XULA/IBCS : Institute for Black Catholic Studies

INSTITUTE FOR BLACK CATHOLIC STUDIES

Institute for Black Catholic Studies
Xavier University
1 Drexel Drive
New Orleans, LA 70125
Program Information:
Phone: 504-520-7691
e-mail: IBCS@xula.edu

SR. JAMIE T. PHELPS, O.P., Ph.D.
Director and Katharine Drexel Professor of Systematic Theology
e-mail: jtphelps@xula.edu
Phone: 504-520-5138 (office)
504-913-4309 (cell)

Administrative Assistant:
Phone 504-520-7691
e-mail: TBA

Ms. Shirlene M. Muckelroy, M.B.A.
Program Specialist
Phone: 504- 520- 5172
e-mail: smuckelr@xula.edu

Office Hours
9:00 am - 4:30 pm CST Mon - Fri
Fax 504-520-7924

Dr. Norman C. Francis

President of Xavier University of Louisiana

Dear Friends:

As the Institute for Black Catholic Studies begins a new year,I am pleased to offer my greetings as president of the only Historically Black and Catholic University in the United States.

Xavier University of Louisiana has been cited by members of the Catholic episcopacy, especially the African American Bishops,for its unique role in Catholic education. Those bishops have cited the need to foster more vocations and to prepare deacons in the African American community. Xavier’s faculty and staff have always recognized the importance of religious expression and religious openness on campus,while continuing to underscore the university’s longstanding relationship to the Catholic Church since its founding.As a demonstration of this openness,the University hosts numerous activities and events that encourage spiritual reflection throughout the year.

The Institute for Black Catholic Studies is important because it is a laboratory for African American Catholic inculturation. Founded in 1980,the Institute prepares lay men and women,vowed religious,priests and deacons for a more meaningful ministry within the Black Community. It is the only such program in the nation offering an interdisciplinary Master’s Degree in Black Catholic Theological Studies, along with certification and enrichment programs focused on educating catechists,youth ministers and pastoral leaders for a variety of ministries in the Church.

The Institute's faculty encourages our students to increase their knowledge of the Catholic and Black religious traditions and to express these in appropriate ways in their ministries.The education of ecclesiastical ministers to serve in the Black Community is especially important as the number of cross-cultural ministers, Black Catholic parishes and schools have begun to decline.

Today, as always, Xavier remains proud to be able to continue its rich tradition of spirituality combined with academic excellence and to serve as the home for the Institute for Black Catholic Studies.