Stages of Seminary
- Propaedeutic Stage:Men are introduced to the seminary spiritual life and grow in self-knowledge and self-awareness.
- Discipleship: Men study philosophy to understand the relationship between faith and reason. Through communal and private prayer, they become more open to the Holy Spirit’s call to a lifelong commitment to the priesthood.
- Configuration: Men become configured to Christ as servant leaders in both the seminary and parish life. Seminarians in this stage study graduate level theology to search for an ever-deeper knowledge of the Divine Mysteries.
- Vocational Synthesis (transitional deacons): As deacons, men work to overcome human fears and grow in self-confidence as ordained ministers of the Church.
Installation of Ministries
Seminarians progress through several formal steps on their way to priesthood, typically in the timeframe presented below (with some variations, depending on the seminary). Note that the first two ministries are also held by lay people throughout the Church.
- Admission to Candidacy: A man is formally called by a bishop to be ordained.
- Ministry of Lector: A man can proclaim the Word of God in a liturgical assembly.
- Ministry of Acolyte: A man can assist the deacon and priest during Mass.
- Ordination to Diaconate: A man is ordained to proclaim the Gospel at Mass, preach, baptize, witness marriages, and assist the priest in bringing Jesus to people in need.
- Ordination to Priesthood: A man is ordained to the priesthood of Jesus Christ.
The seminary is the place where a man is formed mind, body, and soul into the image of Jesus Christ.
Seminaries are not places where men walk around in silence all day chanting in Latin. Rather, they are places of joy, fraternity, and deep learning!
To become a Catholic priest, historically a man must fulfill three basic requirements: a college degree, two years of philosophy study, and four years of theology study. There are significant changes evolving in priestly formation at present, including a propadeutic (preparatory) year and a vocational synthesis stage.
Some men enter seminary while still in college and so they attend college seminary. Once they get a degree, they can enter to major seminary. What is daily life like for a typical seminarian? In a word: busy.
Because the demands of priesthood are so great, formation of future priests is rigorous. In addition to master’s-level academics, seminarians pray together at least twice a day, go to daily Mass, meet with their spiritual directors every two weeks, and go to pastoral assignments at local parishes.
Plus there are special meetings, workshops, and homework.
Four Pillars of Priestly Formation
Being a priest is not a job: it is a taking on a new identity; it is becoming alter Christus, another Christ. To this end, the Church requires rigorous formation in four key areas:
- Human formation: learning how to form the future priests’ personality to be a bridge to Christ; how to be an effective public spokesperson for the Church.
- Spiritual formation: developing a deep and mature relationship with Christ through prayer and virtuous living.
- Intellectual formation: understanding the truths of the Faith and cultivating the skills to teach the Faith to others.
- Pastoral formation: learning how to be a “shepherd of souls,” helping parishioners through the joys and trials of life. During their formation, seminarians learn to put Christ first in all things.