Age limit for priesthood?

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If I were to convert this Easter at age 31. Take a few years to establish myself in my Parish, make sure it’s not just convert zeal, and consider priesthood at say 33, would that be too old to start?

Is their an age limit to start seminary for priesthood?

Any priests here or should I ask an apologist?
 
Hopefully, someone else will post here. I am not a Catholic Priest. You will need to be a practicing Catholic for a couple of years before you become a priest. This is logical due to the fact that you would be a recent convert. Mid Thirties is not too old. There are much older Seminarians (in fact there is a link here for a seminary specializing in second vocations).

If you want to belong to an order (eg Carmelites, Benedictines) you will likely have a bit better luck being under 40.

What would I do?

i) Let my Priest know.

ii) Set up an appointment with my Bishop if I intended to be a diocesan priest. Get his guidance on the path to follow.

iii) If I intended to belong to an order start exploring and making contact with the order. Become associated.

iv) If you do not have you undergraduate degree begin working on it. Philosophy is a good major but there are others.

v) Start looking at seminaries.

When you are ready to start you will be ready. Building relationships is a good idea rather than showing up out of the clear blue in a couple of years. You are going to want to demonstrate a life that is devout and studious in terms of your faith. Also well rounded (i.e. stay active). It was so cool to see the picture of the Carmelite kayaking. Being a Priest does not mean (necessarily) sitting on a stone bench chanting. Jesus was dynamic and met people where they were. Watch out for temptations to sin but enjoy the life God has given you as a witness to your faith.

God’s blessing upon you!
 
Several years ago a man from my parish was ordained as a diocesan priest. His kids were all grown and his wife had passed away. He entered the seminary and was ordained while in his 50s.
 
Catholic90 said:
Several years ago a man from my parish was ordained as a diocesan priest. His kids were all grown and his wife had passed away. He entered the seminary and was ordained while in his 50s.
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Yes! It is the religious orders that tend to be a bit more restrictive due to obvious issues such as communal support. Diocese tend to be a little more generous where age is concerned.
 
Thank you for your answers.

I kind of feel two callings actually, Priesthood and Monastic.

I have a lot of praying to do.

I wish RCIA would hurry up and start already. 😦

What patience 🤷
 
Some college, no degree.

My major was history, I could probably finish a BA in two years.
 
CBS said:
Some college, no degree.

My major was history, I could probably finish a BA in two years.
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You are already on your way. A good idea to keep working towards your undergraduate degree. Here is what one seminary requires (the one the Pope just visited):

ny-archdiocese.org/seminary/st-josephs-seminary-dunwoodie/academic-information/
An applicant for admission ordinarily must have a Bachelor of Arts degree or its equivalent and have completed twenty-seven credits in approved Philosophy courses. These courses should cover the four major periods in Philosophy, i.e., Ancient, Medieval, Modern, and Contemporary Philosophy, as well as five systematic areas, i.e., the Philosophy of Man, Logic, General Ethics, Metaphysics, and the Philosophy of God. Candidates for admission are required to have taken at least nine credits of undergraduate theology, an overview course in Church History and six credits of Ecclesiastical Latin.
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Note there may be variations depending on the seminary AND I suspect there are provisions made for seminarians with degrees in Engineering and so on to make up missing background while in seminary so I would not would not worry too much. However, you will need to complete your BA for seminary entrance.
 
RevDrNorth said:
You are already on your way. A good idea to keep working towards your undergraduate degree. Here is what one seminary requires (the one the Pope just visited):

ny-archdiocese.org/seminary/st-josephs-seminary-dunwoodie/academic-information/

Note there may be variations depending on the seminary AND I suspect there are provisions made for seminarians with degrees in Engineering and so on to make up missing background while in seminary so I would not would not worry too much. However, you will need to complete your BA for seminary entrance.
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Thanks. 🙂
 
I was going to add that there may be some here that know of distance learning programs from Catholic Universities. The ones I know of are Masters level (eg Holy Apostles Seminary & Franciscan University).

holyapostles.edu/
franciscan.edu/home2/Content/main.aspx

Catholic Distance University has both a Bachelors and Masters. However, here I urge some caution. CDU is accredited by DETC accredited (a recognized accreditor) and is a Vatican recognized Catechetical Insititute. So some seminaries may recognize it and others may require your undergrad be from a Regionally Accredited school. The other thing is that if you decide after doing the BA you do not want to be a priest you will have limited some of your options not only because of the major but because it is DETC accredited (a number of Regionally accredited universities accept DETC but it is not universal). On the other hand it would be great in terms of understanding the Catholic Church and even learning some Latin. cdu.edu/index.asp

Your best bet is probably to meet all of the requirements at your local State University for the B.A. you require and at a reasonable cost.

Does anyone know of undergraduate Catholic distance learning programs that may help him?

Keep us posted on your journey!
 
CBS said:
If I were to convert this Easter at age 31. Take a few years to establish myself in my Parish, make sure it’s not just convert zeal, and consider priesthood at say 33, would that be too old to start?

Is their an age limit to start seminary for priesthood?

Any priests here or should I ask an apologist?
Click to expand...
There are some seminaries that specialize in later vocations, namely Blessed John XXIII in Massachusetts and Sacred Heart School of Theology in Wisconsin.

However, many other seminaries also accept older vocations…it’s mostly up to the dioceses.

If you want inspiration check this out this story of a 75 year old man just ordained in Michigan:

catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=26262

saginaw.org/blog/post/63
 
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