Forming Catholic Sisters as Leaders of Synodal Renewal
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Nov, 17, 2025 – The Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University (JST-SCU) has received a grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation designed to provide specialized theological education in synodality for women religious in the United States.
This collaboration is rooted in a shared vision to form Catholic sisters as indispensable agents of ecclesial transformation, equipped to serve as catalysts of synodal renewal.
Beginning in fall 2026, JST-SCU will launch the Master of Theological Studies (MTS) with a concentration in synodal leadership. This rigorous graduate program combines theological education with specialized formation in the theology, history, spirituality, and praxis of synodality, directly responding to the global call for an inclusive, participatory, and Spirit-led Church affirmed by the Synod on Synodality (2021-2024).
Through this historic partnership, the Hilton Foundation and JST-SCU are providing full-tuition scholarships for a cohort of Catholic Sisters from the United States to complete this two-year MTS degree. This fully online program allows Catholic Sisters to remain completely engaged in their local communities and ministries while advancing their academic formation in synodal leadership. It complements a parallel program by JST-SCU to fund additional partial and full-tuition scholarships, available to all students, to attain the MTS with a concentration in synodal leadership.
“Women religious are prophetic voices for the Church and the world,” said JST-SCU Dean, Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator, S.J. He went on to praise the initiative, saying: "This program and the partnership with the Hilton Foundation is a significant opportunity. It responds directly to the Synod’s affirmation that women are ‘teachers of synodality’. We are investing in their academic formation, pastoral skills, and intercultural competencies to ensure they continue to play a key role in making the Church constitutively synodal at local and international levels.”
The MTS concentration is designed to facilitate the practical application of synodality. By focusing on essential skills like discernment, listening, and communal accompaniment, the program ensures that graduates can effectively implement co-responsibility and drive grassroots transformation in their local communities and the wider Church.
The MTS with a concentration in synodality is available to all applicants to JST-SCU. However, the full-tuition scholarships, provided in partnership with the Foundation, are specifically for Catholic sisters actively engaged in ministry within the United States.
For more information or to apply, please contact Preston Carmack | Assistant Dean of Enrollment Management and Marketing | pcarmack@scu.edu | 510-549-5041
About the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University (JST-SCU)
The Jesuit School of Theology is a global ministry of the Society of Jesus and a graduate school of Santa Clara University. We are an international center for innovative theological education and formation rooted in the lived realities of diverse communities of faith. Embracing synodality, we empower women and men to serve and lead in the global Catholic Church.
About Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Catholic Sisters Initiative
The Catholic Sisters initiative empowers the global Catholic sisterhood by advancing sisters’ education, leadership, and care. The initiative invests in networks of sisters that work together to alleviate suffering, so that the under-served can thrive and achieve self-sufficiency. It ensures the world benefits from the uniquely healing and human-centered experiences provided by Catholic sisters. By carrying forward their centuries-long legacy of humanitarianism, the initiative sustains the sisters’ invaluable work assisting people in need. In doing so, the Catholic Sisters initiative fosters hope and human dignity while promoting peace, equity, and justice around the world. Learn more at hiltonfoundation.org.