Most Faithful Seminaries in the US

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ahumbleservant

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May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

I am new to the forums but I have been listening to Catholic Answers for over three years now. I hope this post marks the beginning of an enriching experience.

Last night I began to wonder which seminaries in the United States were considered to most orthodox in their approach to academics and formation. After running through a few searches, I could not find any sort of “Top 10” list.

Considering all the horror stories surrounding orthodox young men being weeded out of liberal seminaries, I am growing concerned. I love our Lord and I trust in Him. I know that if I am blessed with a vocation to the priesthood, He will give me the grace to get through all trials. However, I was wondering if anyone knew which seminaries were known for being very orthodox.
 
You should look into the FSSP seminary. Coming into the church right now under them and have had lessons with several, including one who was only ordained a year.

They are upstanding, brilliant, orthodox priests. I believe their seminary is called Our Lady of Guadalupe. Just a suggestion from a newbie.
 
Hi mattwcu,

Thanks for the suggestion. I heard about FSSP and did some research on them last night. I found their dedication to the 1962 Missal inspiring. It seems they are quite orthodox in their ministry.

Although I had been asking in regard to seminaries for diocesan priests, I am also interested in religious orders.

In addition to FSSP, has anyone got any comments on the Redemptorists? I just heard a homily by one in Atlanta and I was blown away by his zeal. How does the rest of the order stand up with regard to orthodoxy?
 
ahumbleservant said:
Hi mattwcu,

Thanks for the suggestion. I heard about FSSP and did some research on them last night. I found their dedication to the 1962 Missal inspiring. It seems they are quite orthodox in their ministry.

Although I had been asking in regard to seminaries for diocesan priests, I am also interested in religious orders.

In addition to FSSP, has anyone got any comments on the Redemptorists? I just heard a homily by one in Atlanta and I was blown away by his zeal. How does the rest of the order stand up with regard to orthodoxy?
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I know a couple of Redemptorist seminarians. They are here in Houston finishing up their bachelors degree before moving on to the theologate. They use Chicago Theological Union. I do not know if all the provinces of the Redemptorists do so though. CTU is far to the liberal side.

As for orthodoxy, they are in good standing with the Church. Any other answer is a subjective answer that may differ with each person who gives it which will be colored by those that they have met.

The best thing you can do is get in touch with them.

I am sure that they are like most orders and will have a mix within their ranks.
 
Many outstanding priests come out of liberal seminaries. Seminarians generally don’t have a choice what seminary they go to. They go where there bishop tells them to go. If the bishop is orthodox, he won’t send them anywhere that’s too bad. There may be problems there, but those will serve as a test of character, and will help form you into the man you need to be to be a good priest.
 
Hi ByzCath,

Thanks for the information. I did some research and here is what I found.

The Redemptorists are divided between the Denver and Baltimore Provinces.

First, the Denver Provence uses St. John Neumann House for its pre-novitiate and philosophy studies courses. Postulants study philosophy at St. Louis University.

Later, they go on to CTU as you said. I was very concerned with the CTU Course Catalog. I found it at the CTU Web site . Check this out:
Bias-free Language:
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All instructors and students are expected to use nondiscriminatory language when referring to human beings in classroom presentations and discussions, in written materials and papers for courses, and in theses and projects. While recognizing the complexity of the cultural contexts and theological issues around the question of how God is named, gender-neutral or gender-balanced language and imagery, insofar as possible, are encouraged when referring to God.
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Taken from the Course Catalog Pg 132

Refusing to call God Father, Son, or Holy Spirit seems terribly heretical to me.

Second, there is the Baltimore Province. Here, young men study at Washington Theological Union (WTU). Do you know anything about WTU?

The reason that I am so interested in the Redemptorists is that a preacher from that order came to my church and gave an amazing homily. Later, he gave a speech for Black History month entitled something to the effect of, “Black Catholics: Where do We Go From Here.”

I was inspired by his words and was happy to learn that the Redemptorists emphasize preaching. Further, I was inspired by St. Alphonsus Liguori’s life. Lastly, Fr. Pablo Straub from EWTN is a Redemptorist and he has a deep passion for our Lord.

However, with regard to that Mass, I was disturbed to find that liturgical dancers were used at the Mass. Normally, my parish does not fall into such liturgical abuses. He did not seem to have a problem with it.

I know one individual does not speak for the devotion or orthodoxy of an entire order, so I will not use them for or against the order. However, at the very least, it got me thinking of trying to become a religious priest if that is God’s Will for me.

Otherwise, do you know anything about:
  1. St. Patrick’s in Menlo Park in California
  2. The North American Seminary in Rome
  3. The Dominicans: they are an “Order of Preachers” so I might be interested in their order. Any thoughts?
Hi m134e5,

You said:
Many outstanding priests come out of liberal seminaries.
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Amen! I know the Lord sends us out like sheep among wolves, but He is always there to shepherd us. It is too bad we are finding so many wolves inside the bosom of Holy Mother Church.

That reminds me of a saying I love:

“The Church is not a museum of saints, but a hospital for sinners”

In any case, you point about orthodox bishops sending you to orthodox seminaries is a great point, but the question becomes: who is an orthodox bishop? I’m wondering about bishops in California because that is where I would like to be a diocesan priest.
There may be problems there, but those will serve as a test of character, and will help form you into the man you need to be to be a good priest.
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You made a great point. I agree that such obstacles serve as a test of character. However, my fear is that I would speak up in a moment of zeal and find myself kicked out for being too rigid.
 
ahumbleservant said:
Second, there is the Baltimore Province. Here, young men study at Washington Theological Union (WTU). Do you know anything about WTU?
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WTU is where I will be going, God Willing, as the Carmelites use it.

