Benedictine Living & Learning Community

learning • prayer • work • recreation • community

Purpose: To promote an awareness of Benedictine practices and how to demonstrate those practices through everyday life with an intentional living community and joint academic course.

Commitment: Accepted students commit to fully participating in the living community for the entire academic year.

Who is invited to apply:  CSB and SJU students who will be sophomores in 2025-26. Rising juniors are also welcome to apply.

Benefits:

• Residents live together in intentional community on their respective campus. Housing is finalized before the general housing selection.
• The Benedictine Living & Learning Community course fulfills the Benedictine Raven designation in the Integrations Curriculum.
• Students have opportunities to meet monastics and tour Benedictine-inspired places on campus. 

Housing locations:

• SJU: Bernard Hall, fourth floor - double rooms, suites, a common lounge space, & kitchen
• CSB: Lottie Hall, first floor - suites, single rooms, a common living space, & kitchen

Course Information:

• INTG 103B: Topics: Benedictine Living & Learning Community
• Must enroll in 1-credit course listed above each semester; a 0-credit option may be arranged if you are above a credit cap, but attendance at each week's scheduled class is mandatory
• Fulfills Benedictine Raven requirement for the Integrations Curriculum
• Class will meet for 55 minutes per week. There will likely be three sections offered: Wednesdays from 8:20-9:15 a.m., 3:20-4:15 p.m., and Thursdays from 8:20-9:15 a.m. Each section will meet at CSB for the first semester and at SJU for the second semester. 
• Instructor: Jessie Bazan with assistance from monastic partners.

Course Description:

• The Benedictine Living & Learning Community (BLLC) course provides spiritual, intellectual, and communal support for the Benedictine Living & Learning Communities at CSB and SJU. Students read and discuss The Rule of Benedict as well as other texts and videos that expound on how the Rule applies to day-to-day life in a community. Students also try out Benedictine practices such as lectio divina and monastic prayers of the hours. The emphasis of this course is on developing habits of a Benedictine way of seeing the world and applying that perspective to the community in which they live. To enroll in this course, students must apply for and be accepted into the intentional Benedictine Living & Learning Community on their respective campus.

How will students reflect on the connection between their living experience and their learning?

• Learning is facilitated through regular prayer, classroom discussions, written reflections, campus visits, conversations with monastics, and community-building activities. To support their learning, students read and discuss The Rule of Benedict as well as other texts and videos that expound on how the Rule applies to day-to-day life in a community. 

Monastic Presence:

• In addition to interacting with monastics in the classroom, students have the unique opportunity to develop relationships with monks and sisters who spend regular time in the Benedictine Living & Learning Community residential suites. The monastic partners help foster community through common meals, activities, and service projects. 

Timeline:

• Monday, November 18, 2024 – Applications go live.
• Monday, November 18 & Tuesday, November 19, 2024 – Information sessions
• Monday, January 27, 2025 – Interviews begin.
• Monday, January 27 & Tuesday, January 28, 2025 – Information sessions
• Monday, February 3, 2025 – Priority application deadline. Last day to apply and be guaranteed an interview. 
• Sunday, February 16, 2025 – Applications due by 11:59 p.m.
• Friday, February 28, 2025 – Offers sent out. 
• Monday, March 3 – Accepted student meet & greet.
• Wednesday, March 5, 2025 – Decision forms due at noon.
• Wednesday, March 5, 2025 – Alternate spots offered as needed.