Villanova University Earns Grant Funding to Foster Synodality, Shape Catholic Leaders
Villanova is one of 16 Catholic colleges and universities to receive support for faith-based programming aimed at discourse and formation
CENTERS will empower member institutions like Villanova to lift a multitude of voices within the Catholic faith, supporting regional seminars and retreats, national convening assemblies and a ministry leadership program for students.
VILLANOVA, Pa. (April 20, 2026) – Villanova University is joining 15 other Catholic colleges and universities in a collaborative effort to strengthen listening, dialogue and discernment within the Church. The endeavor, called the Catholic Education Network to Enact and Resource Synodality (CENTERS), is overseen by Loyola University Chicago and supported by a $10 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative.
Inspired by the Vatican’s call for the Church to expand its efforts in fostering engagement, participation and communion, CENTERS will empower member institutions like Villanova to lift a multitude of voices within the Catholic faith. Projects supported by the network’s grant funding will include regional seminars and retreats, national convening assemblies and a cohort-based ministry leadership program for students.
Alongside Loyola, the University of Dallas and the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University, Villanova will serve as one of four core partners at the heart of CENTERS. In this capacity, the University will take a leadership role in coordinating regional relationships, learning and joint initiatives. It will also host one of the network’s annual, national theological and pastoral symposia.
For Villanova, participation in CENTERS entails the next phase in the University’s efforts to cultivate and enact synodality, a process rooted in Christian tradition that emphasizes communal discernment and involvement in the Church’s mission. Since 2021, members of the campus community have studied this concept in academic coursework, visited Rome to bear witness to the 2024 Synodal Assembly and participated in local listening sessions attended by Archbishop of Philadelphia Nelson Perez.
Kathryn Getek Soltis, STL, PhD, director of Villanova’s Center for Peace and Justice Education and associate professor of Theology and Religious Studies, is the principal investigator on the University’s CENTERS subaward.
“Synodality requires us to always expand the circle and see that everyone has expertise to contribute,” says Kathryn Getek Soltis, STL, PhD, director of Villanova’s Center for Peace and Justice Education, associate professor of Theology and Religious Studies and principal investigator on the University’s CENTERS subaward. “It asks us to appreciate the presence of one another, even across tensions and divides.
“We often speak of the Augustinian focus on community, and the questions of how to serve, grow and be responsible to community are at the heart of synodality. Interiority, too, is a synodal point of contact with the Augustinian charism. Synodality requires us to speak out of our experiences, and interiority is essential to that act.”
Under the guidance of Dr. Getek Soltis, Villanova has to date helped organize a regional synodal network, known as Synodality in Catholic Higher Education in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia (SCHEAP), and earned a $208,000 Porticus Foundation grant in support of an Augustinian center specializing in synodality.
By joining CENTERS, Dr. Getek Soltis sees the University increasing its already meaningful impact in the synodal space, sharing its values, perspective and experience in a broader, global conversation.
“With CENTERS, we are invited into this new and exciting question: ‘What are the capacities and resources that we have at Villanova that need to be given out in service to the Church and the world?’ As an Augustinian institution, now is the moment to contribute our gifts.”
About Villanova University: Since 1842, Villanova University’s Augustinian Catholic intellectual tradition has been the cornerstone of an academic community in which students learn to think critically, act compassionately and succeed while serving others. There are more than 10,000 undergraduate, graduate and law students in the University's six colleges—the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Villanova School of Business, the College of Engineering, the M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing, the College of Professional Studies and the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. Ranked among the nation’s top universities, Villanova supports its students’ intellectual growth and prepares them to become ethical leaders who create positive change everywhere life takes them. For more, visit www.villanova.edu.