Daniel Conway named Distinguished Alumnus at Saint Meinrad

Benedictine Father Denis Robinson, president-rector of Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology in St. Meinrad, left, congratulates Daniel Conway on Aug. 5 after he received the Distinguished Alumnus Award at Saint Meinrad. Pictured at right is Father Matt Gerlach of the Diocese of Tulsa, Okla., who is the president of the Saint Meinrad Alumni Association Board of Directors. (Photo courtesy of Saint Meinrad Archabbey)

Criterion staff report

ST. MEINRAD—Daniel Conway, an alumnus of Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology, was honored on Aug. 5 with the Distinguished Alumnus Award at the annual Saint Meinrad Alumni Reunion.

Conway, who now lives in Louisville, Ky., is a longtime editorial writer for The Criterion and serves as a consultant for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. He first arrived at the former Saint Meinrad College in 1967 as a freshman. During the next two decades, he would study in the college and School of Theology, spend time in the monastery and serve in its development office before embarking on a lifelong mission to promote stewardship as a spiritual practice and professional discipline within the Church.

“He has not only worked in Christian stewardship for nearly 50 years; he has taught it, written about it, counseled others about it and, most importantly, lived it,” says Dan Schipp, former vice president for development at Saint Meinrad.

The Distinguished Alumnus Award honors alumni who exemplify Gospel values and have demonstrated exceptional service in their lives and professions. Conway is the 35th recipient of this award.

Conway was thrilled with the honor, especially considering the impact that Saint Meinrad has had on his life.

“Even though it became clear during my time here that I did not have a monastic vocation or a vocation to the priesthood, the way of life that’s lived here really did form me,” Conway says. “Everything that I have, and everything that I’ve done or accomplished since I left here, was made possible by the formation here.”

The literary and liberal arts education he received at the college taught Conway how to think critically and write well. The education he received in the School of Theology was equally formative, but in a specialized way, so that his whole career has been focused on the Church. And his work in the development office taught him planning and discipline, skills he later used while working with dioceses, religious communities and seminaries across the country.

“You could say that I work in secular fields—the development and communications fields—but my emphasis, and certainly all of my writing, is strongly influenced by the studies I did here in theology,” he explains.

After leaving Saint Meinrad, Conway began a career that would span dioceses, religious communities, seminaries and Catholic institutions nationwide. He worked as a development officer, consultant, speaker and author—always rooted in the Benedictine values and theological foundation he received at Saint Meinrad. Since 2019, he has continued this work as an independent consultant and freelance writer.

Conway returned to Saint Meinrad in 1979 to serve in the development office as director of planned giving, director of development and as vice president for development. He built upon the vision of his predecessor, John S. MacCauley, by integrating communications with fundraising and establishing a values-centered approach to advancement that still influences the institution today.

In 1988, Conway became the chief planning and development officer for the Archdiocese of Louisville. Responding to pastors’ interest in stewardship, he developed a comprehensive education program, which he later implemented in the archdioceses of Indianapolis and Chicago. His work led him to a national consulting firm, where he helped dioceses throughout the country develop stewardship programs.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Conway served as an advisor to an ad hoc committee created by the U.S. bishops to study the issue of stewardship, working closely with then-Seattle Archbishop Thomas J. Murphy, who was passionate about stewardship. They traveled across the country and gave talks together on the subject.

“When I did my own consulting work, in my own way, and since then, I’ve tried to carry on what Archbishop Murphy began, carrying the stewardship message,” he says.

Conway is unique among those who teach stewardship because he also has a professional fundraising perspective. Throughout his career, he has taught that the spirituality of stewardship needs to be integrated with the practice of professional fundraising.

“The more we understand that everything we are and everything we have are a pure gift from God, and the more we recognize that our role is to share generously the gifts that God has shared generously with us, the happier we are, and the less we are burdened by obligations, anxieties and fears,” he says. “Stewardship is a form of spirituality that’s particularly appropriate for us laypeople, and it gives us a way to live that experiences the joy of the Gospel.”

In addition to speaking engagements, Conway has taught stewardship as an internationally recognized author, publisher and freelance writer. Since 1988, he has written more than 200 articles and published four books on the theology and practice of Christian stewardship: Advancing the Mission of the Church; What Do I Own and What Owns Me?: A Spirituality of Stewardship; Stewardship in America; and Stewards of Joy. He has also published A Communion of Saints: Dreams of Happiness on the Road to Life, The Benedictine Way, and four books of historical fiction centered on the life and ministry of a Sicilian-American priest in St. Louis, Msgr. Salvatore E. Polizzi (aka Father Turiddu).

He helped develop The Case for Investment in Theological Education, an Association of Theological Schools publication, and was the principal writer of Stewardship and Development in Catholic Parishes and Dioceses, a resource manual for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Conway’s lifelong dedication to teaching and promoting Christian stewardship is deeply rooted in the formation, education and Benedictine influence he received at Saint Meinrad—a place that shaped his understanding of mission and prepared him to be sent out into the world.

“Although I would say I loved it here, I wasn’t called to stay here,” explains Conway as he reflects on his time at Saint Meinrad. “I was called to come here and be formed here so that I could be sent out. It’s very much like the Mass. We come together, we experience the body and blood of Christ, we receive Christ, and then he sends us out.” †