Loyola Institute for Ministry Extension (LIMEX)
Graduate & Certificate Programs
Religious Education & Pastoral Studies

St. John’s College has teamed up with Loyola University New Orleans to bring the LIMEX program to Belize. The inaugural cohort began classes in September 2002 in Belize City and a second cohort was added in January 2004 in Punta Gorda Town. A third LIMEX learning group began in September 2005 in Orange Walk Town. For any additional information not provided here, please consult Sr. Maggie Cooper, SCN, DMin. (Liaison Administrator for LIMEX) at St. John’s College.

LIMEX is a professionally oriented program of graduate education which seeks to increase the competencies of practitioners in the areas of religious education and pastoral ministries. The program originated as a response to Vatican II's universal call to ministry and to the changing demographic patterns in the Church since the Council. LIMEX responds to the expressed educational needs of dioceses with little or no access to residential programs by offering on-site programs leading to the Master of Religious Education and Master of Pastoral Studies degrees for professional ministers and certificates in those same areas for paraprofessional ministers. LIMEX addresses adult practitioners within the actual context of their ministry. The focus of the program is contextual learning for those already involved in ministry and in possession of the intellectual and cognitive abilities that come through undergraduate studies.

LIMEX seeks to carry out its purpose and accomplish its goal through a thirty-six-credit-hour curriculum of ten common curriculum courses and two focus area courses. (All courses are three credits.) The common curriculum courses are taken in sequence in learning groups, each led by a LIMEX-certified facilitator. The sessions for each course are designed by Loyola University faculty and incorporate a variety of reflection methods and experiential learning approaches, along with lecture material in printed form and videotaped input from scholars in the field, to assist participants in correlating content with their ministerial and educational experiences. The learning process seeks to nurture and provide opportunities for participants to practice skills related to the performance of ministry and religious education. The two focus area courses are taken as semi-independent study between Courses Four and Ten of the common curriculum.

Degree Participants

Loyola Institute for Ministry Extension Program is a graduate level program of study in education for ministry. Preparation for each class usually involves six to eight hours of reading and assignments with additional time needed for projects and papers. The entire thirty-six hour program normally takes approximately four years to complete, depending upon the learning group's pace. Persons who intend to work toward the M.R.E. or M.P.S. degree must have a bachelor's degree (with a minimum grade point average of 2.5) or its equivalent. The requirements for both the Master of Religious Education and the Master of Pastoral Studies consist of 36 credit hours:

Contact:

Sr. Maggie Cooper, SCN
Liaison Administrator for LIMEX
Landivar Campus
St. John's College
Tel:  501-223-3732
Fax:  501-223-2752
Email: mcooper@sps.sjc.edu.bz