If I take Latin in high school, do I have to take it in Seminary?

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Just a theoretical question.
Lets say I took the full course of Latin in High school…
Then I enter Seminary, would I have to take Latin again?
 
JD27076 said:
Just a theoretical question.
Lets say I took the full course of Latin in High school…
Then I enter Seminary, would I have to take Latin again?
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Depends on the rector, and the seminary.

Quite a few seminary programs these days omit Latin/Greek entirely.
 
Est optima semper discere Latina!

By the way I am so glad you are being confirmed this Easter. God bless you!
 
Lamentation said:
Depends on the rector, and the seminary.

Quite a few seminary programs these days omit Latin/Greek entirely.
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Seems sort of like asking “If I get my head shaved before entering the military will they still give me a hair cut in Boot Camp?” ( I did and they did!🤷)
 
Lamentation said:
Quite a few seminary programs these days omit Latin/Greek entirely.
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The Pope has written in Universae Ecclesiae:
Ordinaries are asked to offer their clergy the possibility of acquiring adequate preparation for celebrations in the forma extraordinaria. This applies also to Seminaries, where future priests should be given proper formation, including study of Latin[8] and, where pastoral needs suggest it, the opportunity to learn the forma extraordinaria of the Roman Rite.
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We should hope that all bishops comply with the Pope’s request and that seminary programs without Latin soon disappear.

My own diocese has restored its Latin requirements and I am teaching Latin to some young men who are discerning vocations and want to get a head start in Latin.

In response to the OP, high school courses tend to move at a slower pace than post-secondary ones. You would probably need to do two or three years of high school Latin to cover the material they do in one year at seminary. Also, if the Latin you take in high school is Classical Latin, you will need to learn about the differences between it and Ecclesiastical Latin. The pronunciation is different and the vocabulary has some shifts in meaning.
 
JD27076 said:
Just a theoretical question.
Lets say I took the full course of Latin in High school…
Then I enter Seminary, would I have to take Latin again?
Click to expand...
It would most likely depend on a number of things.

First, would a college accept this and not require you to take a language at the college level?

Is this classical or ecclesiastical Latin?

You most likely would have to take a test to test out of the required course.

My “seminary” did not require Latin and I do not have it but my school is closing and I am transferring to the program at Catholic University and they require one semester of it, so I will be taking it next year.
 
Answer is “it depends”. Seminary is some ways is similar to any college – they each have their own specific requirements for what a course includes and the level of proficiency you have to show to get out of it. So, if you take Spanish in highschool will you have to take it in college? If your college requires a language for your degree program, they will decide if the level of apptitude you show is sufficent. If the program requires multiple years of college (advanced) language, probably even 4 years of high school language isn’t going to be enough.
Take Latin in high school if you’d like, then see what happens when you get to seminary and take more if necessary.
 
Mrs_Sally said:
Take Latin in high school if you’d like, then see what happens when you get to seminary and take more if necessary.
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I agree with this. Even if you end up needing to do more Latin in seminary, it will be far easier if you have already got a start on it. The earliest stages of studying Latin involve a lot of rote memorization. It is better to get as much of this done as possible before having to juggle it with the seminary course load.
 
As others have said, it depends. If you join the FSSP, they’ll probably still have you learn another Latin course. By the end of your seven years in their Seminary, even if you didn’t know one Latin word when you entered, you are able to speak Latin fluently as if you’ve spoken it all your life. I think it’s safe to say that most common Latin courses are not quite this detailed. However, since it is not a requirement for Diocesan Priests anymore, it would most likely depend on whether you wanted to or on your Diocese. If your Diocese is huge on the EF, you’ll most likely learn it. If there’s not one Latin Mass in the Diocese they probably wouldn’t make you worry about it.
 
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