Mission and Ministry
Igniting a Faith that Does Justice
The Division of Mission and Ministry accompanies and supports all members of the campus community in integrating faith, education, service and justice through Creighton's Jesuit, Catholic tradition. We’re dedicated to journeying with students, faculty and staff, inspiring them to pursue lives of purpose and to foster authentic, just relationships—with God, one another, their communities, institutions and the natural world.
We also endeavor to cultivate a vibrant and inclusive community of faith and learning, celebrating the diversity of cultures and traditions present within our campus community. Explore the different areas within our purview below.
How We Serve Creighton
More Mission and Ministry Initiatives
Office of Mission Engagement
The Office of Mission Engagement, within the Department of Mission and Ministry, exists to form and accompany staff and faculty in Creighton University's Jesuit, Catholic mission, identity and values. This includes yearlong formation programs and retreats, as well as short-term offerings like departmental retreats and mission presentations. Through collaboration with campus partners, these initiatives support strategic, mission-aligned professional development across the university.
Mission Engagement also offers pastoral care, spiritual outreach, and a place where faculty and staff can find a listening ear and an understanding heart when faced with crisis or challenge.
Mission Week
Observed near the start of each academic year, Mission Week unites the Creighton University community in emphasizing and celebrating our identity—as an institution and individuals within it—as collaborators in animating the worldwide mission of the Society of Jesus. Faculty, staff and students are invited come together and participate in a number of events, including the popular Mass of the Holy Spirit. Open to people of all faith traditions, the Mass of the Holy Spirit is an annual tradition at Jesuit academic institutions, dating back to 1548, in which those assembled call upon the Holy Spirit for wisdom and guidance in the coming year.
Ignatian Educators of Distinction
Faculty and staff of Creighton University are recognized for their dedication to the Jesuit Catholic educational mission. Designation as an “Ignatian Educator of Distinction” is a campus and public recognition of a person’s commitment and competence in animating the Jesuit tradition of academic excellence. It is based on depth and time of education typically consisting of 20 hours in a one-year period engaged in comprehensive education and/or scholarship on Jesuit identity, including pedagogy, spirituality and heritage. Activities include completing network programs (i.e., AJCU’s Ignatian Colleagues Program, ACCU Collegium) or campus-coordinated offerings.
Marriage Preparation
At Creighton, we offer a flexible marriage preparation process for busy students and professionals, rooted in Catholic tradition and designed to guide you toward the sacrament of marriage—whether your ceremony is at St. John’s or elsewhere.
Mission Priority Examen (MPE) – A Reaffirmation of Mission
The presidents of the schools constituting the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) and the North American Jesuit Provincials have established a self-study and peer review process for reaffirming the Jesuit, Catholic mission of Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States and Belize, a process requested by the Superior General of the Society of Jesus. Known as the “Mission Priority Examen (MPE),” the process is grounded in the Examen, a practice of Ignatian reflection, and invites the campus community to reflect upon areas of strength in embodying our Jesuit, Catholic identity and opportunities for deepening our mission. In welcoming AJCU colleagues to support one another’s institutional self-reflection, we aim to foster a more vibrant and collaborative network of Jesuit higher education.
Creighton University’s 2022 Mission Priority Examen
In February 2022, at the invitation of the Upper Midwest provincial, the Rev. Karl Kiser, SJ, Creighton University initiated its second MPE process. This process was shepherded by a committee representing a wide cross-section of the Creighton community who, informed by institutional reflection, discerned mission priorities – areas of unique mission emphasis for the next five years – and developed Creighton University’s self-study report based on the Characteristics of Jesuit Higher Education: A Guide for Mission Reflection.
In November 2022, the committee hosted a visiting team of AJCU peers that affirmed that “Creighton is an outstanding example of a Jesuit, Catholic university that embraces its mission, builds upon clear mission strengths, and desires to live its mission ever more fully.” The visiting team’s listening and accompaniment also assisted the University in further refining its discerned mission priorities, leading to a narrowing of the five initially proposed in the self-study report to a more intentional and targeted emphasis on two: mission formation and fostering belonging.
In August 2023, the superior general of the Society of Jesus, the Rev. Arturo Sosa, SJ, and Fr. Kiser sent a letter to Creighton President the Rev. Daniel S. Hendrickson, SJ, jointly reaffirming Creighton University’s Jesuit, Catholic identity and supporting pursuit of the institution’s articulated mission priorities.
Current Mission Priorities
Priority I: Forming Faculty, Staff, Administrators and Trustees
- The vitality of our mission depends deeply on the contributions of members throughout the Creighton community, notably our faculty, staff, administrators and trustees.
Therefore, it is imperative that we continue prioritizing the formation of companions in the Ignatian tradition, focusing on breadth and depth, emphasizing engagement of head and heart, incorporating experiential components that invite awareness and accompaniment of people at society’s margins, and deepening understanding of the Catholic intellectual tradition, which is inclusive of Catholic Social Teaching.
Priority II: Fostering Belonging
- As a Jesuit, Catholic institution, it is incumbent upon us to increasingly foster a community that coheres with God’s vision for humanity, that honors the inherent dignity of all as a child of God and is marked by care, mutuality and a shared sense of belonging. In turn, we commit to celebrating the myriad gifts and identities of our students, faculty and staff and to nurturing an ever deepening sense of community.
Contact
Division of Mission & Ministry
402.280.3056
Creighton Hall, Suite 240
Cynthia M. Schmersal, EdD
Vice President, Mission and Ministry
