Studientag – Seminar on the Mission

Written by

New Students welcome the school year

We had our very first Studientag at the ITI and I hope it will become a tradition.  The President, Msgr. Dr. Larry Hogan began the day with a talk about the Seven Principles and the Mission of the ITI.  He also spoke about why we do the seminar method and used great props to illustrate his talk;  reading the original sources in the original language was like fresh spring water and reading a translation was like Coke Light.  Hmmm, the waters may have gotten sweeter, but nowhere near as clear.

Sharing the Psalms

Students, staff and faculty then broke into groups to discuss the principles and pillars, as well as two articles written by Cardinal Schönborn on St. Thomas Aquinas as Holy Theologian, and the study of Theology – pitfalls and promises.

A new student from China meets His Eminence

Everyone then walked to the parish church, ten minutes away, for the Mass celebrated by His Eminence, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, the Grand Chancellor of the ITI.  After Mass, we all celebrated the opening of the school year at a nearby Heuriger, where Cardinal Schönborn was able to meet the new students.

Dudaryk visits the ITI and Vienna

Written by

Dudaryk Choir in Vienna's Peterskirche

The world famous Ukrainian boy and men’s choir, Dudaryk, stayed at the ITI while they performed at the Peterskirche in Vienna.   They have an amazing sound, specializing in Ukrainian folk and religious songs -listen for yourself here and here.  ITI students were treated to an improptu concert in the courtyard of the campus where the choir voices filled the night air, reaching all four student buildings as everyone hung over their balconies or ran down to the lawn to delight in the first concert on the campus.

Impromptu Concert

A New School Year

Written by

A new school year has begun!  Close to 80 students have matriculated and now Australia has been added to the countries represented at the ITI.  Countries this year  (in random order) include: Austria (no kangaroos here), Australia (kangaroos here), Belarus, Slovakia, Germany, the UK, India, USA, China, Ukraine, Nigeria, the Philippines, Georgia, Ireland, Lithuania, Mexico, Czech, Hungary, Myanmar (look it up), the Netherlands, Romania, and Canada.

During orientation, we had our annual talk on “How to sort trash in Austria” for the newcomers.  First though, Academic Dean Bernhard Dolna, named and gave a talk on the three pillars of a student’s life here:  prayer life, study life, and community life.  The orientation meeting ended with a social so we could all get to know one another.