Benedictine College spotlights chaplain priest studying classical leadership

At Benedictine College, Fr. Christian Schwenka’s classroom work and chaplaincy have converged in the St. John Paul II Student Center, where he has been helping guide students into the Catholic faith while earning a Master of Arts in Classical Leadership.

Schwenka began serving as assistant chaplain in fall 2024 alongside Fr. Ryan Richardson, and the Diocese of Lincoln lists his assignment as studies in educational administration at Benedictine College in Atchison. Benedictine says the two-year, blended MACL program is built around the great works of the Western intellectual tradition, with direct instruction in pedagogy and curricular integration. Schwenka said that approach appealed to him because he loves great books and wanted a serious framework for reading difficult literature. The college says that formation did more than add academic depth. It shaped how he preached, taught and built relationships across campus.

That work mattered most in OCIA, the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults, where Schwenka helped lead students seeking to learn more about the Catholic faith, including those preparing for First Confession, First Holy Communion and Confirmation. Benedictine’s ministry office says the program is open to all students interested in those sacraments, and the college described Schwenka’s role as central to the process for the campus community.

The result was visible on Divine Mercy Sunday in 2026, when Benedictine welcomed 30 students into full communion with the Catholic Church, the largest group in school history. Eight students received all of the sacraments of initiation, while 22 received confirmation, after eight months of weekly OCIA meetings led by students and Schwenka. Earlier, Benedictine had said 26 students entered the Church in 2025, which had been the previous record. Twenty of those new Catholics were athletes, underscoring how broadly the ministry was reaching across campus life.

That scale helps explain why the story reaches beyond a campus profile. Benedictine’s chaplaincy sits at the center of Atchison’s largest college, and the school said there were about 450 non-Catholic students on campus last year, making the 2025 entry rate roughly 10% of that group. Benedictine’s ministry mission is to transform lives in Christ through sacraments, outreach and stewardship, and Schwenka’s dual role has become part of how that mission is being carried out in practice.

For Atchison, the impact is not abstract. It shows up in the students filling the student center, the families attending sacramental milestones and the campus culture Benedictine sends into town.