Multi-Institution Program at the University of San Francisco Empowers Catholics to Be Active Leaders in the Church
SAN FRANCISCO (January 22, 2026) – The University of San Francisco (USF), along with 15 partner Catholic colleges and universities, announced the launch of the Catholic Education Network to Enact and Resource Synodality (CENTERS), a collaboration to strengthen active listening, dialogue, and shared decision-making in the Catholic Church in the United States.
In November 2025, Lilly Endowment Inc. announced Loyola University Chicago as the recipient of a $10 million grant to support CENTERS. Lilly Endowment made the grant through its Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative, which is designed to help theological schools respond to the most pressing challenges in preparing pastoral leaders for Christian congregations both now and into the future.
CENTERS will support the Church’s global synodal journey, begun by Pope Francis in 2021. The network will help theological schools renew their internal operations, curricula, and partnerships to better prepare pastoral leaders for an evolving Church.
“Drawing upon the rich diversity of USF and the San Francisco Bay Area, we are excited to contribute to this collaborative project and grateful to the Lilly Foundation for making it possible,” said Eileen Chia-Ching Fung, USF provost and vice president of academic affairs. “It will strengthen our mission to accompany students toward a hope-filled future and prepare them to engage different perspectives and discern their sense of purpose.”
To achieve these goals, CENTERS will fund local capacity-building projects at each participating institution; support regional retreats, trainings, symposia, and peer learning; convene national assemblies; and endow the Adsumus Fellowship, a national cohort-based ministry leadership formation program for ministry students.
“This initiative will empower us to foster meaningful conversations on what it means to be a Catholic university today,” said Erin Brigham, director of the Joan and Ralph Lane Center for Catholic Social Thought and the Ignatian Tradition at USF. “Engaging the synod is about learning to walk together in solidarity and practicing inclusive discernment within a diverse community.”
CENTERS is governed collaboratively by participating institutions: Loyola University Chicago, the Catholic Theological Union, Gonzaga University, Loyola Marymount University, Loyola University New Orleans, Mexican American Catholic College, Xavier University, Xavier University of Louisiana, Saint John’s University, Saint Joseph’s University, Santa Clara University, Southeast Pastoral Institute, University of Dayton, University of Dallas, and Villanova University. CENTERS will also offer opportunities for Catholics not affiliated with participating institutions.
About the University of San Francisco
The University of San Francisco is a private, Jesuit Catholic university that reflects the diversity, optimism, and opportunities of the city that surrounds it. USF offers more than 230 undergraduate, graduate, professional, and certificate programs in the arts and sciences, business, law, education, and nursing and health professions. At USF, each course is an intimate learning community in which top professors encourage students to turn learning into positive action, so the students graduate equipped to do well in the world — and inspired to change it for the better. For more information, visit usfca.edu.
