Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest

  • Thread starter Thread starter Dempsey1919
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
D

Dempsey1919

Guest
I have recently discovered the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest. The ICRSS seems like a great priestly institute and if the Lord is calling me to the priesthood, I would definitely consider the Institute. The only knowledge I have of the Institute is what I have learned by reading their website and wikipedia.

Have you had any personal experiences with the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest? What do you think about the ICRSS? Are you currently discerning a vocation with the ICRSS? Do you attend an ICRSS parish? I would love to hear your thoughts about the ICRSS, even if you haven’t had the opportunity to attend their parishes.

Thanks
 
Dempsey1919 said:
I have recently discovered the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest. The ICRSS seems like a great priestly institute and if the Lord is calling me to the priesthood, I would definitely consider the Institute. The only knowledge I have of the Institute is what I have learned by reading their website and wikipedia.

Have you had any personal experiences with the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest? What do you think about the ICRSS? Are you currently discerning a vocation with the ICRSS? Do you attend an ICRSS parish? I would love to hear your thoughts about the ICRSS, even if you haven’t had the opportunity to attend their parishes.

Thanks
Click to expand...
I have also been searching for anecdotal accounts on the Institute. Any firsthand info would be greatly appreciated.
 
I’ve been to The Shrine of Christ the King in Chicago several times and talked to one of their preists before, though mostly we talked about the Extraordinary Form of the Mass rather then the Institute in specific and I cannot really tell you anything about them that you wouldn’t be able to read on their website. There are some other men there who are not priests but I am not sure what their title would be. All in all it is a beautiful church that they are rennovating after it was damaged by a fire and they all seemed like very gracious and holy men. All but one of the Extaordinary Masses I have been to have been at the Shrine of Christ the King so I cannot really compare it too much with any other EFM. It is a very welcoming but quiet group, people don’t really chat much but it does not feel cliquish at all.
 
I have also been searching for anecdotal accounts on the Institute. Any firsthand info would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
There is a lot of information on the Institute’s website, but I think anecdotal accounts would paint a better picture of the ICRSS. I would love to hear the account of a seminarian because he could tell us what it is like at the seminary.

I have read that the language of the ICRSS is French and that all non-French speakers are required to attend pre-seminary for one year in order to learn the basics of the language. I love the idea of learning a second language but I think it would be extremely difficult to take lessons in theology and philosophy in French; these are difficult subjects and learning them in a foreign language seems impossible; I also think learning Latin in French would be very hard; I would have to translate the Latin into French and then into English.

Another problem I have is that I am English and the ICRSS does not have a presence in the UK. The only English speakers appear to be Americans who go to pre-Seminary in the USA. What would happen if I decided to become a priest of the ICRSS? Would I have to go to the USA first and enrol through the USA province?

Furthermore, how does one go about applying to the ICRSS? Is the selection process difficult? Do many people get rejected? What advice could you give to enhance my chances of being accepted?

Lastly, it costs $900 per term at the Seminary of St. Philip Neri in Florence. How do seminarians get this money? What happens if they cannot afford the fees?
 
Dempsey1919 said:
I have read that the language of the ICRSS is French and that all non-French speakers are required to attend pre-seminary for one year in order to learn the basics of the language. I love the idea of learning a second language but I think it would be extremely difficult to take lessons in theology and philosophy in French; these are difficult subjects and learning them in a foreign language seems impossible; I also think learning Latin in French would be very hard; I would have to translate the Latin into French and then into English.
Click to expand...
I am not positive but I believe that the language of the Institue is both French and English, as in someone who only spoke French would learn English as well. I do remember hearing French at the Shrine of Christ the King so it is something they speak to eachother on a regular basis. As for your other questions I would reccomend contacting a member of the Institute, info@institute-christ-king.org seems to be their main contact information from the website.
 
Dempsey1919 said:
There is a lot of information on the Institute’s website, but I think anecdotal accounts would paint a better picture of the ICRSS. I would love to hear the account of a seminarian because he could tell us what it is like at the seminary.
Click to expand...
The beauty of studying phil/theo in other languages is that because of the rich intellectual climate of Continental Europe during the 19th century, I have a feeling most of the ‘terms’ are either cognates or at least have common Latin roots. The actual technical vocabulary might be less difficult than less conspicuous things.

The problem is, ICRSS isn’t quite a missionary institute and it is not quite a diocesan assignment, so if you are assigned overseas, I feel it would be hard to serve well in a European parish–their faith is already declining, and those that continue to maintain it might be overly conservative/xenophobic. For instance, I’ve seen videos on youtube.com of one of the monsignors who founded ICRSS–they are obviously very devoted priests, but their manner is slightly alienating to US parishioners. Thankfully, the EFM is in Latin.

