The School of Theology and Ministry was founded in the merger of Weston Jesuit School of Theology and Boston College Institute for Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry on June 1, 2008. Weston College opened in 1922 as a center of philosophy for the New England Province of the Jesuits in Weston, Massachusetts. Weston College expanded in 1927 to prepare men for ordination, and later to include religious and lay men and women, as the Weston Jesuit School of Theology. Historically, the School of Theology at Weston College was listed in the Boston College course catalog as a constituent school of the university, with the names of theological degree graduates in the commencement program. But the connection between Boston College and Weston College was non-legal and had never been properly defined, according to university historians. Meanwhile, Weston College in 1967 joined with Boston College and five other theological institutions to form the Boston Theological Institute, increasing cooperation and academic opportunities in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council. For the first time, Weston College matriculated students in its theology programs who were not members of the Jesuit order. In 1968, Weston College moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts and also became one of the first three Catholic schools accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in 1968. In 1971, Boston College opened a summer Institute of Religious Education and Service, which later became known as the Institute of Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry, offering hands-on ministerial training to men and women. The Institute expanded its academic offerings and awarded its first degree in 1975. In 1974, the arrangement between Weston College and Boston College ceased, and Weston College changed its name to Weston School of Theology. In December 2004, Boston College announced plans to create a School of Theology and Ministry by merging the Institute for Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry and the Weston Jesuit School of Theology. The reaffiliation of Weston Jesuit School of Theology with Boston College took place in 2008, and the new school was moved to Boston College's campus in Brighton, purchased in 2006. These buildings formerly housed the chancery of the Archdiocese of Boston and portions of St. John's Seminary. In September 2015, Simboli Hall, home of the School of Theology and Ministry, was dedicated in recognition of alumnus and real estate developer Anthony C. Simboli and his wife Gloria. The Boston College School of Theology and Ministry is one of the two schools in the United States where Jesuits receive theological training prior to ordination to the priesthood, the other being Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University. The School of Theology and Ministry offers an array of ministerial and theological courses and degrees.
Academics
The School of Theology and Ministry is both a graduate divinity school and an ecclesiastical faculty of theology regulated by the Apostolic Constitution Sapientia Christiana and accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada. It offers both master and doctoral degrees, civil and ecclesiastical degrees, and a wide variety of continuing education offerings, including online programs through C21 Online.
There are approximately 29 full-time faculty members at the School of Theology and Ministry, in addition to about 32 members of the Morrissey College Department of Theology at Boston College with which students are able to work and take classes. The School of Theology and Ministry faculty can be divided according to their research in the following fields:
Enrollment at the School of Theology and Ministry is approximately 420 students. While the majority of students at the STM are Catholic, it is also home to a number of Anglican/Episcopal, Methodist, Lutheran, Evangelical, Orthodox, Presbyterian, Unitarian Universalist, Nondenominational, Buddhist, and Hindu students. The student body includes representatives from 27 nations and 6 continents, and students range in age from 21 to 74 years old. Laypersons comprise 65% of the students at the STM while 35% represent a religious order or are diocesan priests. Lay students in all programs study alongside Jesuit scholars.
Theology and Ministry Library
The Theology and Ministry Library is located on the Brighton Campus. It is open to all Boston College students, faculty and staff, and is a part of the Boston College Library System. Integrating the former collections of Weston Jesuit School of Theology and St. John's Seminary, it contains more than 2.44 million volumes. The library also participates in the Boston Theological Institute library program, which allows School of Theology and Ministry students to borrow materials from any of the other BTI libraries.
The School of Theology and Ministry publishes New Testament Abstracts, a scholarly journal in publication since 1956 that abstracts at least 2,150 articles selected from over 500 periodicals in different languages, as well as over 850 current books annually. New Testament Abstracts is published three times per year.
