Priesthood Formation

Vision of Formation Human Formation Spiritual Formation Academic Formation Pastoral Formation Propaedeutic Year Program Overview Academics Spirituality Ministry Pilgrimages How to Apply Cost and Finances FAQs Contact Us
seminarian praying

A Year of Discernment

Spend a year learning about Catholic culture, spirituality and the vocation of priesthood.

Apply for El Camino

Every Wednesday will be dedicated to enriching students' appreciation for the history and vision of the Church's social teaching and concretely living out that vision of solidarity, service and the common good.

Morning classes will engage the prophetic and visionary dimensions of both the ancient and modern social teaching traditions. Afternoons/evenings will be devoted to ministry service at urban and rural locations throughout the greater region.

Morning classes will include ministry reflection sessions that allow students to draw linkages between their studies and lived experiences in service to the people of God.

Selected Topics

  • The spiritual and pastoral dimensions of the Beatitudes
  • Martyrs and saints as models
  • The corporal works of mercy
  • Subsidiarity, solidarity, and community
  • Catholic Rites, East and West
  • Multicultural experiences of Catholicism in the U.S., present and past
  • The Dignity of Women, Men and Family in the Life of the Church
  • Secularism

Supervised Social Ministry Sites

Ministry sites will include:

  • Prison ministry

  • Soup kitchens

  • Hospitality and homelessness - women and children

  • Ministry to the elderly