I have heard that it is liberal but not as bad as CTU or Graduate Theological Union (GTU, which I hear is worse than CTU).

As has been said, most seminarians (or those in relgiious orders) do not really get to pick which Seminary or Theologate they will attend, they go where they are told. I am taking this as a lesson in obedience and humility.

Also being exposed to this nonsense can be good as you can develop ways to respond to it early before you get hit with it in the “real world”.
 
I believe Mundelin Seminary near Chicago is orthodox. I know two fairly new and young priests who are very dedicated who came from Mundelin.
 
BBoy said:
I believe Mundelin Seminary near Chicago is orthodox. I know two fairly new and young priests who are very dedicated who came from Mundelin.
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Mundelein used to be considered fairly liberal, but perhaps things are changing somewhat.

St. Charles Borromeo in Philadelphia is considered solid these days. The one in Baltimore (what is it, St. Mary’s something or other?) is generally considered good, though they had their problems back in the day.
 
The North American College (which was asked about above) experienced a serious turnaround awhile back (I think now Archbishop of Milwaukee Timothy Dolan was in charge when that happenned) and is now considered solid and somewhat vibrant.
 
I have to recommend Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in the Archdiocese of St. Louis.
 
Immaculate Conception Seminary for the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey is a wonderful orthodox seminary.
 
Holy Apostles in Cromwell, CT is fairly solid from what I’ve heard. Can’t speak from personal experience, however.

The bottom line is, there’s no such thing as a perfect seminary. You will find imperfections to a greater or lesser degree at every single one. View these as sent from God as an opportunity for you to grow in patience and charity.

And this means the FSSP isn’t perfect either. I’ve known several FSSP priests and they are all solid men and solid priests. I’m just saying, be very circumspect and don’t jump feet first into their seminary. It pays to do some investigation and ask questions. Lots of questions.
 
St. John Vianney in Denver is quite a solid seminary.

The seminary I am currently at, Mount Angel in Oregon, is pretty good as well. It has its problems, but nothing blaring.

Mundelein is supposedly turned around somewhat, but it still has some major problems, not so much with its formation or faculty but with its student body.
 
St. Joseph’s, aka Dunwoodie, in NY is quite orthodox. The seminarians are 90% “conservative”, the faculty a little more mixed.

Father Groeschel sends his guys there, so you know it has to be pretty solid.

Good luck, and God Bless
 
ahumbleservant said:
Otherwise, do you know anything about:
  1. St. Patrick’s in Menlo Park in California
  2. The North American Seminary in Rome
    ** 3) The Dominicans: they are an “Order of Preachers” so I might be interested in their order. Any thoughts?**
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I love the Dominicans. I’m currently attending a Dominican college, and I’ve found them to be intellectual and faithful people.

When I went on the March for Life this January, I had the privilege of walking with all of the Dominicans, and it was a great experience. The Dominican House of Studies, which is right next to the Basillica of the Immaculate Conception and the Catholic University campus, is also a great place.

I really do recommend looking into the Dominican order. St. Dominic was entrusted by Our Lady with the Rosary, and the Dominicans have a tradition of singing a beautiful Salve Regina to close compline every night. It was founded as an Order of Preachers because St. Dominic wanted to preach the Albigensians out of their heresy. They have the advantage of being steeped in Thomas Aquinas’ philosophy/theology, who was a member of the order.

I recommend taking a look at this site, and the links it contains.

Perhaps I haven’t said much that you don’t know, but I have met many good Dominicans, which has made me admire the order.
-Rob
 
Every year the seminarians from the Pontifical College Joesephenum come to my Byzantine Catholic parish for our Lenten services. afterwards we have a small informal “meet & greet” in the parish hall.

To date, I have been throroughly impressed with the men I have met in formation there.

pcj.edu/aboutus/aboutus.html
 
Too all that have posted so far:

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. I welcome any more that you might have to offer. I have come to understand through your posts and my own research that, as KMXV and others have pointed out,
The bottom line is, there’s no such thing as a perfect seminary. You will find imperfections to a greater or lesser degree at every single one. View these as sent from God as an opportunity for you to grow in patience and charity.
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I am an orthodox Catholic who has been blessed by our Lord. It is a sad day when I have to label myself as “orthodox” because so many of our brothers and sisters in the Faith have fallen asleep spiritually. Therefore, I sometimes feel that I must put in the modifier when “Catholic” should be enough.

This tendency led me to start this threat in the first place. Being orthodox, I was looking for an orthodox seminary. However, I think I need to just focus on whether I actually have a vocation to the Priesthood. If so, then I need to let go and let God deliver me through the seminary. Regardless of where He leads me, I could use a great deal of patience and charity lessons.

In any case, I want to be the type of priest that will give a homily about St. John 8:1-11 and spend at least part of the time reminding those gathered that Christ ended His dialogue with the woman caught in adultery by saying, "Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”

Divine Mercy has a price. Jesus paid for it on the Cross. The least we can do is listen when He commands us to sin no more.
 
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