FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:
Julia LeBlanc
415-215-6517
Jaleblan@loyno.edu

Sept. 15, 2026

Growing in Faith in the Age of AI: Loyola Institute for Ministry Awarded Lilly Endowment Planning Grant

Loyola initiative will explore how faith, spiritual practice, and Ignatian discernment can help young adults navigate an increasingly AI-driven world

NEW ORLEANS — The Loyola Institute for Ministry (LIM) at Loyola University New Orleans has been awarded a planning grant through Lilly Endowment Inc.’s Growing in Faith in the Age of Artificial Intelligence Initiative, an invitational initiative designed to help young adults engage questions of faith in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.

At a time when artificial intelligence is increasingly shaping how young people learn, communicate, form relationships, access information, and seek meaning, the grant will allow LIM to explore how faith formation can help young adults thoughtfully navigate both the opportunities and challenges presented by AI and other emerging technologies.

According to Lilly Endowment Inc., the initiative seeks to help young people “draw on the wisdom of Christian traditions and engage in spiritual practices to navigate the complexities of digital technologies, especially Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications, enhance their overall well-being and deepen their faith.”

Through the planning grant, LIM will undertake a period of listening, research, and collaboration focused on the ethical, spiritual, and relational dimensions of artificial intelligence. The institute will explore innovative approaches to faith formation that help young people develop the wisdom and spiritual grounding to engage emerging technologies while remaining attentive to questions of human dignity, Catholic Social Teaching, relationships, well-being, community, and faith.

The work aligns closely with LIM’s longstanding mission of preparing leaders for ministry through integrated theological reflection, practical application, and a commitment to serving the needs of the Church and society. For decades, LIM has equipped pastoral ministers, educators, and faith leaders to respond thoughtfully to changing social and cultural realities while remaining grounded in Catholic and Ignatian traditions.

Artificial intelligence presents a new and particularly consequential context for that mission. As AI becomes increasingly embedded in education, communication, work, and everyday life, LIM recognizes that preparing young people for the future involves more than teaching them how to use new technologies. It also requires creating opportunities to ask deeper questions about how those technologies influence human relationships, personal identity, decision-making, spiritual life, and our understanding of what it means to live well.

“Rooted in Loyola’s Jesuit commitment to educating the whole person, this project will help young adults develop the wisdom, resilience, and discernment to engage AI and emerging technologies responsibly,” said Tracey Lamont, Ph.D., director of the Loyola Institute for Ministry. “Our goal is to help them use technology in ways that strengthen faith, community, and human flourishing.”

The Lilly Endowment grant also comes amid a broader university-wide examination of the role artificial intelligence will play in the future of education.

In August, Loyola convened an invitation-only AI Braintrust Summit, bringing together leaders with experience across major technology, business, healthcare, and professional services organizations to engage university leadership in conversations about AI’s implications for teaching, learning, the workforce, and higher education.

The Braintrust is helping inform Loyola’s broader approach to becoming an AI-ready institution while remaining grounded in the values at the heart of Jesuit education. LIM’s Lilly Endowment-supported work adds an important dimension to that effort by focusing specifically on the spiritual formation and well-being of young adults.

“Artificial intelligence is not simply a technological development. It raises important questions about how we teach, learn, and remain centered on the human person,” said Erin Foster, Ph.D., vice provost for Teaching, Research, and Learning at Loyola University New Orleans. “These initiatives reflect Loyola’s commitment to approaching AI thoughtfully and responsibly, guided by our Jesuit values and a focus on human flourishing.”

For a Jesuit university, that means considering not only what AI can do, but how people should use it; how technology affects relationships and communities; how innovation can serve human dignity and the common good; and how faith and discernment can help the next generation navigate a rapidly changing world.

Through the Lilly Endowment planning grant, LIM will help bring those questions directly into the work of faith formation, exploring how the wisdom of Christian tradition and the practices of Ignatian discernment can equip young people to encounter an AI-shaped future with wisdom, resilience, purpose, and hope.

About the Loyola Institute for Ministry

The Loyola Institute for Ministry at Loyola University New Orleans provides graduate education and professional formation for individuals engaged in ministry and religious education. Rooted in Catholic and Ignatian traditions, LIM prepares leaders to integrate theological reflection, spiritual formation, and practical ministry in service to the Church and the wider world.

###

About Loyola University New Orleans
Loyola University New Orleans is a Jesuit, Catholic university located in the heart of New Orleans. Grounded in a tradition of academic excellence and a commitment to educating the whole person, Loyola prepares students to lead lives of purpose, service, and impact. Through a rigorous liberal arts foundation and a wide range of professional programs, Loyola equips graduates to think critically, act ethically, and contribute meaningfully to a global society. For more information, visit loyno.edu.

About Lilly Endowment Inc.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is a private foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff, and location.

In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education, and religion and maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana. A principal aim of the Endowment’s religion grantmaking is to deepen and enrich the lives of Christians in the United States, primarily by seeking out and supporting efforts that enhance the vitality of congregations and strengthen the pastoral and lay leadership of Christian communities.

The Endowment also seeks to improve public understanding of diverse religious traditions by supporting fair and accurate portrayals of the role religion plays in the United States and across the globe.

Academic excellence, service, justice, and a commitment to the whole person