Institute of Christ the King

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Dear Hamburglar;

While a man who is ordained a priest is always and everywhere a priest; it is up to the local ordinary (bishop) to give that individual the authority to function as a priest in his diocese.

Br Mark, OSB
 
Why does the institute insist on using French as the language of instruction?
 
Why does the institute insist on using French as the language of instruction?
I’m confused as well. If it’s in Italy, why is the teaching not done in Italian? That would be easier on me, if I were to choose the Institute since I can speak Italian nearly fluently

Pace e Bene
Andrew
 
Why does the institute insist on using French as the language of instruction?
The Institute was founded by priests from France, and originally had the motherhouse and seminary in Gabon, Africa where French is spoken. When the Institute came into possession of the Villa Martelli in Gricigliano, where the seminary is today, French was retained. Most of the original priests and seminarians were drawn from France, so the use of that language made sense. Even today most of the seminarians are European, although there is certainly a rapidly growing American contigent.

There has been talk of establishing a seminary in the United States, due to the large number of American vocations in recent years, however the Institute is hesitant to do this. The superiors desire that all priests of the Institute have a common language to converse in, and that they should be not be limited to working in the countries they come from. Language is only part of this- the seminarians are formed to be accessible to differant cultures. As Monsignor Schmitz said to a friend of mine, a priest of the Institute should be able to have dinner with a European nobleman one day and casually converse with an American family the next.

On another level, the seminarians are encouraged to speak French all the time, even with their own countrymen, to avoid the seminarians from splitting into factions based on nationality, as is the case in some international seminaries.
 
Thank you for sharing the historical background of why the Institute continues to retain French.

Another question, since ICKSP is a traditional Latin-rite society. Can’t Latin suffice to be the common language and language of instruction?
 
I was looking at the Institute of Christ the King, but are they considered diocesan priests?

Also, I think the seminary is near Florence. I don’t speak Italian, so how would I do this?

I’m just seriously considering a vocation and this looks interesting. I don’t know if I’m called to be a religious or a diocesan priest.
They are members of a priestly fraternity.

As to the language of instruction, I am sure provision must be made for English speakers in some fashion - even if it means helping one to learn a foreign language. It can be done!

But why not look them up and call them and ask them this yourself? Really not all that tough.

institute-christ-king.org/getInTouch.cfm
The address is as follows:
6415 South Woodlawn Avenue
Chicago, IL 60637
phone: 773 363 7409
fax: 773 363 7824
email: info@institute-christ-king.org
If you would be interested in receiving our quarterly newsletter or vocation information, simply fill out this form below:
When doing due dilligence on groups like these, I always find it much more worthwhile to go to the source, when the source is so readily I available. I could tell you what I know about them… Or they could tell you what and who they are.
 
Thank you for sharing the historical background of why the Institute continues to retain French.

Another question, since ICKSP is a traditional Latin-rite society. Can’t Latin suffice to be the common language and language of instruction?
Latin hasnt been common as the language of instruction for about 200 years. At that time, Latin was learned prior to entering the seminary, usually in childhood. Unfortunately, today Latin must be learned in the seminary, so unless seminarians wish to add another few years onto their formation to learn enough Latin for instruction in that language, I don’t think it is quite possible. Would be nice though 🙂
 
Latin hasnt been common as the language of instruction for about 200 years. At that time, Latin was learned prior to entering the seminary, usually in childhood. Unfortunately, today Latin must be learned in the seminary, so unless seminarians wish to add another few years onto their formation to learn enough Latin for instruction in that language, I don’t think it is quite possible. Would be nice though 🙂
As the number of vocations to orders with special attachment to the traditional liturgy and Latin continues to grow, it is not unreasonable to expect that the time will come in the next two decades or so when viable “Latin immersion” programs MAY be set up… The US Army has had much success in teaching non-native speakers of a given language into programs that are total immersion systems. One friend of mine learned Russian and Farcy in this manner in about 9 months each.

It can be done, and given how far and wide the Universal Church is drawing vocations from, the day may come when it is the most reasonable option.
 
As the number of vocations to orders with special attachment to the traditional liturgy and Latin continues to grow, it is not unreasonable to expect that the time will come in the next two decades or so when viable “Latin immersion” programs MAY be set up… The US Army has had much success in teaching non-native speakers of a given language into programs that are total immersion systems. One friend of mine learned Russian and Farcy in this manner in about 9 months each.

It can be done, and given how far and wide the Universal Church is drawing vocations from, the day may come when it is the most reasonable option.
You make a good point, and I completely agree. There are some problems to overcome though.

Latin has not been a vernacular language since medieval times. Since then the use of Latin has become increasingly more limited. By the 20th century, Latin was reduced to no more then the language of official documents and the Liturgy, and by the 1950s most seminaries were only teaching enough of it for these purposes.

