Sixth edition of priestly formation change 

Helping seminarians in their human formation

Seminarians of the Diocese of Sioux City. Missing: Thomas Kollasch who is studying in Rome.

By RENEE WEBB
Content and Design Coordinator
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            Seminarians of the Diocese of Sioux City headed off for studies this fall as they always have, but this year they are doing so in the scope of a revised Program of Priestly Formation.
            In a June 2023 memo to diocesan clergy from Father Shane Deman, diocesan director of seminarians and vice rector of Kenrick-Glennon Seminary, he explained that the U.S. bishops had released the sixth edition of the Program of Priestly Formation a year earlier and it was set for implementation at the start of this academic year.
            “Recent decades have seen priestly formation unfold according to philosophy studies in college seminary or in a pre-theology program, followed by theology studies in a graduate seminary program,” he explained. “However, the church is now embracing a new structure of seminary formation.”

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Vocations Office webpage

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Four stages

The stages include:
            Propaedeutic Stage – preparation period for greater self-awareness through personal healing and development of prayer for a minimum of one year.
            Discipleship Stage – period of greater self-acceptance with evidence of a life of virtue and philosophy studies.
            Configuration Stage – period of greater self-possession, along with growth in evangelization / catechesis skills and theological studies.
            Vocational Synthesis Stage – period of a man’s diaconal service as a cleric and integration into a presbyterate and parish ministry.
            “Men who are applying to seminary have different needs than in previous generations and the updated plans for formation are designed to respond to these needs,” said Father Deman.
He pointed out that many men feel a draw toward the seminary with perhaps an inadequate prayer life, little support from family members or friends along with carrying wounds inflicted by today’s culture through pornography and drug/alcohol abuse.
“To help better equip these seminarians in their human formation and basic understanding of our Catholic tradition, the church is asking that men first enter a propaedeutic experience as a means of preparation before philosophy studies are begun,” said the director of seminarians. “This change is to help facilitate a smoother transition out of a busy, technology-driven culture and into a period of greater self-awareness and self-acceptance before launching into formal studies.”
The Diocese of Sioux City presently has three seminarians in the propaedeutic stage – two in the initial propaedeutic stage and another in propaedeutic two.
Brian Schmit of Hospers applied for the seminary after his first year of college. He is in the propaedeutic stage and is studying at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in Winona, Minnesota. He said he has found value in this stage.
“I think overall I have more time for true discernment about the vocation of the priesthood through daily Mass, prayer and the Liturgy of the Hours,” said the seminarian. “Just being around other guys who are serious about the faith and are also discerning the vocation of the priesthood is helpful because we can help each other out in our journeys.”
Schmit has also found it helpful to be able to talk things through with the formators and a spiritual advisor.
During this stage, formation focuses particularly on the human and spiritual dimensions, which “allows the seminarians to lay a foundation for a new way of life by developing a life of prayer, study, fraternity and appropriate docility to formation.” (Program of Priestly Formation 120)
The diocesan seminarian said he found it helpful to arrive in Winona in July and get used to seminary life before classes started.

Building a foundation
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     Given that this stage lays a strong foundation on which priestly formation will rest, all who enter seminary take part in the propaedeutic stage whether they entered seminary right out of high school, during or after college or from the workforce.
     “It is often difficult for men to leave a career and jump immediately into philosophy studies within the first year of formation,” acknowledged Father Deman. “The propaedeutic stage will help men make the transition more easily into seminary, helping them grow in greater self-awareness and establish a better prayer life so as to discern the voice of God more carefully.”
     The director of seminarians said he has already noticed that this new preparatory stage has helped to accelerate how the new seminarians bring formation issues to the surface so as to grow in greater self-acceptance.
“What often took many months to realize in previous years is being addressed in the initial weeks,” said the director of seminarians, who noted that not having the philosophy classes right away allows them to have “better self-introspection.” Coursework is limited so they have more time for self-awareness.
     He anticipates that those in the other stages of priestly formation will benefit greatly in the coming years thanks to the work being done in the propaedeutic stage.
     Another of the greatest changes to the priestly formation process comes in the vocational synthesis stage when the transitional deacon has time to integrate into a life of parish ministry and gain a better understanding of the life of a priest.
     “The church recognizes that many newly ordained priests struggle to enter into the life of their diocese when exiting seminary, particularly if they become pastors within a couple of years of their ordination,” said Father Deman. “To better facilitate this transition, the church is now requiring that a deacon serve full-time in a parish for a minimum of six months following the completion of his seminary studies, prior to his priestly ordination.”
     Doing so, he explained not only puts greater emphasis on the nature of the diaconate as a ministry of service, but also allows “a man to fully understand the rhythm of parish life and rectory living prior to petitioning for ordination to the priesthood and entry into the presbyterate.”
At Kenrick, Father Deman said they plan to implement the vocational synthesis stage in the spring of 2026.
     Overall, the stages may take several years to implement fully in various seminaries and dioceses.

This article originally appeared in the Vocations Awareness Week edition of The Lumen.

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