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ATeutonicKnight
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How much does Seminary cost? Is it as bad as college is?
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YoungTradCath
Guest
Depends on the seminary entirely.
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Immaculata90
Guest
I would encourage you to speak with the vocation director of your diocese about how much exactly it costs. Just talking to him doesn’t commit you to anything!
In our diocese, the students pay their tuition for minor seminary, but they receive some kind of discount. There is also a fund set up to help people who cannot afford it attend the seminary. And either way, there is always loans.
If you feel the Lord is calling you to discern in the seminary, do not let yourself be worried about finding the money to do it. You will have to work hard, but the Lord will provide.
In our diocese, the students pay their tuition for minor seminary, but they receive some kind of discount. There is also a fund set up to help people who cannot afford it attend the seminary. And either way, there is always loans.
If you feel the Lord is calling you to discern in the seminary, do not let yourself be worried about finding the money to do it. You will have to work hard, but the Lord will provide.
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ATeutonicKnight
Guest
Yeah. Our Seminary has so few Priests that they will pay for the whole eight years. Which is surprising, seeing as how Conception Seminary (The one they send you to for four years) is twenty nine thousand a year. The diocese must have a lot of money on it’s hands if it can afford that.
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bobballen_18
Guest
Well, the Diocese of Wichita has like 50 seminarians this year (which, if I am not mistaken, is a BUNCH), and Wichita also pays for all 8-10 years. That’s sure a good opportunity for us Kansas seminarians (and seminarians-to-be)!!!
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ATeutonicKnight
Guest
Yeah, that is a lot. I always love going to Wichita. The spirituality and orthodoxy of Wichita is simply amazing. The Dodge City diocese has very few Priests, and fewer good Priests at that. I have heard many heresies from many Priests here. I would much rather like to go to Wichita, where I would be happier and be surrounded by an amazing amount of good Priests. However, I would feel horrible leaving my Diocese the way it is. The new Bishop is doing great, and he’s trying to increase vocations, and I would feel horrible abandoning him. There’s only eight Seminarians, along with only about twenty Priests, most of them being old and completely unorthodox. It’s a battle of my will, really. I can go to Wichita, and be able to go to the Catholic Conference every year like I have been (I’ve been going for ten years), or I can go to Dodge and go down like Saint Stephen as the parish I serve will not like anything I have to say. Hm…
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DarrenOglesby
Guest
I am unsure of how much Minor Seminary costs, but I know a regular college student at Marian university (Where the seminarians of my diocese attend classes) costs 27,000 a year. I don’t know if they ease up on seminarians or not.
Major seminary is payed for by the diocese, in my diocese.
Major seminary is payed for by the diocese, in my diocese.
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bobballen_18
Guest
Yes, I do feel lucky to be considering seminary in such a good diocese. In my experience, the ones I’ve met are all very good priests, especially my hometown one.
Wow, that is a tough decision to make. Obviously I can’t make you do anything…lol but I’d say by all means, DO stay in your diocese and be that orthodox priest your diocese needs! You’ll be in my prayers.
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Saint_Macarius
Guest
Actually CSC is more than 20,000, but the monks and Serra club pay for part of it (besides the 20k they charge dioceses outside of KC-St Joe). For most dioceses, they’ll pay for your major seminary and give you a loan for minor seminary, which they pay in full once you’ve been ordained (so in a sense, you wont have to pay for a thing). In addition, most give insurance and a monthly stipend (around $250 a month usually). Serra Club also gives seminarians Christmas and Easter gifts each year (depends upon each diocese). Essentially, you wont become rich, but you’ll have enough to pay for car loans, car insurance, and have some left over money to go out to your local diner once or twice a month or so.
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Saint_Macarius
Guest
Also, I would add that most pre-theology (for those who have a college degree but not the 42 credit hour requirement to attend seminary in the US) is usually covered in full by most dioceses. Check with your VD though.
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MPSchneiderLC
Guest
And if you’re a religious, the community pays (although sometimes you need to go out and beg for that money). It’s a side of effect of the vow of poverty.
Wow! 29K for a seminary. We ask for 11 Euros (I think about 15K US) for a scholarship here in Europe for those studying at our house. And this is in Rome, studying at a pontifical institution.
Mind you we do a bunch of work ourselves that in a diocesan seminary employees might do. For instance, if you need a book from the library, the one who processes it is the same one who wriotes this. Plus, most of our professors are priests in our congregation so they don’t have a huge salary.
Check out the religious priesthood.
If you want to find out about seminary life, check out my entries on live.regnumchristi.org.
Hope that helps. God bless.
Br Matthew, LC
Wow! 29K for a seminary. We ask for 11 Euros (I think about 15K US) for a scholarship here in Europe for those studying at our house. And this is in Rome, studying at a pontifical institution.
