Welcome to CDU

Since the close of the Second Vatican Council, the Church has proclaimed Christ's invitation to share actively in His mission and respond as mature adults to the universal call to holiness. In order to participate in the mission of Christ and the Church, we need to be formed by the Word of God through an authentic, systematic exploration of the mystery of Christ's love.

A deep hunger exists for the truth of Jesus Christ as transmitted by and through the Catholic Church. Many of us are searching for the Truth, for authentic teachings of the Church but doing so within the context of our particular life situations. In many cases, this limits our ability to utilize a traditional educational format.

At this crossroads between a desire for authentic teaching of the Church and the various limitations of our life situations, stands The Catholic Distance University. Founded in 1983 by Bishop Thomas J. Welsh of the Arlington Diocese, CDU has 25-years of experience using the distance learning format to systematically communicate the Truths of the Faith. In fact, we have more experience in delivering theology, faithful to the Magisterium, in the distance format than any other Catholic institution in the world.

Just as Jesus encountered people in the Gospels where they were and brought them into a new relationship with Him, so CDU is the means by which the Church can meet people where they are, not only physically but also emotionally and spiritually. Our programs, delivered in small classes, provide a forum for networking and collaboration, and respond to the spiritual dimension of the adult learner by offering the Church's rich two-thousand year spiritual patrimony of inspiring wisdom and writings.

A CDU education at any level is transformative -- our students are formed by the living word of God in Sacred Scripture, papal documents, and fidelity to magisterial teaching. Our students encounter Christ, the Word of God, and consciously grow in the life of Christ through reflection, prayer, study, and service.