Sr. Annalisa is a cloistered nun since 1988 and has sought permanent formation to accompany her own discernment and vocation. When she started to study it was at a distance because her community observed the papal cloister, one of the most ancient forms of contemplative life.
“My adventure with the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum began in 2012 with formation in Religious Sciences, …where I found not only the competence of the professors but also kindness and respect. In this university, I was not a number, but I found a family. I received the Bachelor’s Degree in Religious Sciences in 2013, the Master’s Degree in Spiritual Theology in 2015, I received the Academic Excellence Award on October 3, 2016 and the same year I achieved the Bachelor’s Degree in Theology. The financial aid granted by the Regina Apostolorum allowed me to obtain my Master’s in Dogmatic Theology in 2020 and I hope to continue my educational background with a Doctorate in Theology”. The study of theology helped me to answer the questions of meaning with which, sooner or later, every man and therefore also every religious must face. At a certain point, I felt that the heart was no longer enough and that even the head, the intelligence, played an important role in faith and prayer. So, first of all, there are personal motivations, then also community ones because almost in the same period in which I started my studies I was elected abbess of my community and the formation helped me to broaden the horizon of my views and therefore to tackle this task with greater awareness, responsibility, and maternity. I also believe that today even a cloistered nun must be prepared to be able to answer the questions posed by the many people who frequent the monastery”.
Bernadette is Catholic laywoman born in Hong Kong and was recently selected for one of our prestigious PhD Scholarships on Catholicism and Investment Ethics thanks to the generous support of donors.
“I was lucky enough to be awarded a scholarship for a PhD at the Regina Apostolorum on Catholic Social Thought and Investment Ethics. I obtained my Theological License Degree in February 2021 and, with great sensitivity and enthusiasm, I wish to introduce social ethics regarding investment in families and marriage according to the teaching of the Church in order to serve the people of God”.
Fr. Michael Baggot is a priest and religious of the Legion of Christ, and a recent PhD graduate in Bioethics. He received a PhD scholarship thanks to the generosity of the Farrell Family Foundation, and was supported in his earlier formation through the generosity of many donors.
“At Regina Apostolorum, I was immersed in the thought of rigorous Christian scholars like Augustine, Aquinas, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI and was equipped to engage constructively with thinkers at times hostile to the faith. In addition to these meticulous studies, my university experience brought me in contact with cultures and traditions foreign to my more limited experience as an agnostic. Years of studies in an international student body enabled me to chat with, study with, play sports with, and pray with classmates from Brazil, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Spain, Sri Lanka, Venezuela, and other nations. My horizons were constantly expanded through conversations, regional festivities like the Advent posadas, and liturgical celebrations like ordinations in the Syro-Malabar rite. Thus, Regina Apostolorum has exposed me to a depth of intellectual life and a breath of cultural diversity in the Catholic tradition that exceed anything I knew as a secular humanist.
These years of formation at Regina Apostolorum rich in intellectual, spiritual, and cultural growth would not be possible without the generous support of our benefactors around the world. While I may not have the pleasure of meeting all of the them in person, I can ensure them of my constant prayers. May God reward their contributions to my priestly formation and ministry”.
