A national collection for the Catholic University of America raised $176,374 among Catholics of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, according to university President John Garvey.

He informed Archbishop Charles Chaput of the results of the annual collection in support of the university’s 6,000 students, including 313 from the archdiocese, in a letter dated March 20.

The donation will help CUA students “to obtain an education rooted in the Catholic intellectual tradition,” Garvey wrote.

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Of the 313 students from the Philadelphia Archdiocese attending CUA, 263 of them received financial aid, according to the letter. Overall, the university provided more than $5.1 million in aid to all students in the past fiscal year.

Garvey added that CUA alumni includes more than 12,000 priests and religious serving around the world who have trained at the Washington, D.C.-based university.

With the support from the nationwide diocesan collection, CUA endeavors “to offer our students every opportunity to be inspired by the light of God in all of our disciplines — whether they are studying theology or literature, business or engineering,” Garvey wrote. “We encourage them to live their faith, act with purpose, and challenge with reason. Your support enables us to prepare the next generation of leadership for our church and nation.”