On the Hill

As the trees begin changing, Saint Meinrad too welcomes change as a new group of students move in this fall. There are many new faces on campus with a large group of 19 propaedeutic students arriving on the Hill.

This year’s seminary enrollment has matched last year’s with a total of 116 students. The seminary community comes from 22 dioceses and six religious communities

To incorporate the new Program of Priestly Formation, the fourth configuration seminarians will graduate in December. They will then complete a semester in their assigned parish, before being ordained priests in the summer. There are 21 seminarians that are expected to graduate in December.

Each year Saint Meinrad’s international community grows. Twenty-seven percent (32 seminarians) of our seminary student body consists of international students born in other countries, a slight increase from last year’s 26% (30 seminarians). These seminarians come from 16 different countries of origin.

Sixty-seven students are enrolled in the Graduate Theology Program this year, including four full-time students and 63 part-time students.

The Permanent Deacon Program has strong enrollment this year. Partnering with 15 dioceses, the program has 248 students enrolled.

In August, we welcomed two new staff members to the Seminary and School of Theology, Fr. Hyeonggyu Lee and Bella Thompson.

Fr. Hyeonggyu Lee, a priest of the Diocese of Busan, South Korea, returns to the Hill as formation dean of the house of St. Matthew. Fr. Lee is an alumnus of Saint Meinrad, graduating with his Master of Divinity in 2017. He also has a Bachelor of Arts in Theology from the Catholic University of Pusan. From 2018 to 2022 he worked as the parochial vicar for two separate parishes, Mangmi Parish and Holy Family Parish, both in Busan. In 2022 he was appointed the secretary of Bishop for the Diocese of Busan. On August 20, Fr. Lee arrived at Saint Meinrad to begin work as formation dean.

Bella Thompson of Lanesville, IN, has taken on the role of associate director of graduate theology. She recently graduated from Indiana University Southeast with a B.A. in interdisciplinary studies with concentrations in English literature, English writing, and communication studies. Thompson comes to Saint Meinrad with experience as a peer advisor and event coordinator in the IU Southeast Honors Program and as a business resources intern at One Southern Indiana Chamber of Commerce. She was also a regular participant in the University of Louisville Catholic Campus Ministry.

“I am so blessed to be part of Saint Meinrad’s wonderful community,” says Bella. “I look forward to meeting and assisting all the students in the Graduate Theology Program. I am grateful to be working in a place with such a rich monastic tradition as Saint Meinrad.” Bella began work on August 26.