CHARLESTON — Catholic students who would like to attend the College of Charleston will have a new source of funding if the support for a scholarship comes through.
Father Jeffrey Kendall hopes to initiate an endowed scholarship at the college in memory of the late Father Scott Buchanan.
Father Buchanan was a history graduate of the college and attended St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia for two years. He went on to the North American College in Rome, where he studied theology and received his licentiate in history. He was killed in a car accident Jan. 6, 2001, at the age of 31.
Father Kendall will celebrate a memorial Mass in his honor at 11 a.m. Jan. 7 at Sacred Heart Church, 888 King St. A special collection will be taken up to start the endowment.
An endowed scholarship requires the investment of funds; the interest is used for students. Father Kendall said the fund-raising goal is $25,000, which is the minimum required by the College of Charleston.
In order to qualify for the scholarship, a student will have to be a practicing Catholic in good standing with the church and involved in Catholic Campus Ministry, and have a financial need.
The Citadel has three scholarships for Catholics, Father Kendall told The Miscellany.
“The Catholic Church has a long history of being involved in higher education,” he said. “It has been a wonderful advantage for Catholic Campus Ministry at The Citadel. I’m able to give money to students who know that Catholics are supporting them and help them stay involved. I have a very close relationship with The Citadel Foundation, the financial aid office and the admissions office because we are all working together. It’s a win-win relationship for Catholic ministry and the college. We are trying to create similar relationships at other colleges in the state of South Carolina.”
Father Kendall hopes to honor Father Buchanan’s memory with the scholarship not only because the late priest was a College of Charleston graduate, but also because he was a friend. The two men were in seminary together at St. Charles Borromeo.
“I lost a friend and would like to honor him, and know other people want to do the same,” said Father Kendall.
Father Buchanan’s mother, Carol, felt that it was time the College of Charleston had a Catholic scholarship.
“It’s fitting,” she said.
But students will have a tough act to follow. Father Buchanan graduated cum laude and magna cum laude in seminary and even dovetailed his theology and history licentiate programs.
But his mother told prospective students not to worry.
“Anything Scott liked he excelled in; if he didn’t like it, he just skimmed by,” she said. “He loved history, but not math.”
People who wish to donate to the Father Scott Buchanan Memorial Scholarship should contact Father Kendall at (843) 953-7692.