The Holy Cross Institute at St. Edward’s University elevates those values and pedagogical practices that reflect the charism of the Congregation of Holy Cross. Foremost among the values is the educating of minds alongside the formation of hearts.
Convocation 2025
Set to take place February 24-26, Convocation 2025 is the largest annual gathering of Holy Cross educators from across the country and around the world.
The efforts of the HCI involve education, formation and research: education of the public about the values and philosophy of Holy Cross education promoted from the time of Father Basil Moreau, founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross, to the present; formation of board members, administrators, faculties and staffs, students and other members of school communities in these values; and research into these values and their application in education and teaching in the present time and into the future.
The HCI exists to further the application of the Catholic and Holy Cross educational mission of participating educational institutions from across the country. The students and community of St. Edward’s University enjoy a unique relationship with the institute, which is the catalyst for mission integration on the Austin campus. The institute enriches the university and enhances the school’s Catholic character.
HCI's Core Values
Trusting in divine providence, the Holy Cross Institute is committed to four core values: Building Respect, Educating Hearts and Minds, Being Family, and Bringing Hope. Our concern for the dignity of every human being as God’s cherished child directs our ministry to build respect by supporting men and women of grace and goodwill everywhere in our efforts to form communities of the coming kingdom. Our educational charism calls us to educate hearts and minds, in unity with the family of Holy Cross, to form disciples with hope to bring. Finally, animated by the Holy Spirit, we work with zeal to make God known, loved and served.
Consider the greatness of your mission and the wonderful amount of good you can accomplish.
About Us
The Holy Cross Institute exists to promote and foster the divinely inspired gift of the charism of the Congregation of Holy Cross by educating the minds and cultivating the hearts of Holy Cross educators, administrators and board members for the mission of Jesus Christ through the transformational work of Catholic education.
As shared practitioners in this work of resurrection, we affirm that through our unity we will contribute to creating a world in which love and justice prevail, never forgetting our vocational call to form and empower our students to be transformational leaders, inspired by the Gospel, bringing hope to the world.
In 2004, inspired by the teachings of the founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross, Blessed Basil Moreau, CSC, the Holy Cross Institute was established to facilitate dialogue and networking opportunities and provide educational resources and formation programs that transcend cultural differences and guide our individual and collective growth in mission. Recognizing that all mission is meant to be localized, the Holy Cross Institute is designed to inspire and facilitate a more contemporary understanding of the Holy Cross charism and mission so that their application will permeate the immediate context of local Catholic educational ministries.
What We Do: The I-F-T Pedagogical Model
We provide Information on Holy Cross history, heritage, spirituality, and educational charism, Formation opportunities for Holy Cross educators and leaders as we continue Transformation of ourselves and a world in need.
Information
The HCI maintains a library of resources, develops mission-oriented curricula, conducts conferences and seminars, provides opportunities for shared practice and collaboration, and publishes articles, books and reference materials to help equip, inspire and empower Holy Cross board members, administrators, faculties and staff, students and other members of school communities to foster and continue the mission and educational charism of the Congregation of Holy Cross. Additionally, we provide research into these values and their application in education, teaching and leadership in the present time and into the future.
Formation
Blessed Basil Moreau believed that mission is best expressed in the formation of new men and women “for better times than ours.” So that this mission may permeate our school campuses, acknowledging the uniqueness of each of the school cultures, emphasis is placed on the formation of the educators, administrators, board members and students in our schools through retreats and leadership development programs that provide opportunities for spiritual, personal and professional growth.
Transformation
As educators in the faith and disciples of Jesus, we are called to be artisans of renewal, to regenerate society and the Church, and to contribute to preparing the world for better times. Blessed Basil Moreau wrote, “Education is a work of resurrection; it is meant to be a liberation from the darkness of ignorance; it is meant to be a vehicle for the transformation of society; and it is meant to be a process that helps to make all things, especially the persons engaged in it, new.”