Monday, November 16, 2015

Catholic Culture: How to Name a Building

My old alma mater, St. Agnes Schools, has been blessed with a new gym and activity center through the good graces of a generous married couple.  God reward them and many thanks to the Spirit for guiding them.   

Unfortunately, there has been a local custom seen for many years - St. Thomas Academy and the University of St. Thomas come to mind - of naming a new building (or even the re-naming an old building), after a person who is still living.

This new custom is not a part of our Catholic tradition.  Buildings are not named after persons still living.  This is because these persons can still cause great harm or scandal to the Church.  They can still lose the faith, die outside the Church, or even live as heretics or schismatics.  Or they may just be plain prickly, rude and/or disliked by everybody else. 

It was a bizarre day when Albertus Magnus Hall of the old College of St. Thomas in Minnesota was re-named John "Roach" Center in honor of retired Archbishop John Roach, of DUI-fame, arrested in 1985.  The building had been named after a saint, St. Albert the Great, dedicated such in 1946.   

The former gym and activity center complex that was demolished to make room for the new complex, was named after the Right Rev. Msgr. Rudolph G. Bandas (1896-1969), Ph.D.Agg., S.T.D. et M., Consultor of the Sacred Congregation of Seminaries and Studies, Member of the Roman Pontifical Academy of Theology, Peritus at the Vatican Council, former Rector of St. Paul's Seminary, celebrated professor and authority on Catholic education, author of several books translated into multiple languages, ordained priest in 1921, elevated in 1955 to the rank of Domestic Prelate with title of Right Reverend Monsignor by the Holy Father Venerable Pius XII, pastor and spiritual father to many, friend of popes.  Buried in Silver Lake, Minnesota.  Faithful and celebrated to the end.  And then there was the great Msgr. Richard J. Schuler, PhD.    

Source: http://www.saintagnesschool.org/news/ubel-activity-center-dedication-day/

1 comment:

  1. Let's see. The "Albertus Magnus Hall… was renamed John Roach Center." No way. That is unethical. Bishop Roach got a DUI which is no big deal compared to the heresy he allowed to blossom under the umbrella of the mighty St. Paul Cathedral in MN. I remember when Bishop Carlson moved into an apartment on Summit Avenue in 1985 and always had an open house similar to Msgr. Shuler's open house for seminarians at St. Agnes. Another memory. One day in philosophy class Dr. Connell stopped, looked out the window and said, "Why are the building such an awful structure? Why not use the plans similar to Thomas and Albertus halls?" I looked out and saw the post-modern O'Shaunessy Education Center getting built. Of course, Connell was correct. Now the school has a butch president and full-blown heretics in the Theology Dept. Sadly, now suffering in silence are the many intelligent and pure studenst at Univ. St. Thomas.

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