College with History of Miracles Is Praying for Religious Freedom
Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, has a history of miracles. So we’re glad that a prayer movement started on campus, now spreading around the world, has its figurative sights set on preserving religious freedom.
The College announced today that Immaculée Ilibagiza, acclaimed Catholic speaker and survivor of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, has joined the Benedictine College Memorare Army for Religious Liberty. The prayer campaign was started by College president Stephen D. Minnis at the behest of Kansas City Archbishop Joseph Naumann in light of current threats to religious freedom, such as the HHS mandate. Since its inception the Memorare Army has been a resounding success with millions of memorares prayed across the world.
Ilibagiza spent September 11-12 at the Atchison campus and was awarded by Benedictine College the Cross of the Order of St. Benedict, which “recognizes charitable acts of distinction.”
Here’s more from the College:
[Immaculée] shared the remarkable story of how praying the rosary allowed her to grow in faith while she and seven other women hid in a tiny bathroom during the Rwandan Genocide. …
In conversations with Benedictine College President Minnis in between presentations, she became fascinated by the stories of Mary’s miracles at Benedictine College.
- In 1856, our Abbey’s founder, Benedictine Father Henry Lemke, prayed to Our Lady as he collapsed in exhaustion in the Kansas wilderness. A little girl put a candle in her window because “A lady dressed in white” told her to. Father Lemke saw the light and was saved.
- Benedictine College was founded in 1858, the year that “Lady Dressed in White” visited another small town little girl: St. Bernadette of Lourdes, France.
- President Minnis credits previous Memorare Army prayer campaigns on campus for delivering on their intentions for: enrollment growth, the completion of Mary’s Grotto, and the completion of our new Academic Building.
- Archbishop Naumann tells the story of “How Prayer Stopped a Kansas Storm.”
Today, the Memorare Army for Religious Freedom is a worldwide phenomenon, with “prayer warriors” in 6 countries, and all 50 U.S, states, praying 2.8 million memorares.
When Benedictine College President Stephen D. Minnis started the Memorare Army for Religious Liberty, we hoped that in a few weeks we would attract enough members to say 1 million Memorares for religious freedom. We got there in a few days.
The Memorare is one of the prayers for Catholics recommended in the Holy See’s official Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Read more from the College and learn how to join the Memorare Army for Religious Liberty here: www.thegregorian.org/blog/immaculee-ilibagiza-joins-benedictine-colleges-memorare-army
Benedictine College is included in The Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College by The Cardinal Newman Society for its strong Catholic identity.