How Often Are Applicants Rejected From Seminary?

  • Thread starter Thread starter St.JohnVianney
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
S

St.JohnVianney

Guest
I’ve been thinking about the priesthood for some time, and I was wondering about how common it is for people to be denied from seminary.

What are some circumstances under which someone would be rejected by a seminary? Bad high school grades? Being a recent convert? Etc.

I can’t find much information on this topic so any response is appreciated. Thanks
 
Last edited:
You should locate a seminary near you and arrange to meet with the rector to ask such questions. No, bad high school grades and being a recent convert will not get you rejected.
 
It depends on the diocese and the vocations director. I’ve known some that would accept anyone with a pulse, and I know some that won’t even give you an application if they’re not sure you’d be a good fit.

Do you think there’s anything about yourself that might cause you to be rejected? Feel free to PM if you’d like.

-Fr ACEGC
 
It’s probably more a question for the Diocesan vocations director. It would be incredible unusual for a man to be accepted to the diocese and then not accepted to the seminary.
 
I was not able to go through RCIA this year because I had not discussed becoming Catholic with my parents until around Christmas, and I began attending mass and adoration after the new year. I am definitely going to do RCIA this coming cycle, and I plan to be confirmed in 2021.

This is one of my reservations with talking with my diocesan vocations director, because it seems a bit early for me to be considering the priesthood as seriously as I am, since I’m not even catholic yet.

That being said, ever since I started listening to homilies on the internet, and when I went to my first mass, I felt a strong sense that I wanted to do what those priests were doing.

I’m currently a sophomore in high school; therefore, if I apply to college seminary, I will have only been catholic for just over a year. This is mainly what worries me since I was raised in a relatively secularly-minded Presbyterian family, and I will not have had much experience in the life of the Church at this time.
 
Last edited:
St.JohnVianney said:
This is one of my reservations with talking with my diocesan vocations director, because it seems a bit early for me to be considering the priesthood as seriously as I am, since I’m not even catholic yet.
Click to expand...
You’re spot on there. Take your time, become Catholic, learn the Catholic “routine” and develop a good prayer life. All will happen in God’s time.
St.JohnVianney said:
I’m currently a sophomore in high school; therefore, if I apply to college seminary, I will have only been catholic for just over a year.
Click to expand...
You’re probably not going to be able to go into college seminary that soon after converting, particularly at your age.

I would say just to wait, take your time, become Catholic. You might have a vocation, and if so, that’s great. You might not, and this might just be the excitement of newly discovering the faith. One step at a time, my friend.

You are in my prayers.
 
Last edited:
A priest of my acquaintance told me he almost didn’t make it into seminary because of his age. He was then in his mid-thirties, and by the time he was ordained, he was over forty. The order, the SCJ, thought he was too old to be able to adapt to their specific discipline, but he made it in the end. One of his fellow seminarians was kicked out after a year or two because he was gay in a very overt, flamboyant way.
 
Though there are immediate obstacles, they are just that, immediate. At this point, it looks like they will not continue to be impediments in the future. It is not too early to begin discerning; discerning is a long process, anyway. Starting discernment now will put you in a position to enter the seminary when the impediments are resolved.
 
I don’t think that’s really the problem here, since the OP is in high school still. If he were to put off going to seminary another 10 years he’d get ordained at around the same age most men do. The numbers are trending younger, of course, and that’s a positive thing. But our friend here is a high school sophomore who is still a year away from being Catholic. Best to focus on what’s in front of oneself and not put the cart before the horse.
 
Not really, not that I’m aware of. I think the Legionnaries of Christ have high schools that sort of act as a feeder school for their seminaries, but I’m not aware of any high school seminary programs anywhere. I know my uncle went to one in Wheeling WV for two years back in the 60s.
 
St.JohnVianney said:
I’ve been thinking about the priesthood for some time, and I was wondering about how common it is for people to be denied from seminary.
Click to expand...
Serious character flaws, immaturity, psychological issues, personal debt, lack of life experience.
It’s not that common to be told “no way”. Usually they’ll tell you what they want to see before they’d accept you.

Same with religious orders. Though in my experience the Orders kind of get you to live with them for a while before they accept or reject you. That’s also to give you the opportunity to say “no, this isn’t for me.”
 
I recall touring a high school seminary back in jr high in the late 70s. They were taken by bus to a nearby Catholic high school.

They were encouraged to date (and I recall one mention that another kept a pihrana in his room!), so as to help discern.

I haven’t heard of any existing in years, though. (“minor seminary”?)

I think that it is typical these days for a seminary to want a college degree first. At ours (Pittsburgh), three is an extra year at the beginning if you don’t have a liberal arts degree, or a degree from a liberal arts college.
 
You can be rejected if you take medication for mental illness. I know someone who wanted to be an exorcist and couldn’t get far because although they had a lot of faith, the Pope said to turn away people with mental illness for the priesthood.
 
There are about as many reasons for why applicants get rejected as there are applicants who get rejected. There’s also an important distinction between deferral and denial = there are some applicants who aren’t suitable at the time they apply but might become suitable in time. Broadly speaking, an applicant needs to have a reasonable grounding in the faith (neophytes are expected to wait a few years for the “honeymoon period” to pass), be mature (physically and emotionally), be capable to undertaking university-level studies (GPA isn’t all that important), be of good character and in good health mentally and physically, have seriously discerned God’s call over a sustained period of time (at least a year) and have a desire to serve God’s people. Besides this, an applicant also needs to demonstrate stability - in the sense of committing to a course of action and maintaining that commitment. Somebody who’s just broken up with their fiance or had five jobs in the past two years is likely to raise red flags!

There are a few in some parts of the world like the Philippines and India iirc but not in countries like the US, Canada, Australia or New Zealand. The problem in the past was that they tended to produce priests who’d had a very sheltered existence for all or most of their teenage years and beyond which isn’t all that helpful when it comes to pastoral ministry. If anything,the trend (in the west at least) is for applicants to be older and have done something since finishing schol
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top