History of Loyola Institute
Study and research in the Catholic theological tradition has a long history in Ireland. In recognition of this long history and the importance of the Catholic tradition for the past, present and future of Ireland and the wider world, the Board of Trinity College Dublin established the Loyola Institute in 2011 to facilitate research and teaching in the Catholic theological tradition for the first time in Ireland’s premier University.
On the 18th June 2021, Trinity College Dublin and the Loyola Institute Trust and Company have today announced the signing of a revised Memorandum of Understanding with respect to the Loyola Institute at Trinity College.
The Institute has been part of Trinity since 2012 and the new MOU provides the formal framework within which the Institute will operate as part of Trinity’s recently restructured School of Religion, Theology, and Peace Studies. The mission of the Institute is to reflect academically on Christian faith, social justice and contemporary culture in the context of the Catholic tradition. In an increasingly diverse and complex society, one of the Institute’s main priorities is to foster religious understanding through ecumenical dialogue and through dialogue between faith and culture.
Trinity’s Provost Dr Patrick Prendergast said:
“I am delighted to announce this new agreement between Trinity and the Loyola Trustees. The Institute’s position in the School of Religion, Theology, and Peace Studies reflects Trinity’s commitment to teaching theology in the Catholic tradition and to the central importance of diversity of scholarship in religious studies to a leading research university.”
Fr. Leonard Moloney SJ Provincial of the Irish Jesuits said:
“I believe that this agreement reaffirms and builds on the worthy and ambitious goals of the original. To create an institute to engage in critical reflection and scholarly research on Christian faith, on social justice, and on contemporary culture, drawing on the intellectual resources of the Catholic tradition. A mission to be pursued in dialogue with other faith traditions and in a mutually enriching collaboration with other disciplines and fields of study within the university.
Under the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding, the Loyola Trust will continue to support the work of the Loyola Institute and arrangements to facilitate the work and mission of the Institute within a unified School context will be implemented.
Notes for editors:
The Loyola Institute is involved in the teaching of both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in Christian Theology and in research on diverse aspects of theological enquiry.
The Loyola Trust represents a number of religious orders: Augustinians, Carmelites, Columbans, Jesuits, Loreto Sisters, Marists, Oblates, and Society of African Missions.