Our Catholic Mission & Identity | Benedictine College

Benedictine College is an authentically, devoutly and faithfully Catholic institution. Love of Jesus Christ and obedience to his teachings and his earthly establishment, the Catholic Church, inform our mission, curriculum and campus culture.

Our Mission

The mission of Benedictine College as a Catholic, Benedictine, liberal arts, residential college is the education of men and women within a community of faith and scholarship.

Our Mission Statement

The mission of Benedictine College is as old as the Benedictine order and as fresh and effective as the Gospel on which it is based. That is because Benedictine College’s mission focuses precisely on the three areas young people most need:

Dynamic Community: Our emphasis on community—expressed most prominently in our Student Life program—helps students develop meaningful relationships in their personal lives, provide an attractive witness to their faith, accomplish team-building at work and build effective coalitions in their communities.
Thriving Faith: Students are formed through worship, service, prayer, and study immersed in the Benedictine charism so that they will be intentional disciples who serve as lights at church, in the workplace, home and public square. The college emphasizes ethics in conformity with the teachings of the Catholic Church in all disciplines.
Inspiring Scholarship: Drawing from the liberal arts and the Catholic intellectual tradition, we provide an education which is both timeless in its basis in eternal truths, and timely in its focus on skills and abilities relevant to contemporary needs. It prepares students to wisely choose their path in life and to acquire the skills they need to not only cherish their Catholic faith, but to build a culture of faith wherever they live.

The college regularly reviews how the academic program, student life program and other activities of Benedictine College support St. John Paul II’s 1990 Apostolic Constitution on Higher Education, Ex Corde Ecclesiae.

To fulfill our mission, students, faculty and staff are called upon to embody the Characteristics of a Raven, which exemplify key elements of the Benedictine College Mission and Values.

Recommended by the Newman Guide

Benedictine College’s commitment to our Catholic mission and identity has earned us recognition in The Newman Guide, a publication of The Cardinal Newman Society that recommends schools, colleges and universities for excellence in faithful Catholic education.

About our Newman Guide Recommendation

Educating Catholic Scholars

At Benedictine College, faculty seek to provide education for future leaders that emphasizes the search for truth; academic departments ensure that our programs and offerings are themselves oriented toward the truth; and the college is tireless in proclaiming that “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Theology and Philosophy

Undergraduate students are required to take Introduction to Theology and Principles of Nature, Benedictine College’s core theology and philosophy courses, in addition to two courses each in the categories of Faith and Philosophical Inquiry.

Training Theologians and Catechists

A number of students choose to major in Theology or Evangelization and Catechesis. On average, approximately 40 students graduate in Theology and 10 in Evangelization and Catechesis every year.

Academic Enrichment Programs

Our many Programs of Distinction give students opportunities for academic enrichment and connect them to the truths of the Faith and the world God created. For example, the Gregorian Fellows program equips students to be Catholic leaders who unite faith and reason in their work at college and beyond, and students in the Angelico Fellows program learn to renew and advance the Catholic understanding of Beauty as the inspirational power of the Truth.

Centers Furthering our Mission

The Centers at Benedictine College complement our academic program according to the direction of St. John Paul II in The Church in America: “Train truly Christian leaders in the different spheres of human activity, and in society, especially in politics, economics, science, art and philosophical reflection.” The Centers pursue these goals through student formation and academic enrichment, organizing lectures and events, and other initiatives.

Service-Learning Program

The Service-Learning Program engages students in the promotion of the common good as understood in our Catholic, Benedictine tradition through community service-oriented academic work in collaboration with faculty and community partners.

Post-Graduate Education for Priests and Religious

Through Benedictine College’s Asculta Program, priests and consecrated religious women are able to earn Master’s degrees tuition-free while joining our community of faith and serving on campus in assistant chaplain or spiritual director roles.

Explore Academic Programs

We are fairly unique among Catholic colleges. There are very few who have invested in STEM the way we have. Our faith and our liberal arts background add to our science and math degrees and make our graduates better doctors, nurses, engineers, astronomers, and scientists. Because of our approach, they are better listeners, collaborators and leaders.

