Thomas More Academy Bensberg

The Thomas-More-Academy is located in the Cardinal-Schulte-Haus. (2012)

The Thomas-More-Akademie Bensberg is an institution for Catholic adult education in the Archdiocese of Cologne . It is part of the twenty-four German Catholic Academies and is based in the Cardinal Schulte House in Bergisch Gladbach ( Bockenberg district ). The sponsor is the Diocesan Council of Catholics in the Archdiocese of Cologne.

history

The academy was founded on September 13, 1953 as the successor to a "diocesan education home" in Bad Honnef , which at that time still had the simple name Honnef . This educational home was built in 1948 and had its provisional seat in the Bensberg seminary from 1948 to 1951 , until it moved to the St. Josephs House (later: Catholic Social Institute ) in Honnef. In 1959 the Thomas-More-Academy moved its location back to Bensberg after the seminary had moved from there to Cologne .

As a result of a major fire in the building on February 21, 1980, the academy was continued to a limited extent in other conference venues in the Archdiocese of Cologne. From December 1989, the building, now known as the “Kardinal-Schulte-Haus”, was available again. However, the organizational unity of the conference center and academy was not continued: The academy is the tenant of the Kardinal-Schulte-Haus conference center with regard to its office space and the conference and guest rooms.

The directors were Helmut Meisner (1954–1957), Prelate Josef Steinberg (1957–1968), Hermann Boventer (1968–1981) and Wolfgang Isenberg (1988–2018), since January 1, 2019 Andrea Hoffmeier has been the head of the Academy as director.

Main topics and forms of work

The academy is a recognized adult education institution according to the NRW Further Education Act . In 2017 more than 12,400 people took part in 313 events. The program focuses on the following topics:

Thinking about the big picture: Philosophy & Theology
For clues and hope. Social trends and church development
Immerse yourself in worlds of sound and language. Music , literature and theater
For beautiful spirits and those who see things differently. Art and culture
For mind and soul. Reflection and spirituality
Shaping coexistence. Politics , Society and Media
Promote teaching and learning. School and education
Accompany explorers, interpret culture. Cultural mediation , church tours and tourism
For connoisseurs and those who try it out. Gastronomy and culinary cultures
Forum: Parish Councils . For church developers and parishioners
Bensberger mediation model. For conflict solvers and peacemakers
The exoticism close by. Explore home
Holiday academies. On the trail of the special

Forms of work are meetings and seminars, study conferences, workshops and trainings, “culture dinners” , multi-day holiday academies in Germany and abroad, one-day “explorations”, the “youth forum” and “forum PGR” for members of parish councils.

The academy has a national profile as a platform in the field of tourism, where it promotes a fundamental analysis of tourism developments and the pursuit of humane concerns in tourism with conference and discussion events. With the "Bergische Landpartie" campaign, it supports local food producers and organizes a trade fair with local products on its premises. Together with the Artists Union in the Archdiocese of Cologne and the Archdiocese of Cologne, a sculpture park has been realized on the grounds of the Kardinal-Schulte-Haus since 1994. Art exhibitions and “art encounters” are constantly held in the building.

Seat of the Society of Catholic Publicists in Germany

The Society of Catholic Publicists in Germany has its seat in the Thomas-More-Akademie Bensberg.

Publications

The Academy publishes several series, such as Bensberger Manuscripts , Bensberger Protocols , Bensberger Edition , Bensberger Studies , Art Encounters as well as Journal and Newsmail as Internet media.