International study program in Austria illustrates universal church

Published: 2007-01-04

GAMING, Austria (CNS) -- The international study abroad program at the church at Kartause Maria Thron, a former monastery in Gaming, has been an example of the interplay of the Eastern and Latin-rite Catholic churches and the universality of Catholicism. The Gaming campus hosts students from 15-20 countries in the study abroad programs for the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio; Ave Maria University in Naples, Fla.; the Language and Catechetical Institute, for Eastern and Central European students; and the International Theological Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family. Students at Gaming are from different schools, countries and rites of the Catholic Church, which allows several opportunities for experiencing different expressions of communal prayer. Liturgies and Masses from different rites are offered weekly, and the Marian devotions of the rosary and the Byzantine Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God are organized events.

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