Mind you we do a bunch of work ourselves that in a diocesan seminary employees might do. For instance, if you need a book from the library, the one who processes it is the same one who wriotes this. Plus, most of our professors are priests in our congregation so they don’t have a huge salary.
Check out the religious priesthood.
If you want to find out about seminary life, check out my entries on live.regnumchristi.org.
Hope that helps. God bless.
Br Matthew, LC
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ATeutonicKnight
Guest
Hell, Brother Matthew. Thank you for your reply. I’ve been thinking about the Religious Priesthood for a very long time, and I can’t decide between Religious Priesthood and Diocesan Priesthood. I have three years to discern still, but it is quite the hard decision as both seem fulfilling.
Out of curiosity, what Order are you in? Perhaps you have a house in the States? I have a few communities I’m trying to discern already, but why not one more?
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MPSchneiderLC
Guest
I am with the Legionaries of Christ (legionariesofchrist.org). Everyone on the congregation is on the way to the priesthood.
Our mission is to form apostles who can transform society for Christ. For more, I suggest reading the link as I will say almost the same thing.
We have houses in San Jose, LA area, Sacramento, Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta, Indiana, Detroit, Houston, DC area, Phillidelphia, NYC area, Rhode Island, and New Hamshire. Our novitiate (where one would join after high school) is in Connecticut.
P.s. I will send ypu my e-mail via PM if you want to follow up, I think it is a rule that we are not supposed to post them here.
Jesus loves you!
In Christ,
Br Matthew, LC
Our mission is to form apostles who can transform society for Christ. For more, I suggest reading the link as I will say almost the same thing.
We have houses in San Jose, LA area, Sacramento, Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta, Indiana, Detroit, Houston, DC area, Phillidelphia, NYC area, Rhode Island, and New Hamshire. Our novitiate (where one would join after high school) is in Connecticut.
P.s. I will send ypu my e-mail via PM if you want to follow up, I think it is a rule that we are not supposed to post them here.
Jesus loves you!
In Christ,
Br Matthew, LC
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LutheranSemGuy
Guest
My seminary, Luther Seminary in St. Paul MN is about as expensive as a public university thanks to donors. I get a couple scholarships from the school, but most of the bill is being paid by the Minnesota Army National Guard because I’m a chaplain candidate. We desperately need Catholic Chaplains and Candidates, so if you are called to the military chaplaincy as a priest, this might be a great way to foot the bill.
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kdub432
Guest
My brother is about to go to detroit major seminary, seems the expenses are paid there. They’re moderately selective about it though!
Seems to me, a seminarian shouldn’t have to pay anything. A priest is paid by the diocese (although just a small amount), seems a seminarian could be covered for his educational expenses.
Seems to me, a seminarian shouldn’t have to pay anything. A priest is paid by the diocese (although just a small amount), seems a seminarian could be covered for his educational expenses.
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Friar_David_O.Carm
Guest
Just playing devil’s advocate here.
How would this work, the diocese picking up the bill for the seminary education, for seminarians who leave the seminary without being ordained? Or for those who are ordained but leave the diocese after a short period (say 5 years)?
How does the diocese justify paying for those educations that it does not get to benefit from later?
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DJK100
Guest
Maybe you could do something like a conditional loan. You loan the seminaries the money at a non-usuary rate. If you get ordained and serve say at least 3 years as a priest then the loans are forgiven. If you do not get ordained then you pay back the loans after leaving the seminary. The hope would be that the intrest rate of the loans from those who do not complete seminary would be enough to cover the cost of the loan forgiveness of the ordained that way the dioscese acutally doesn’t lose any money on the transaction.
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ATeutonicKnight
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My Diocese does this. Basically, if you leave, the Vatican has given Bishops permission to demand that the ex-Seminarian pay back the money, either up front or over a period of time. This is how it works, and this is why it’s important to really feel the call. Our Diocese isn’t fairing so well in terms of Vocations. We used to have seven Seminarians, and now we have three, and they won’t be done for another number of years. At this rate, they say, we’ll be out of Priests in thirty years, since almost all of the current ones are middle-aged to elderly. At this point, the Bishop will probably do a draft in the Diocese.
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TrueLight
Guest
Except that not all seminarians become priests.
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Friar_David_O.Carm
Guest
What would be ideal would be a society of sorts set up within each diocese that prays for vocations and assists with the financial burden of the costs of formation.
Also seminarians should be assigned work over the summer periods and the moneys that would be earned there should, for the most part, should go towards the formation costs.
I would hope that a seminarian would get some sort of stipend to cover the costs of incidentals.
This is only for the secular seminarian. Religious have it dealt with in a different manner.
Also seminarians should be assigned work over the summer periods and the moneys that would be earned there should, for the most part, should go towards the formation costs.
I would hope that a seminarian would get some sort of stipend to cover the costs of incidentals.
This is only for the secular seminarian. Religious have it dealt with in a different manner.
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