Benedictine College welcomes alumni back for reunion weekend in Atchison
Alumni from across the country returned to Atchison for Benedictine’s June 12-14 reunion weekend, bringing a boost to local businesses and a reminder of the college’s deep civic ties.
Benedictine College turned its Raven Alumni Reunion Weekend into a homecoming that reached well beyond campus, drawing graduates back to Atchison from June 12-14. The college said alumni came from across the country, and the weekend centered on class years ending in 1 and 6, with special recognition for the 50th reunion of the Class of 1976.
The gathering mattered to Atchison as much as it did to alumni. Reunion weekends send former students back into town to eat, shop, visit with family and revisit the places that shaped their years in Atchison, a local pattern that carries economic weight for hotels, restaurants and businesses near the campus and downtown. Benedictine said its annual economic impact tops $116.4 million, including nearly $60 million in local impact for Atchison, making events like this one part of the city’s broader civic and financial rhythm.
The weekend also underscored how closely Benedictine’s identity is tied to the religious communities that founded it. Alumni visited with the sisters of Mount St. Scholastica Monastery and the monks of St. Benedict’s Abbey, a reminder that the college’s story begins in 1858, when those sponsors founded the school on the Kansas frontier. The modern Benedictine College took shape on July 1, 1971, when St. Benedict’s College and Mount St. Scholastica College merged.
That history helps explain why reunion weekend is more than a ceremonial calendar item. For many returning alumni, the trip is a chance to reconnect with classmates, the monks and sisters who remain part of the college’s identity, and the town that still carries their memories. For Atchison, the returns keep the school visible in summer and reinforce Benedictine as one of the county’s most important institutions.
The college’s reunion tradition has also become a recurring showcase of belonging. Benedictine described Raven Reunion as an annual event that brings alumni back to celebrate accomplishments, successes and trials since their time on campus, and the 2026 gathering continued that pattern. In a town where the college and the community have long been intertwined, the weekend served as both a celebration of the past and a reminder that many Ravens still have a place in Atchison’s present.
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