Seton Hall Receives $1.5 Million from Members of the Priest Community

Seton Hall is proud to announce it has received more than $1.5 million in donations from members of the Priest Community since the inception of For All, Forever: A Campaign for a Greater Seton Hall. These gifts are advancing key campaign priorities, including expanding access to a Seton Hall education, enhancing experiential learning and spiritual formation, and strengthening faculty excellence and research.

Major gifts from the Priest Community are helping to maintain and renovate Seton Hall’s three campuses, ensuring that the grounds and facilities remain functional, modern, and beautiful. They are also opening doors to new experiences for students with financial need, including participation in transformative programs like the Division of Volunteer Efforts (DOVE) mission trip to El Salvador, where students serve local communities while deepening their commitment to servant leadership. In addition, this support is strengthening academic life through initiatives such as the Center for Catholic Studies, which fosters dialogue between the Catholic intellectual tradition and contemporary culture.

In addition, philanthropic support from the Priest Community is advancing student success through endowed scholarships for first-generation students, nursing majors, and aspiring media professionals at WSOU, Seton Hall’s radio station, among others.

“I’m moved by the wide array of support from the Priest Community, which touches everything from athletics to experiential learning to faith formation and beyond,” says Jon Paparsenos, Vice President of University Advancement. “These men of God have dedicated their lives to serving others, and now they’ve chosen to give financially for the betterment of students and the broader University community. This is what For All, Forever is all about.”

As one of the nation’s leading Catholic universities, Seton Hall is a community guided by faith in God. Founded in 1856 by the first Bishop of Newark, James Roosevelt Bayley, Seton Hall is the oldest Catholic diocesan university in the United States. Since its earliest days, members of the Priest Community have been a constant presence in classrooms and across campus. Today, more than 40 priests reside on campus, with most serving as faculty or in administrative positions.

Monsignor Joseph Reilly, who became Seton Hall’s 22nd president in 2024 and is the twentieth priest to hold the position, has also given personally and generously to the campaign. “For the past 23 years I’ve spent at the University, I have been spiritually and intellectually nourished by the community,” says Monsignor Reilly. “That’s what motivated me to participate in the comprehensive campaign. It is an opportunity to help shape a bright future for Seton Hall, grounded in faith and reason in the pursuit of truth.”

Categories: Faith and Service