In terms of financial aid, I don’t believe this will be an obstacle to your acceptance. There are links everywhere on all of their pages to support seminarians/donate this/donate that, and they even state explicitly that they will not turn anyone away. The 900$ per term figure is probably a general cost estimate that they present in order to demonstrate how expensive it is to train a priest… thereby encouraging donations.

You should probably call/write/and e-mail the US district office with your questions. I e-mail them roughly every week, and so far they haven’t gotten back to me. :confused: (therefore, write/call)
 
BenedictusMaria said:
Hmmm, I don’t quite see how that is linked with the ICRSS. Could you elaborate?
Click to expand...
He’s a traditionalist priest in Chicago at a ‘Shrine of Christ the King’… I might be wrong, but isn’t that the major Shrine that they have in the US district?
 
JohnSanzone5 said:
He’s a traditionalist priest in Chicago at a ‘Shrine of Christ the King’… I might be wrong, but isn’t that the major Shrine that they have in the US district?
Click to expand...
Problem is that he is not identified as a ICRSS priest and it says that the Archdiocese paid out in a civil suit, if he was an ICRSS priest they would have also been named in the suit and would have had to pay out.

Must also add that they said the sexual abuse allegations are from 1986 and the ICRSS was not formed until 1990.

So either he is a diocesen priest who later joined the ICRSS or he helps them out at their shrine.

Anyways, even if he is a member of the ICRSS this story has no bearing on the community and is just a distraction.
 
JohnSanzone5 said:
He’s a traditionalist priest in Chicago at a ‘Shrine of Christ the King’… I might be wrong, but isn’t that the major Shrine that they have in the US district?
Click to expand...
Just a coincidence. Same name, different church. This is the ICRSS’ Shrine in Chicago.
 
Wow, sorry, I knew that those antics seemed below the ICRSS. It is also a really serious charge for me to insinuate, so I apologize. It just seemed like all of the details lined up and pointed to the ICRSS.
 
Hello,

Abbé Joel Estrada gave two presentations last year at the St. Margaret Mary apostolate in Oakland, California, and they’re posted on YouTube. They treat on similar themes, but I’d especially recommend the July 28, 2009 one, b/c he gives a rundown of the schedule of a seminarian, and also gives more info about their classes at Gricigliano.

Just do a search for:
“Life & Spirituality at the ICRSS Seminary”

or follow this link:
youtube.com/results?search_query=%22Life+%26+Spirituality+at+the+ICRSS+Seminary%22&aq=f

Best wishes and prayers for your vocations!
amsjj 🙂

+++

Jesus God and man,
imprisoned by love in Thy most holy Sacrament,
have mercy upon us.
– Venerable John Henry Newman, December 22, 1851
(LD, XIV, 511).
 
Thanks! I’ll definitely watch those presentations by Abbe Joel Estrada.

Why are the priests of the Institute referred to as “Abbe” instead of Father?
 
JohnSanzone5 said:
Wow, sorry, I knew that those antics seemed below the ICRSS. It is also a really serious charge for me to insinuate, so I apologize. It just seemed like all of the details lined up and pointed to the ICRSS.
Click to expand...
Even if he was an ICRSS priest this would say nothing about the ICRSS as a group.
 
Dempsey1919 said:
Thanks! I’ll definitely watch those presentations by Abbe Joel Estrada.

Why are the priests of the Institute referred to as “Abbe” instead of Father?
Click to expand...
Before ordination, they’re called Abbé, but I don’t know when that begins. Once they are ordained, they are properly addressed as “Canon”, not “Father”. That started in 2008; here’s a link with more info:
ourparishtoo.blogspot.com/2008/12/priests-of-institute-of-christ-king.html

take care,
amsjj 🙂

+++

Jesus God and man,
imprisoned by love in Thy most holy Sacrament,
have mercy upon us.
– Venerable John Henry Newman, December 22, 1851
(LD, XIV, 511).
 
What sort of duties do the priests of the Institute engage in after they are ordained?

I am an Englishman but the Institute does not have a presence in my country. What would happen to me if I became a priest of the ICRSS? Would I minister in America?
 
Theoretically, you would go wherever the Institute had a presence and where you were needed. One of their recently ordained priests, Canon Ueda, is from Japan. He is currently in Rome (I think). You may be posted anywhere! All for the salvation of souls!
 
I believe that they would take into consideration where you would like to be sent as well as consider the language issue, if you learn languages easy or not.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top