Franciscan University celebrates newly renovated Christ the King Chapel

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 23, 2025 / 10:30 am (CNA).

Here’s a roundup of the latest Catholic education news in the U.S.:

Franciscan University blesses newly renovated Christ the King Chapel

Franciscan University of Steubenville has officially reopened its Christ the King Chapel after 15 months of renovation and expansion as part of the school’s Rebuild My Church Capital Campaign. 

“Franciscan’s chapel has nearly doubled its seating capacity — from 325 to 590 — to better accommodate the growing student population and has added a new altar and tabernacle, new sacred art, and stained-glass windows to beautify the space,” the school said in a press release on Monday. 

A Mass of solemn blessing was celebrated on Aug. 17 by Diocese of Steubenville Apostolic Administrator Bishop Edward Lohse to mark the occasion.

Former Black parish in Kentucky to be converted into science building at local college

Christ the King Catholic Church, a historically Black parish in Louisville, Kentucky, will be converted into a science and technology campus for Simmons College of Kentucky after the Archdiocese of Louisville donated it to the school following the church’s closure on March 7, according to local reports.

“Converting the church property into classrooms and labs is expected to cost around $32 million in total,” a university news article stated, noting the project has been in the works for years.

“At Simmons it’s so important for us to meet workforce needs,” said Simmons Chief of Staff Myra Rock. “There’s a need in our community, not just in the West End, not just in the city, but across the commonwealth, for talent in the STEM fields and specifically underrepresented talent.” 

Archbishop Shelton Fabre said the parish closure was due to declining membership and the financial burden of maintaining the historic property.

Oklahoma archdiocese celebrates grand opening of migrant education center

The Archdiocese of Oklahoma City on Wednesday celebrated the grand opening of its Holy Angels Education Center for immigrants in an event attended by Archbishop Paul Coakley and other Catholic leaders, according to the Oklahoman. 

The center will operate on the property of the former Holy Angels Parish, which has been closed since February 2023. 

“The Holy Angels Education Center was born out of a deep desire to serve, uplift, and walk alongside our immigrant brothers and sisters as they build new lives in our community through education, language learning, skills development, and cultural integration,” said Larann Wilson, the associate director for the archdiocese’s secretariat for evangelization. “This center will become a beacon of support and opportunity.”

ExxonMobil donates $5,000 to STEM program at Catholic school in Maryland

ExxonMobil Baytown has donated $5,000 to St. Joseph’s Regional Catholic School to promote “enhancing science education and empowering the next generation of innovators and problem solvers,” according to a local report.

Located in Beltsville, Maryland, St. Joseph’s Regional Catholic School’s mission “is to cooperate with families, who are the primary educators, in developing the whole child in the Catholic Christian faith,” according to its website.

Louisiana Catholic school brings nuns, therapy dogs to help students as classes begin

Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic School in Baton Rouge kicked off the school year by inviting nuns and service dogs for the first weeks of classes to help ease anxiety among students, according to a local news report.

“Their presence here has been so transformative,” the school’s pastor and prominent Catholic speaker, Father Joshua Johnson, said in the report.

“And with the sisters came the dogs. When I saw the effect that the dogs were having on our kids, especially our kids who experience anxiety and the peace it brought to those kids, I knew we needed more dogs and more nuns.”

Source: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/266127/franciscan-university-blesses-newly-renovated-christ-the-king-chapel