SAN ANTONIO • Ed and Nelda Benninger were honored with the “Leadership in Faith and Service Award” at a May 17 gala at the Marriott Riverwalk Hotel to celebrate the Assumption Seminary Expansion Campaign.
    Ed Benninger recently assumed responsibilities as vice chancellor of administration for the archdiocese following his retirement after a decades-long career at Valero Energy Corp., where he eventually rose to the rank of chief financial officer as well as president.
    In their response after they were presented the award, Nelda Benninger told of being taught generosity at a young age, with her mother contributing funds to two churches and of having her own church envelopes at the age of 12.
    “When you are holding tight to your possessions your hands are closed. But when your hands are open, you can receive treasures and blessing from God,” she told the more than 500 seminary supporters in attendance.     “I’ve received many more blessings from God than I have given.”

    Ed Benninger had the crowd laughing when he told of first meeting Archbishop José Gomez shortly after his installation last year. He said he and Barbara Spinner, at that time the development director of Assumption Seminary, had expressed some apprehension regarding the incoming prelate and were unsure if he would be supportive of the expansion campaign. However, Benninger said that just after being introduced to the new San Antonio shepherd, before he even had time to sit on the couch, he was being asked to contribute $1 million to the fundraising effort. “I told him I was retired and on a fixed income,” he said to a roar of laughter from the audience.

    For their $1.1 million contribution the chapel in the new Flores Residence Hall under construction at the seminary will be named the Benninger Family Chapel, which proved fitting as the couple accepted the leadership award on behalf of their entire family, specifically recognizing daughter Bridget Psaromatis; sister Sue Jeansonne; and daughter-in-law Michelle Benninger.

    “Whatever we’ve accomplished has been a gift from God. Many people who have lived their faith were a strong influence on me,” Ed Benninger said, citing the example of Bill Greehey, chairman of the Board of Directors of Valero Energy, who recently gave a $25 million gift to St. Mary’s University for a new business school there, and helped the less fortunate not only in good times but bad times, according to his friend. Valero Energy was also the major underwriter for the May 17 gathering.

    “Giving has provided me with the most joyful feeling I have ever felt in my life. We give because we know God’s gifts are our gifts,” said Benninger. “The Assumption Seminary Capital Campaign is truly for the future of the Catholic Church in South Texas. Everyone needs to stop, say a prayer and make a gift,” he concluded.

    Keynote speaker for the evening was Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, secretary of the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education. In that role the archbishop oversees seminary formation worldwide. Prior to being named to his Vatican post in 2003, he served as president of Houston’s University of St. Thomas for six-and-a-half years.

    Exploring the issue of shrinking vocations to the priesthood, Archbishop Miller said, “Every period in the life of the church has faced challenges. The church has faced many problems. Criticism is not new to the body of Christ. The church is not perfect, it is a human organization. But the church is not just an institution. The church is the body of Christ and the bride for whom he died. The church is where we receive the Eucharist and where our sins are forgiven. We need priests for the Eucharist to remain faithful to Christ’s demand, ‘Do this in memory of me.’”

    The priesthood, according to Archbishop Miller, is a gift from God through which he continues to make himself known among his faithful. “The priest belongs to you because he belongs to Christ and the church. Without priests, the new facility under construction at Assumption Seminary is nothing. It needs to be filled with men to serve you, to share in the banquet of the body and blood of God. Priesthood is everyone’s business,” he emphasized.

    The Canadian-born Basilian cleric then cited some statistics to illustrate the current picture regarding religious life. In 1978, the first year of Pope John Paul II’s pontificate, there were 64,000 seminarians worldwide. Today, there are 113,000. However, the number of priests has declined, from 421,000 just 28 years ago to 400,000 today. That has increased the priest to parishioner ratio from 1 priest per 1,700 Catholics to 1 priest per 2,700 currently. Also in 1978, the continent of Africa comprised only 9 percent of seminarians worldwide. Today that number is 20 percent. Europe, which contributed one-third of the world’s seminarians, only contributes 25 percent today. In the United States, there were 9,000 seminarians in 1978. Unfortunately, today, that number is just over half. In addition, the presbyterate is aging.

    “Is God abandoning us?” asked Archbishop Miller. An unequivocal no was his reply. “We are not praying enough. We are not encouraging enough,” was his response. “Every unanswered call to religious life is a tragedy for all of us. God’s calling is not less. He sustains his body and loves his bride.”

    In addressing the question of “What can we do?” the archbishop said that the new buildings at Assumption Seminary must be filled to overflowing. “Help young men respond to the call to be priests. You’ve seen the young people at the pope’s funeral and at World Youth Day. Vocations are everyone’s responsibility: the parents, parishes, groups and organization, and the priests. Everyone is to be an activist in this vocational undertaking,” said the author of several books on Pope John Paul II and the saints.

    Specifically, Archbishop Miller said there were three things Catholics can do in the Archdiocese of San Antonio to help promote vocations.
    1) Understand what the call is.
    2) The seedbed of vocations is the family.
    3) Pray the Lord of the harvest will manifest himself to us in this way.

    “The Scriptures are full of vocations stories of men called to the priesthood. The call is not a right or a choice, but a pure gift to the individual and to the community as well,” said the archbishop. “We can’t leave young people alone. We need to show confidence in young men, take their hand and offer them encouragement. Fear stifles so many of us that we are often afraid of the cost of discipleship. Help young men to know that they need not be afraid of Christ. They don’t have to be afraid of losing something.”

    The Basilian cleric stressed that Catholic family life is the greatest seedbed of vocations. “If a family loves the Lord, it provides the soil where vocations grow. We can’t overlook the mediation of this community. Pray for priests by name. The pastoral concern for vocations is rooted in prayers and parents who pray for children by name.”

    Archbishop Miller also emphasized eucharistic adoration and praying for priests before the Blessed Sacrament. “The Eucharist should be at the forefront of all prayer initiatives,” he said in closing.     “Redouble your efforts to pray for vocations in the Archdiocese of San Antonio.”