthy, S.J.
“So I Send You” is a five-year pilot project that will offer formative experiences to 160 lay and ordained pastoral leaders from 16 parishes in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. The project includes eight multilingual educational sessions: four workshops, one retreat, one annual ministry renewal day, one evaluation summit, and one online course. The goal for all the activities is to encourage efforts that foster the kind of pastoral leadership envisioned by the recent Synod on Synodality (16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, 2021-2024).
“This is an exciting time for the Clough School of Theology and Ministry and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston,” said Fr. McCarthy. “This initiative aligns with the CSTM’s strategic plan and Boston Archbishop Richard G. Henning’s call to implement the fruits of the synod locally, empowering church leaders to embody communion, participation, and mission at all levels of pastoral life.”
"I am deeply grateful to Lilly Endowment for this generous grant, which will help bring the vision of the Synod on Synodality to life in our local parishes,” said the Most Rev. Cristiano Barbosa, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston. “Pope Leo XIV has stated that synodality ‘is to help the Church fulfill its primary role in the world, which is to be missionary, to announce the Gospel, and to give witness to the person of Jesus Christ.’ Therefore, I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Archbishop Henning for his unwavering support, to the dedicated teams at the Clough School of Theology and Ministry, and to the Secretariat for Evangelization and Discipleship of the Archdiocese of Boston for their collaborative spirit in this important mission. Together, we will walk as one Church—listening, discerning, and journeying side by side in faith.”
The grant also provides opportunities for theological and pastoral engagement at the parish level for CSTM faculty and students, as well as possibilities for candidates from the Archdiocese of Boston to pursue degree programs at the Clough School of Theology and Ministry.
“I am grateful to CSTM Special Assistant to the Dean Gandaf Walle, S.J., for his vision for and work on this project, and to University President William P. Leahy, S.J., and Winston Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley for their support,” said Fr. McCarthy. He also acknowledged the invaluable work of Emily Gresh from the Office of University Advancement and CSTM staff Maura Colleary, Anthony Russo, Jackie Regan, Jen Bader, and Ethan Strouse on the proposal, as well as the support from colleagues in University Advancement and the Office of Sponsored Programs.
Fr. McCarthy added: “I’m especially grateful to Archbishop Henning for his welcoming a partnership with CSTM to develop programs to serve the people of the Archdiocese of Boston, and to Bishop Cristiano Barbosa and his team in the Secretariat for Evangelization and Discipleship for their involvement, collaboration, and commitment.”
The Clough School at Boston College is one of 163 theological schools whose programs and projects have been supported since 2021 through the Pathways initiative. Together, the schools serve a broad spectrum of Christian traditions in the U.S. and Canada. They are affiliated with evangelical, mainline Protestant, nondenominational, Pentecostal, Orthodox, Catholic, Black church, Latino, Asian American, Indigenous, and historic peace church traditions.
“Theological schools have long played a central role for most denominations and church networks in preparing and supporting pastoral leaders who guide congregations,” said Christopher L. Coble, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for religion. “These schools are paying close attention to the challenges churches are facing today and will face in the foreseeable future. The grants will help these schools engage in wide-ranging, innovative efforts to adapt their educational programs and build their financial capacities so they can better prepare pastors and lay ministers to effectively lead the congregations they will serve in the future.”
About Lilly Endowment Inc.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is a private foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff, and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education, and religion and maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana. A principal aim of the Endowment’s religion grantmaking is to deepen and enrich the lives of Christians in the United States, primarily by seeking out and supporting efforts that enhance the vitality of congregations and strengthen the pastoral and lay leadership of Christian communities. The Endowment also seeks to improve public understanding of religion and lift up in fair, accurate, and balanced ways the roles that people of all faiths and various religious communities play in the United States and around the globe.