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August 18, 2016
10,000 Ojai Road
Santa Paula CA 93060
Contact: Anne Forsyth, Director of ������ý Relations
(805) 525-4417      

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Bishop Robert E. Barron to Preside at Thomas Aquinas ������ý  Convocation Day Mass and Matriculation

SANTA PAULA, CA—August 18—The Most Reverend Robert E. Barron will offer the opening Mass of the Holy Spirit at Thomas Aquinas ������ý on Monday, August 22, 2016, in Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel. He will also preside at the matriculation ceremony following at 10:30 a.m. in St. Joseph Commons. The auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ Santa Barbara pastoral region, Bishop Barron will join President Michael F. McLean in greeting each of the college’s 102 new freshman, and then address the students as they prepare to begin a new academic year.

Says President McLean, “While Bishop Barron is known around the world for his award-winning documentary series Catholicism, he is first and foremost a faithful shepherd of souls and a trusted guide in the Catholic intellectual life. We very much look forward to having him with us on Convocation Day.”

Due to steadily rising retention rates, enrollment this year is the highest it has ever been at the 4-year, Catholic school — 389 students. Says Dean Brian Kelly, “We are delighted to be able to consistently attract young people from across the country who are so well-suited to our unique program of Catholic liberal education. It will be a great joy to welcome the new freshman class and our returning students to campus.”

������ý Thomas Aquinas ������ý

Thomas Aquinas ������ý has developed a solid reputation for academic excellence in the United States and abroad. At Thomas Aquinas ������ý, there are no majors, no minors, or electives because all students acquire a broad and fully integrated liberal education. The ������ý offers one 4-year, classical curriculum that spans the major arts and sciences. Instead of reading textbooks, students read the original works of the greatest thinkers in Western civilization — the Great Books — in all the major disciplines: mathematics, natural science, literature, philosophy, and theology. Rather than listening to lectures, they engage in rigorous Socratic discussions about these works in classes of 15-18 students. The academic life of the college is conducted under the light of the Catholic faith and flourishes within a close-knit community, supported by a vibrant spiritual life. Genuinely committed to upholding civic virtue and leading lives dedicated to the good of others, Thomas Aquinas ������ý graduates enter a wide array of fields where they are a powerful force for good in the Church and in the culture. Well-versed in rational discourse, they become leaders in education, law, medicine, journalism, public policy, military service, and business. In addition, a steady 10% of alumni go on to the priesthood or religious life.