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About
Fidelity & ExcellenceThomas Aquinas College is unique among American colleges and universities, offering a faithfully Catholic education comprised entirely of the Great Books and classroom discussions.
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A Liberating Education
Truth MattersTruth, and nothing less, sets men free; and because truth is both natural and supernatural, the College’s curriculum aims at both natural and divine wisdom.
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A Catholic Life
Under the Light of FaithThe intellectual tradition and moral teachings of the Catholic Church infuse the whole life of Thomas Aquinas College, illuminating the curriculum and the community alike.
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Admission & Aid
Is TAC Right for You?Do you enjoy grappling with complex questions? Are you willing to engage in discussions about difficult concepts, with the truth as your ultimate goal?
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Students & Parents
Mind, Body & SpiritThere is always something to do at TAC — something worthwhile, something fulfilling, and something geared toward ever-greater spiritual and intellectual growth.
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Alumni & Careers
What Can You Do with a Liberal Education?Nothing speaks more to the versatility of the College’s academic program than the good that our alumni are doing throughout the Church and the world.
Rev. Nathaniel Roberts (’13) Ordained to the Sacred Priesthood!
“I was drawn to the priesthood somewhat in my early years thanks to the witness (of) some of the priests I knew growing up,” Rev. Nathaniel Roberts (’13) — Thomas Aquinas College’s newest alumnus priest — tells his archdiocesan newspaper, The Catholic Standard. “Later in college the beauty of the ministry that they provided to us on the campus made me consider priesthood seriously for the first time.”
Last Saturday, His Eminence Cardinal Wilton Gregory, Archbishop of Washington, D.C., ordained 16 new priests, including Fr. Roberts, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. By God’s grace, it was the Archdiocese’s largest number of ordinandi in nearly 65 years. For Fr. Roberts, the Mass of Priesthood Ordination marked the culmination of a lifelong calling, amplified by the friendships and experiences of his four years on the College’s California campus.
Although he had previously considered becoming a priest, it was the ordination of two fellow TAC alumni that led him to explore that vocation more fully. “It was the witness of friends from college entering the priesthood and getting to know them better throughout their discernment that drew me to the priesthood,” the Catholic Standard reports him as writing. “I began to seriously consider the seminary and the priesthood.”
After his graduation from the College in 2013, Fr. Roberts worked in commercial construction, supervising projects that ranged from office renovations to building hotels and playgrounds. Eventually, however, Providence would lead him to study for the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Washington, first at the St. John Paul II Seminary, and then at Theological College, the diocesan seminary of The Catholic University of America.
At Fr. Roberts’ Ordination Mass, Cardinal Gregory encouraged the new priests to “surrender your lives in imitation of the One who poured out His life for us,” adding that their “most important encounter with God’s people will be through the Eucharist.” His Eminence urged these young men not to think of their ordination as the end of their discernment. “It takes an entire lifetime to complete a priestly vocation,” he said. “May the Lord who has begun such good work in you bring it to fulfillment.”
