Seminary for celebrating both Ordinary and Extraordinary Form?

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TheMortenBay

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Hi there,
I’m a young man currently discerning a vocation to the priesthood. For the past many months I’ve been looking into a vocation with the FSSP, but recently I’ve been worried about leaving the rest of the Church to “fend for itself”. I live in a Diocese with no traditional churches and only a handful traditional masses celebrated a month. Therefore a vocation with the FSSP or any other EF-only education will almost certainly place me outside the country where my family and everyone I know lives, and in general will put me at the disposition of a relatively small fraction of the faithful.
For this reason I’ve been wondering about whether any seminary (or society) exists that teach and celebrate both forms?
I know all priests are allowed to celebrate either form and that I can always learn the Extraordinary Form of the Mass after finishing my education (or the other way around, technically), but I was wondering specifically for seminaries or orders that spend equal time on both forms.
Prayers for my discernment also appreciated.
 
You might try the Kansas City, MO Seminary. It’s a Diocesan Seminary but most of the newly ordained offer their First Mass in the Extraordinary Form. They are permitted to celebrate in either form.
 
Learning to say mass (regardless of Rite) is only one, very small part of seminary formation and actually celebrating mass only part of what a priest does.
 
TheMortenBay said:
but I was wondering specifically for seminaries or orders that spend equal time on both forms.
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No seminary spends equal time on both.

The vast majority of seminary life is not about the rubrics of Mass. That is a very small part of the final preparations. Kenrick in St. Louis was or is teaching the EF to seminarians interested, but that is in the fourth year of theology.

Studying philosophy and theology are the most important topics and cover the majority of time.

Where has your vocation come from? Does your family go to OF or EF Masses? What does your spiritual director suggest? Best to bloom where you are planted.

I will pray for you,
Deacon Christopher

PS I wouldn’t lead my first discussion with the vocations director about this - simply tell him you are interesting in discerning the priesthood.
 
Thanks guys. I’m of course aware that the celebration of mass (and therefore the actual education in that area) is a relatively small part of the seminary education. Still, that doesn’t mean that what form of the Mass is being instructed does not have an impact on the structure of the rest of the seminary or the theology classes. This is the reason I’ve been looking into the FSSP, simply because they offer a traditional seminary.
Deacon Christopher, thanks for taking the time and I really appreciate your prayers. I’m a convert, so my family are unfortunately not a big part of this process. I go regularly to the OF mass, where I’m an altar server, but I also go to the EF in a neighboring parish about once a month (as often as it is offered there). I have a great love for the traditional expression of the Mass and the attention to detail found there.
 
Bobby87 said:
In actual fact
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In actual fact I was not aware of this. I mean, they accept both forms as valid expressions of the Mass. They certainly don’t endorse both forms at their seminaries. Or has that changed?
 
Go with the FSSP. They’re a brilliant, orthodox and vibrant group. Their ministries will increase in the coming decades. They will spread out like yeast through the whole dough. They may even end up in your home diocese.
 
I highly recommend you look into the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius


They focus on the beauty of the mass and celebrate BOTH the Ordinary Form and Extraordinary Form with beauty and reference.

Personally, I wish this group would grow more because they do a great job of marrying both the Ordinary Form and the Extraordinary Form into parish life.

God Bless
 
Bobby87 said:
My point was that they don’t officially denounce the Novus Ordo Missae. I am not sure if they train there seminarians to say it.
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They don’t. Also, often FSSP priests feel conflicted about attending the Diocesan Chrism Mass.

Some of the FSSP priests don’t like to attend the Chrism mass because all the other priests are asked to concelebrate with the Bishop, but FSSP Priests don’t concelebrate. So it can makes for a weird situation if accommodations are not made for the FSSP priest to sit in Choir.
 
TheMortenBay said:
For this reason I’ve been wondering about whether any seminary (or society) exists that teach and celebrate both forms?
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I’m in the midst of reading an autobiography of a priest that was ordained in 1950. He went through high school seminary, junior seminary and major seminary. The whole bit.

They weren’t instructed in how to celebrate the Mass until they were a couple of months away from ordination and then, it was done one-on-one with a tutor. They had already learned the theology of the Mass long before of course, but the actual “mechanics” came at the very end.
 
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