Bishops' letter and seminary location

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4givemeasinner

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On all the applications for seminary, a letter from the bishop/vocation deirector is required. is this hard to get? how do you get it?

also, I am in the Archdiocese for the Military Services. My dad is stationed at Lackland AFB in San Antonio. I really do NOT want to go to the Seminary in in San Antonio. How do I get out to go to a seminary in, say, NY or boston?
 
4givemeasinner said:
On all the applications for seminary, a letter from the bishop/vocation deirector is required. is this hard to get? how do you get it?

It is very easy to get if they think that you are a good candidate. To convince them you have to interact with the vocation director for a while and if he thinks that you are ready then the interaction through the bishop will start. The bishop is the one that will decide which seminar is the appropriate one for you, of course he will ask you for your preferences.

also, I am in the Archdiocese for the Military Services. My dad is stationed at Lackland AFB in San Antonio. I really do NOT want to go to the Seminary in in San Antonio. How do I get out to go to a seminary in, say, NY or Boston?

Just because you think that you want to be a seminarian in a diocese that does not mean that you have to go to seminary in that state (e.g. TX) other accommodations are possible, the bishop might even send to to the North American College in Rome if you guys agree on that. However, if you want to be incardinated in a specific diocese then you need to contact the vocation director and bishop for that diocese well ahead of time.
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4givemeasinner said:
On all the applications for seminary, a letter from the bishop/vocation deirector is required. is this hard to get? how do you get it?

also, I am in the Archdiocese for the Military Services. My dad is stationed at Lackland AFB in San Antonio. I really do NOT want to go to the Seminary in in San Antonio. How do I get out to go to a seminary in, say, NY or boston?
Click to expand...
Please talk to your Military Chaplin and also say why you don’t want to be sent there. Military Chaplins are very good at listening and working ways through. Our new (well been with us a year) Priest was a Chaplin in various places before and he is the best at listening. 🙂
 
Priests are not priests in a vaccuum. If a man is going to seminary, it is with the end prospect of being a priest somewhere. And in order for that to happen, he needs the permission of the local bishop, which is ordinarily obtained through the diocesan Vocations Director. If a man wants to be a religious order priest, he’d need to go through the religious order.

So, yes, you need to talk to your Vocations Director. You can always start with your local priest, but at some point you’ll need to make that contact.

As far as where you’ll go to seminary, that’s not always entirely up to you. Some dioceses have diocesan seminaries where all their seminarians go. Other dioceses send their seminarians to a handful of specific seminaries. You can always make your request known, but in the end it is up to the bishop where you’ll go (and up to the bishop as to whether you’ll be ordained). Being a priest involves obedience. It starts at the beginning of the formation process.

For the Archdiocese of Military Services, I’m not exactly sure where they send their seminarians, but I would be surprised if where your family was stationed had anything to do with it. It seems more likely they’d send their seminarians to Washington DC or Baltimore as that is close to where the archdiocese is (more or less) “based”. But, again, this is something the Vocations Director could answer for you and to whom you could make your request known.

There is lots of info and an FAQ on the Vocations website for the Archdiocese:

Office of Vocations

God bless you in your discernment.
 
Here are some suggestions for 4givemeasinner:

If the OP is affiliated with the Archdiocese for the Military Services, my understanding is that he will have to be accepted by a diocese or a religious order before beginning college seminary, and later major seminary. The Archdiocese for the Military Services has a co-sponsorship program, since their priests come from dioceses and religious orders in the United States. Most go to the seminary where their diocesan bishop (or religious superior) sends them.

Ask the OP if he has met with a vocation director for a diocese, and has started the application process. The process is pretty extensive. Several dioceses have certain seminaries where they send their candidates for formation. Things like age, previous college, and those already having a college degree come to mind. You could get sent to an 8 year seminary, or to a college seminary.

If the OP is a military dependent (which this sounds like), if there is any place that you have previously lived, you might want to consider making application to another diocese (particularly if you liked the other location better), or a place where you have relatives (say, maybe your father’s hometown).

If you attend Mass at the base chapel at Lackland (my memory is there were several chapels at Lackland that were numbered), talk to the Priest-Chaplain on the base. I’m sure he could make some time to visit with you about the Archdiocese for the Military Services.

This may be an earful, but I hope these suggestions help.
 
If the OP is affiliated with the Archdiocese for the Military Services, my understanding is that he will have to be accepted by a diocese or a religious order before beginning college seminary, and later major seminary. The Archdiocese for the Military Services has a co-sponsorship program, since their priests come from dioceses and religious orders in the United States.

Ask the OP if he has met with a vocation director for a diocese, and has started the application process. The process is pretty extensive. Several dioceses have certain seminaries where they send their candidates for formation. Things like age, previous college, and those already having a college degree come to mind. You could get sent to an 8 year seminary, or to a college seminary.

If the OP is a military dependent (which this sounds like), if there is any place that you have previously lived, you might want to consider making application to another diocese (particularly if you liked the other location better), or a place where you have relatives (say, maybe your father’s hometown).

This may be an earful, but I hope these suggestions help.
 
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