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Thomas R. Schilli Foundation Supports Chapel Renovation

The Thomas R. Schilli Foundation recently donated $500,000 to the Go Forth campaign in support of renovating the chapel and creating the David J. and Kelly E. Laughlin Campus Ministry Center.

The Thomas R. Schilli Foundation supports Jesuit schools and their partners, “guided by the Jesuit Universal Apostolic Preferences.” Jay Hammond, Ph.D. is the nephew of Tom Schilli ’64, an alumnus of Jesuit College Prep of Dallas, Professor of Theology at Saint Louis University and Board President and Executive Director of the Thomas R. Schilli Foundation. 

Schilli was deeply impacted by his SLUH education and “wanted to give back in a way that would help share the intellectual and spiritual gifts of an Ignatian-informed education,” Jay reflects of his uncle.

The central location of the SLUH Chapel serves as a metaphor to understand just how meaningful Ignatian spirituality and the Catholic faith were to Tom Schilli.

“The Ignatian formation [Tom] received at SLUH ensured that his compass would return him to the center,” Jay explains. “For Tom, the ‘center’ of SLUH connects to the halls, classrooms, labs, courts and fields where young men are trained to go forth into the world beyond campus, equipped to serve with incisive minds and discerning hearts.”

By renovating the Chapel and simultaneously creating the David J. and Kelly E. Laughlin Campus Ministry Center, SLUH will renew its most sacred space, make positive environmental improvements and reaffirm its commitment to both vocations and forming leaders of faith and excellence for the Church, and for the good of the world.