Loyola will continue its tradition of offering courses and degrees outside of New Orleans when the Institute for Ministry starts a program in Benin City, Nigeria, some time this fall or winter.

“I traveled there this spring, and then a colleague of mine traveled there this summer to train our liaison facilitators in Benin City,” said Tom Ryan, institute director.

Ryan knows a graduate, Sister Cecilia Dimaku, of the program who is now a member of the Sisters of Sacred Heart in Benin City.

“She was a main catalyst to make this possible,” he said. “She met with Dr. Barbara Fleischer on our staff and myself. Then we collaborated with people in her community, so a lot of different people came together for this.”

The program got a big boost when the Koch Foundation donated a $35,000 grant to the Institute for Ministry, but other funds contributed to the program as well.

Ryan said there is a lot of excitement surrounding this program, from both the people here as well as the liaisons in Benin City.

“The Archdiocese of Benin City has put a lot of money into the program,” he said. “The administration here has also been very supportive of our program.”

Behind all this, Ryan said, are Ignatian values and ideas.

“We would like to be of service to the church around the world,” Ryan said. “And Africa is one of the fastest growing parts of the (Roman) Catholic Church in the world.”

He, however, said that this will be a learning experience for both sides.

“I think, just as much, we have a lot to learn,” he said. “So I’m hoping that this will be a way for us, at Loyola, and for the church in the United States to learn and to grow.”

Eduardo Gonzalez can be reached at [email protected]