New Orleans, Louisiana
Follow the Call
The Catholic Church considers the call of all the baptized to ministry “a cause for rejoicing.“ At the Loyola Institute for Ministry (LIM), we agree.
Our programs are affordable and take seriously the hopes and experience you bring to your studies. We promote a broad vision of ministry, which holds that it is practiced in explicitly ecclesial contexts–in churches, schools and dioceses–and beyond wherever people of faith live and work.
We teach a method called “practical theology.” Built on the best in biblical and theological scholarship, it seeks to discern implications for the individual, Church and world. It fosters personal, spiritual, and professional growth while you’re here–and after you graduate.
Mission Statement
Loyola University New Orleans, a Jesuit and Catholic institution of higher education, welcomes students of diverse backgrounds and prepares them to lead meaningful lives with and for others; to pursue truth, wisdom, and virtue; and to work for a more just world. Inspired by Ignatius of Loyola’s vision of finding God in all things, the university is grounded in the liberal arts and sciences, while also offering opportunities for professional studies in undergraduate and selected graduate programs. Through teaching, research, creative activities, and service, the faculty, in cooperation with the staff, strives to educate the whole student and to benefit the larger community.
Loyola Institute for Ministry
The mission of the Loyola Institute for Ministry (LIM) is to prepare women and men for religious education and ministerial leadership in Catholic and other Christian communities through professional graduate education and through professional continuing education. The Master of Religious Education and the Master of Pastoral Studies degrees are offered in the Institute. A number of continuing education options are also part of Institute programming.
The students, faculty and staff of the Institute form a learning community and educational resource for professional and paraprofessionals engaged in, or preparing for, ministry and religious education as well as others who want to address themselves intentionally to their ministry in the world. In fidelity to its mission, the Institute seeks an integration of knowledge of the Christian tradition, a sensitivity to the dynamics of institutional structures, an appreciation for the times and culture within which one works, and a reflection on personal experience.
The mission of LIM is carried out through on-campus and a variety of distance education programs. The Institute has a particular (though not exclusive) mission to areas that do not have benefit of proximate resources for professional graduate education in pastoral studies and religious education.
Vision Statement
As a Catholic, Jesuit University, Loyola University New Orleans is an academic community dedicated to the education of the whole person. By thinking critically, acting justly students are to embody the Ignatian ideals of faith, truth, justice, and service. To meet these goals, the University will strive to become an increasingly selective university with outstanding liberal arts and sciences, professional, and graduate programs grounded in intellectual rigor and reflecting the more than 450 year Ignatian tradition.
Graduate Programs*