— Pre-Med Program Director Martha Carletti

The Faith in Campus Life

Benedictine College employs an extensive, intentional Student Life program geared toward intellectual, personal, and spiritual flourishing. Students are challenged to put their faith into action through service to their neighbors, both inside and beyond the borders of our campus. Our goal is to graduate students who will transform the world so that in all things God may be glorified.

Sacraments and Spiritual Guidance

Students take advantage of daily Mass and confession, 24-hour Eucharistic Adoration, our many chapels and chaplains, and the wisdom of the Benedictine monks and sisters who have been forming students on campus for more than 165 years.

FOCUS and SPO

The first chapter of the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) started on the campus of Benedictine College. Both FOCUS and Saint Paul’s Outreach (SPO) have a strong presence on campus and in the student community.

Clubs & Student-led Faith Life

Living the Faith is the focus of many student clubs, including Regnum Christi and Knights of Columbus chapters and the annual Koinonia student retreat. The Hunger Coalition has provided meals for underserved Atchison community members for over 40 years, and Ravens Respect Life coordinates student Pro-Life initiatives and the annual student trip to Washington, D.C. for the March for Life.

Raven Athletics: “Win Within the Mission”

That’s the motto of Benedictine College’s athletics program. Every Raven athletics team participates in Varsity Catholic, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, or team-led mission trips. Annually, a large percentage of student converts welcomed into full communion in the Church are student-athletes.

Mission Trips & Community Service

In 2025, 190 Benedictine College students joined 20 mission trips within the U.S. and to 6 other countries. Students also participate in numerous ongoing service initiatives for the local community of Atchison, Kansas.

Memorare Army

For many years, Benedictine College has organized Memorare Army prayer campaigns for specific needs of the college, the Church and the wider world.

Explore Faith Life

Benedictine College is on the cutting edge of the New Evangelization. It has created a culture where the pursuit of truth is celebrated no matter if it is in the laboratory unlocking the beauty of the natural world or in the chapel kneeling before the Blessed Sacrament. Benedictine College is a place where faith and reason intersect.

— Rev. Joseph Naumann, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas from 2005-2025

Events and Outreach

Through our hosted events and online outreach, we aim to bring the beauty of Catholic teaching and the formation offered at Benedictine College to a wider audience—helping people of all ages and backgrounds grow in their faith, connect with their community, and explore the vital intersection of the Faith, education and culture.

Symposium on Transforming Culture

Hosted by Benedictine College annually on campus, the Symposium on Transforming Culture brings together scholars, field professionals and students for a time of intellectual dialogue, fellowship and reflection concerning topics integral to the Catholic Faith and its transformative role in our lives, society and culture.

Family Week Enrichment Retreat

An initiative of the Center for Family Life, the Family Week enrichment retreat welcomes families of all faith traditions to explore marriage and the family through a Catholic lens. Couples attend retreat sessions while kids participate in fun activities and faith formation, with afternoons and evenings dedicated to quality time together.

BCYC Immersion Summer Youth Camp

BCYC Immersion is an Catholic academic summer camp for high school students. Each participant chooses an area of interest which they pursue in classes throughout the week alongside daily prayer, the Sacraments, fun activities and fellowship.

BCYC Encounter Youth Conference

BCYC Encounter is a weekend Catholic youth conference for parish youth groups. Hosted on campus by Benedictine College, this conference incorporates the Benedictine principles of Community, Simplicity and Stability into the spiritual lives of youth.

Media & Culture Online Catholic Media Platform

Through articles, miniseries and podcasts on our Media & Culture multimedia platform, Benedictine College proclaims the truths of the Catholic Faith and engages in the wider conversation surrounding the culture’s most important questions.

Go to Media & Culture

Christ the Storyteller with Andrew Swafford

Faith & The Founding: Catholicism and America’s Guiding Principles