Lakeville couple's $250,000 gift to seminary establishes scholarship in memory of Bishop Paul Dudley
On the one-year anniversary of the death of Bishop Paul Dudley, Bernard and Delores Hofschulte have donated $250,000 to the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity of the University of St. Thomas to endow scholarships in the bishop's memory.
Longtime friends of Dudley, the Lakeville couple made the endowment gift "to honor his exemplary priesthood and his love of the priestly vocation."
Bishop Paul Dudley
"Bishop Dudley was the epitome of who a priest should be," they said. "We want to do our part to ensure that men who are called by God to priesthood have the resources needed to answer that call."
Their gift was made to the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity's "I Will Give You Shepherds" endowment campaign, which is being conducted to address needs that were identified in the seminary's long-range plan. One emphasis of the plan responds to the late Pope John Paul II's call for a more comprehensive formation of priests. The largest priority of the $23 million campaign is $12 million for seminarian scholarships.
The annual cost to educate and house a seminarian is $50,000. Tuition and fees cover half the cost, leaving $25,000 to come from charitable giving.
"How beautiful it is to see more men answering God's call to the priesthood. In turn, increased resources are needed to support their formation," said its rector, Monsignor Aloysius Callaghan. He noted that the seminary can accommodate 96 seminarians, and that 62 are enrolled this year. The scholarship assistance helps bishops from around the country send their seminarians to the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity without placing undue financial burdens on their dioceses.
"Bishop Dudley inspired many vocations to the priesthood and religious life," Callaghan said. "What a fitting tribute, then, that in his name those called to the priesthood can have access to excellent formation and, in turn, serve God's people as holy priests."
To mark this gift, a room in the seminary building will be named after Dudley and a commissioned portrait of him will hang in this room.
Dudley graduated from the Saint Paul Seminary in 1951 and in 2006 received its Distinguished Alumni Award. Following his ordination he was associate pastor at Annunciation Parish in Minneapolis and St. Patrick Parish in St. Paul. In 1967 he was founding pastor of St. Edward in Bloomington and later was pastor of Our Lady of the Lake in Mound before his ordination as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in 1977. The following year he was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Sioux Falls, where he served until 1995 when he returned to his family home in Northfield. Dudley died Nov. 20, 2006, at the age of 79.
For more information about the scholarship program for seminarians, call Tom Ryan at (651) 962-5056.
The Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity's "I Will Give You Shepherds" campaign was announced last December and is separate from the University of St. Thomas' "Opening Doors" $500 million campaign that was announced last month.
