Seminary Formation

Seminary formation is commonly misunderstood as being a place where men who have decided to become a priest go and become priests. While this is partially true, the truth is that seminary formation is a place to discern God's will for your life. Deciding to enter seminary in no way means that you will end up a priest. Discerning God's will for your life requires a deepening of prayer to be able to listen to His voice. Seminary formation fosters this sense of prayer, allowing one to discover his vocation. The Program for Priestly Formation (PPF) says, "The goal is the development NOT just of a well-rounded person, a prayerful person, or an experienced pastoral practitioner, but rather one who understands his spiritual development within the context of his call to service in the Church, his human development within the greater context of his call to advance the mission of the Church, his intellectual development as the appropriation of the Church’s teaching and tradition, and his pastoral formation as participation in the active ministry of the Church." (PPF72.)

SAINT JOSEPH SEMINARY COLLEGE

Saint Benedict, Louisiana

Saint Joseph Seminary College is a community of faith and learning in the liberal arts rooted in the Benedictine tradition that promotes the development of the whole person. The formation program fosters the commitment of seminarians to the Roman Catholic priesthood in accordance with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Program of Priestly Formation. The Seminary College also supports preparation for service in lay ministries and makes available its educational and other resources to the local community.

Saint Joseph Seminary College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award the Bachelor of Arts Degree. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Saint Joseph Seminary College. The Seminary College course of training also fulfills the requirements of ecclesiastical norms and offers a major in Philosophy and the Liberal Arts or in Philosophy and Theological Studies.

NOtre Dame Theological Seminary

New Orleans, Louisiana

From its establishment as a free-standing seminary in 1923 by the Archdiocese of New Orleans, Notre Dame Seminary has as its primary mission the preparation of men for the ministerial priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church. The seminary, through an integrated and balanced program of priestly formation, seeks to prepare competent pastors for the Church in the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd. Additionally, in order to foster a broader outreach in service to the needs of the local Church, the seminary offers educational and formational opportunities to other applicants.

As a graduate school of theology, the seminary offers those preparing for the priesthood a Master of Divinity degree program of study. A pre-theology program is also offered to prepare seminarians for entry into this graduate theology program. Additional degree programs are offered to applicants seeking to deepen their understanding of the Catholic intellectual tradition for leadership in the Church.

While primarily preparing men to serve as priests in the southern region of the United States, Notre Dame Seminary participates in the missionary activity of the Church by promoting a spirit of mission among its candidates for priesthood and by assisting certain missionary dioceses in other areas of the world.

The Pontifical North American College

Rome, Italy

The prospect of living and studying in Rome offers an environment that is replete with unique opportunities that enhances the personal preparation of one who is aspiring to priesthood. The experience of separation from the people, places and things of home helps to lay bare deeper resources of self-confidence, calls for a more intimate reliance on the Lord, and forges strong bonds of support among faculty and students. The life of prayer and study in Rome, as well as the chance for periodic European travel, tend to deepen not only the seminarian’s theological education but also his vision of self, the Church and the world.

The seminary community is currently composed of students sponsored by dioceses from across the United States and Australia who devote ­themselves to personal formation for priestly ministry under the attentive guidance, supervision and evaluation of a formation faculty of priests and religious.

In this house of formation, seminarians deepen their awareness of the meaning and challenges of priesthood through their theological studies, through prayerful reflection on the revealed Word of God and the Tradition of the Church and its meaning for the modern world, as well as through a variety of pastoral service opportunities.