Conception Seminary College holds annual Alumni Reunion

Conception Seminary College honors Mr. Brian Bergkamp with Distinguished Alumni Award

Mr. and Mrs. Ned and Teresa Bergkamp of Cheney, Ks. and family receive the Distinguished Alumni Award in honor of their son, Mr. Brian Bergkamp of the CSC Class of 2014, who passed away while saving a woman from drowning on the Arkansas River.

115 alumni attended the annual Alumni Reunion held September 22-23 on the campus of Conception Seminary College in Conception, Mo. Attendees of note were the class of 1967 who celebrated the 50th anniversary of their graduation.

During the weekend, alumni attended a presentation by Fr. Paul Turner of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph entitled “Overflowing: Communion from the Tabernacle at the Roman Catholic Mass.” Alumni also joined seminarians and the monastic community for the traditional alumni Eucharistic celebration at which the Distinguished Alumni Award was presented.

This year’s Distinguished Alumni Award was presented posthumously to Mr. Brian Bergkamp of the CSC Class of 2014. Mr. Bergkamp, of the Diocese of Wichita in Kansas, was honored for the heroic virtue he displayed when on July 9, 2016, he offered his life to save a young woman from drowning on the Arkansas River. While rescuing the woman, Mr. Bergkamp was swept away by the waters, and his body was recovered a few days later. Mr. Bergkamp’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ned and Teresa Bergkamp, and his siblings received the award in his honor.

Fr. Brendan Moss, O.S.B., President-Rector of Conception Seminary College spoke of the heroic virtue of many of the alumni of the college including Mr. Bergkamp.

“At Conception [Seminary College], we are blessed with a number of alumni who, as a result of loving the Lord, have given everything to the Lord, even their lives…Brian gave his life that another might live. Brian was a man—a disciple—of heroic virtue, and we honor his act of total self-donation.”

During the weekend, alumni also elected a new Board of Directors to the Alumni Association and elected new officers. Among those elected were:

• President: Mr. James (Jim) Kopp, Sr. ’71, Overland Park, Ks.
• Vice President: Mr. Anthony (Tony) Cordaro ’71, Conroe, Tx.
• Secretary: Mr. Michael (Mike) O’Hare ’66, Atchison, Ks.
• Treasurer: Mr. Greg Kratofil, Sr. ’71, Overland Park, Ks.