Perhaps this is a bit bold of me, but I suspect that today even those priests formed in the traditional seminarians could not carry on an intelligible conversation in Latin, let alone a plain chat or small-talk. It is not that they are stupid in any way, it is that their Latin studies focus on the Liturgy and Church documents and such. While many could easily write a thesis on a theological matter in Latin I have my doubts that these same men could engage in a normal ten minute conversation about recent events or the weather or an upcoming vacation.

Another part of the problem is that Latin simply lacks the words and phrases neccessary for it to be a common language in the modern world. It has not evolved or changed for centuries, during which time it was largely relegated to the academic world, thus losing aspects of common speech.
 
This is just repeating what I was told on my visits to the institute. Ill probably know more when I get their for my Canidate year in February.

About the French. They did keep french as the common language because most of them did come from france, and the others already spoke it, but also in honor of the founder Msgr. Wach, who is from france.
I have my doubts that these same men could engage in a normal ten minute conversation about recent events or the weather or an upcoming vacation.

Another part of the problem is that Latin simply lacks the words and phrases neccessary for it to be a common language in the modern world. It has not evolved or changed for centuries, during which time it was largely relegated to the academic world, thus losing aspects of common speech.
This is just stating what I was told.

Monsignor Schmitz (Institute of Christ the King) and I did talk about the latin at the Seminary. He said they do teach enough for us to come out being able to speak it in everyday language.

Also, when I read this about not having modern words in latin, I remembered an article I read a few years ago. This isn’t the actual one I read, that was from the Chicago Tribune, but this is about the same thing.
New Latin dictionary has translations for hot pants and punk!:
ANI ^ | Sept 22
Posted on 09/22/2004 8:25:36 AM PDT by Area Freeper
London, Sept 22 : The Vatican has come out with a new dictionary of modern words in Latin, which includes translations for words like hot pants, punk and Lambrusco wine.
The book produced by the Latinitas Foundation, an academic institution founded in 1976 by Pope Paul VI with the intention of preserving and evolving the Latin language, will update vocabulary for theologians, thus helping them in writing in Latin about current issues.
In the dictionary, hotpants appears as brevissimae bracae femineae, punk as punkianae catervae assecla, and Lambrusco wine as acre vinum Aemilianum.
There is also an Italian emphasis on food and drink, with translations for pizza (placenta compressa), ciabatta bread (domestica crepida) and tortellino (pastillus tortilis).
“The authors of the lexicon say they are promoting the use of Latin for the entire world,” reports the Daily Telegraph.
“There are lots of words that Classical Latin could not possibly know the meaning of, like drugs or words relating to current affairs,” said Cletus Pavanetto, president of the Latinitas Foundation.
“We devise new words by going back to their origins and etymology so that people who use Latin can write about the modern world,” he added. 404 Not Found
 
This is just stating what I was told.

Monsignor Schmitz (Institute of Christ the King) and I did talk about the latin at the Seminary. He said they do teach enough for us to come out being able to speak it in everyday language.

Also, when I read this about not having modern words in latin, I remembered an article I read a few years ago. This isn’t the actual one I read, that was from the Chicago Tribune, but this is about the same thing.
Huh, I stand corrected :o
 
Huh, I stand corrected :o
You know for some reason I had thought I remembered reading something somewhere about this sort of effort. A friend of mine who is a classic grad student had told that an effort had been made to come up with Latin words for new words…
 
Monsignor Schmitz (Institute of Christ the King) and I did talk about the latin at the Seminary. He said they do teach enough for us to come out being able to speak it in everyday language.
From there I suppose that you could avail yourself of

Latin Wikipedia

Who knew?

Of course you can also avain yourself of Nuntii Latini… the weekly broadcast of the news in Latin from Finland…

Interestingly, I heard on the BBC, the Finnish government, when charged with the responsibilities of administering some EU operation or another, opted to send out daily notes on its activites in Latin.
 
The institute takes the training of priests VERY seriously. Yes, 12 years is the amount of time for education and training. They don’t just take anyone and they certainly want to avoid what happened with priests in past years. I think this institute and the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter will be the salvation of the church after the disaterous abuses that have taken over the mass since Vatican II.
 
The institute takes the training of priests VERY seriously. Yes, 12 years is the amount of time for education and training. They don’t just take anyone and they certainly want to avoid what happened with priests in past years. I think this institute and the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter will be the salvation of the church after the disaterous abuses that have taken over the mass since Vatican II.
As a brother in formation for the priesthood with the Carmelites (our priestly formation takes a minimum of 7 years, mine will take between 7.5 to 8.5 years) this post of yours is very offensive.
 
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