Courses for individual Catholics take a good look at Good Book

Catholic laypeople aren’t known for studying Scripture — a habit more often associated with their Protestant brethren.

“In the past, unfortunately, that’s been true, but we’re changing that,” said Ben Akers, director of the Denver Catholic Biblical School at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary.

The school, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, offers classes that are hosted by more than 20 parishes across the Denver Archdiocese. When you sign up for Catholic Bible study here, you can expect a four-year course in the Good Book. There is homework. There will be a test.

Catholic Biblical School’s popularity is soaring, with a record 718 people enrolled for the September-through-May academic year. A two-year course in Catholic catechism drew more than 150 students.

At a school-sponsored workshop on the Bible on Saturday morning, more than 400 people crowded into a small auditorium at Mullen High School to hear speakers, including the Rev. Robert Barron, founder of “Word on Fire” ministry and creator of the national television series “Catholicism.”

“It’s a real revival,” Akers said. “It’s a sign of hope there is such a hunger to learn.”

Only a Catholic institution is likely to call a 30-year-old school “a new approach” to building better lay members. Yet for a church that thinks in terms of centuries, Akers said, in-depth Bible study for the masses still strikes many as novel.

Scripture scholars say the Second Vatican Council, 1962-65, turned the page on the Bible in the Catholic Church, as more chapters and verses from the Old and New Testaments were made part of the liturgy of the Mass. The weekly exposure sparked interest in the Bible.

The seeds of Vatican II have taken a few decades to really root, scholars observe, but the average Catholic’s investment in studying the Bible has been increasing steadily since then.

By 1974, the Diocese of Little Rock in Arkansas had developed and begun distributing Bible study materials for Catholic adults that could be used in parishes across the country.

Eight years later, Denver Archbishop James V. Casey asked a Franciscan nun, Sister Macrina Scott, to develop a rigorous program here that would help prepare would-be Bible teachers to spread the Scripttures.

“That was the reason for making the course so intense,” Scott said. “Yet, to our surprise, we found out that a great many Catholics other than teachers were interested. Catholics were hungry for the Scriptures.”

Over the school’s three decades, 2,400 people have completed the full four-year program.

“We study every single book in some depth. As far as we know,” Akers said, “we’re the most comprehensive course” — outside a seminary or degree program.

“In four years we still just skim the surface, but we lay the foundation for a lifetime of Bible study,” said teacher Kyle Mills. “We like to say we’re a mile wide and a little more than an inch deep.”

The course costs $555 a year. Students enroll for a year at a time. They meet two hours a week, morning or evening. The teachers have at least a master’s degree in biblical theology or scriptural studies, Akers said.

Enrollees come from all education levels, including judges and high school dropouts, Akers said. The only requirement is that students be 18 years or older.

Electa Draper: 303-954-1276 or edraper@denverpost.com

More info

Call 303-715-3195, or go to sjvdenver.edu.