A new player in post-secondary Catholic education: San Damiano College for the Trades

By Martin Barillas

Ann Arbor, Michigan, May 29, 2024 / 15:30 pm

The founding of San Damiano College for the Trades responds to a call from Springfield, Illinois, Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki to set a new path for Catholic education in the diocese and broader United States.

The new college, which is currently accepting applications for its inaugural class in the fall of 2025, is geared toward young men and will be located on the former Springfield, Illinois, campus of the Franciscan Brothers of the Holy Cross, who operated the St. James Trade School there from 1928 to 1972.

According to a press release from San Damiano, the Norbertine order of priests and brothers, which have a priory on campus, will serve as chaplains and program development guides. 

The project has support from various labor unions, which will pay all costs for apprenticeships. The college anticipates having an initial class of 75 students. Students in apprenticeships earn wages that will defray the costs of instruction.

In an interview with CNA, the college’s founding president, Kent J. Lasnoski, said that the college’s name reflects the Franciscan heritage of the historic campus. Lasnoski holds a doctorate in theology and previously taught moral theology and philosophy at Wyoming Catholic College, where he also served as dean of students.

Asked how he would pitch San Damiano to the parents of prospective students, Lasnoski said: “You have a son graduating high school. I assume that what you care most about for him is that he lives a life that is fruitful and holy and integrative. You have two options before you to help him toward that goal. You could send him to a standard four-year university, or send him to a different kind of model.”

“We’re offering an authentic Catholic formation, training in the Great Books, which prepare people for any career and exposure to trades, and then choose a trade that can pay them, come out of college without debt, and with a useful degree,” Lasnoski said. 

The formation includes the traditional trivium of grammar, logic, and rhetoric, combined with technical instruction and on-the-job training. The college proposes to form the character of male students and prepare them to “bring dignity, purpose, and attentive craftsmanship to their work.”

Trades offered for the inaugural class include carpentry, electrical, roofing, arborist, and ecclesial restoration. In the future, the college anticipates adding additional tracks in plumbing and HVAC and masonry as well as welding and fabrication. 

San Damiano is part of a resurgence of Catholic trade schools nationally. Among them are Harmel Academy in Michigan and Santiago Trade School in California.

“The main thing we do at the college is formation in character, intellect, and spirit. What we offer in technical training is introductory. After their foundations year, the students get technical instruction from a union or nonunion contractor who is offering an apprenticeship,” Lasnoski said. An advantage for the students is that they are paid during their apprenticeship and thus have little to no debt upon joining the workforce.

Lasnoski said that San Damiano, unlike other trade programs, will offer an associate's degree. “The only other college offering a degree in the trade school space is the College of St. Joseph the Worker, which offers a bachelor's degree,” he said.

“What also makes us different is the spiritual discernment program. We have the Norbertines on campus with their Corpus Christi priory, and we share a life with them. While other programs have good chaplains, we have this life of the Norbertines that is going to make this college unique,” Lasnoski noted. An area of special interest for San Damiano is the construction and restoration of Catholic churches.

Lasnoski acknowledged that secular trade schools and community colleges do offer excellent training, but he said San Damiano offers students a difference.

“It is one thing to have some exposure and a credential in a skill, but it’s another to be a man of character, hard work, and integrity,” he emphasized.

Martin Barillas is a writer and translator, having once served as a U.S. diplomat in Europe and South America. A lifelong Catholic, he resides in Michigan with his wife Alice and their four children and grandchild. He has written on a variety of topics, including human rights, politics and religion. He is also a novelist.