Mission
The Washington Theological Union is a Roman Catholic graduate school of theology and ministry. Challenged and inspired by the charisms of its religious communities, the Union educates candidates for ordination, religious and lay men and women of diverse backgrounds for collaborative ministry in the church and service to the world. (May 2006)
History
Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go…"
Genesis 28:15
Inspired by the renewed vision of church and ministry arising from the Second Vatican Council, the Union was founded in 1968 when six religious orders in the Washington, DC area decided to pool their seminary faculties and academic facilities in an effort to offer the best possible seminary education for their students. As they continued to share their aspirations and goals, the members of this Coalition of Religious Seminaries soon decided to create a common theological curriculum that would respond to the needs of the contemporary church and to merge their several institutions into one school. The new Washington Theological Union was incorporated in 1969, immediately becoming one of the largest Roman Catholic schools of theology in the country.
From its very inception, the Union has represented a commitment to a joint venture in ministerial education for the entire people of God. By 1972, both women religious and the laity had expanded their roles at the Union becoming eligible for full-time status within degree programs.
In 1996, the Union moved to a new building in the Takoma Park neighborhood of Washington, DC. The new facility features the Connelly Chapel of Holy Wisdom, winner of the 1997 American Institute of Architects award for religious architecture, the O'Toole Library, classrooms, seminar rooms, the Saint Alphonsus Ligouri Word and Worship studio, art room, and residential facilities.
In November 1999, Washington Theological Union inaugurated its fourth president, the Very Reverend Daniel McLellan, OFM, PhD, welcoming its first alumnus to serve as its chief executive. Since 1997, Fr. McLellan had served as director of the Formation for Ministry Program at the Union. A man who has devoted the greater part of his adult life to the education for ministry, Fr. McLellan leads the Washington Theological Union in its mission to educate men and women for ministry in the church.