Should I go to normal college or a college seminary?

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I’m graduating from high school and want to become a priest. I would like to go to a college seminary, but my parents want me to earn a degree at a normal, maybe secular, college so that if I find out the priesthood isn’t for me, I will have something to fall back on. What do you think about this?
 
JJjamin71472583 said:
I’m graduating from high school and want to become a priest. I would like to go to a college seminary, but my parents want me to earn a degree at a normal, maybe secular, college so that if I find out the priesthood isn’t for me, I will have something to fall back on. What do you think about this?
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Good for you, wanting to serve God in this way.

My feeling, as a mom, would be for you to enter a good college or university, Catholic if possible, and pursue your education while you mature over the next several years. Take theology courses, pursue a degree in an area that interests you, and see what happens. I assure you, that if the priesthood is for you, the Lord will let you know, and you can enter the seminary as a more mature, well prepared young man.

In my personal experience (and that is all I can speak to) I have known of several young men who entered the seminary straight out of high school and not one of them stayed. However, the two I know of who waited until they had graduated from college are now ordained. Admittedly, this is all a very limited sample, and purely subjective. I strongly feel, however, that someone who has gone through 4 years of college and all it entails has a greater chance of knowing in what direction God is calling him, and whether that calling is toward the priesthood.

God bless you in your discernment.
 
At a cololege seminary, you are typically earning credits towards what amounts to an accredited college degree, anyway. Some college seminaries even operate in partnered collaboration with universities of which you are also considered a student. So the two ideas are not necessarily in opposition, but can certainly complement each other.
 
As Chicago said, many college seminaries send the students to a regular college while they live at the seminary. NY is like that.

May God Bless you in your vocation!
 
+JMJ

One thing that my spiritual director keeps reminding me is, “You do not discern the seminary. You go to the seminary to discern.”

It’s true, not everyone who goes to sem becomes a priest. Nor should they. There is no commitment upon entrance except to be serious about it. That does not mean that those who do not become priests should not have come to the sem in the beginning. Any man who goes will benefit from the spiritual and intellectual formation gained from his time.

I would suggest you talk with your diocesan vocation director and find out if there is a “come and see” visit to a college sem planned. In my diocese there is an option for young men to visit the sem each semester. This will give you a healthy taste of not only the academic atmosphere but the way in which the guys there live.

While I’m at it, you really can often get a good accredited degree at college sem. My diocese sends guys to St John Vianney in St Paul, MN, by the way. You should check it out. It’s very solid.

God bless!
 
Yes, absolutely check out St. John Vianney in St. Paul. It is affiliated with the University of St. Thomas, has an OUTSTANDING faculty, and serves over 25 dioceses at last count. You can also study other areas of interest than just philosophy (though under the new PPF, study of philosophy is required of college seminarians). When I was at SJV for example, I studied Catholic Studies and political science. Also, one little practical bit. I have no idea what your family financial situation is, and St. Thomas is an expensive school. However, right off the bat, they knock off 33% of tuition for being a seminarian. Many dioceses will pay for some, if not all of the cost of education, and the seminary will also help out if needed.

Please write me if I can be of any assistance.

Blessings,
buc_fan

vianney.net/
 
Have you spoken to the Vocations Director at your local seminary? Or for that matter, at any seminary? This question comes up in a lot of young men’s families in a discernment to the priesthood. Here is a link to my local seminary:
heedthecall.org/
which links to a contact page. I am sure if you wanted any advice on this from an expert, the Vocations Director there would be happy to help you, even if you are not considering that particular seminary.
I hope I don’t seem very pushy about this, but if there is even a whisper from the Holy Spirit directing you toward that life, I hope you listen to it.
God Bless and good luck!
 
Just be sure that no matter were you go you get 30 credits of philosophy and 12 credits of theology. That would most likely be a bachelors in philosophy.

This is the requirements to be accepted into a seminary. If you do not have these you will need to get them before entry.

Also take spanish as your language for your bachelors as the USCCB is recommending this.
 
Br. David - I’m just curious. Doesn’t the 12 hour requirement in Theology necessitate that the degree be granted from a Catholic institution? Is it within the 30 hour requirement or distinct from?

Is that a requirement of your order or does it apply equally to diocesan seminaries? I can see the Spanish tie-in. But I looked at the current catalogue of my alma mater’s (BAs in History and Anthro) requirements for a BA in Philosophy - a one hour intro followed by 29 hours at the junior level or above…Where is the history? Western Civ I and II does not prepare one for discussing the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Reformation. Likewise I believe that our seminarians should be exposed to at least an introduction to cultural anthropology.

Many of the recently (laughs…last 15 years) ordained priests in my diocese entered into the priesthood years after they have graduated with degrees in other fields (music, accounting, history, etc). Surely they didn’t make these guys go back and take 30 hours of philosophy before being admitted to “grad school” at the diocesan level?

I can see the Theology…but I can’t see the necessity for 30 hours in Philosophy. Can you explain this to me, please?
 
All Catholic seminarians, before being admitted to a theologate, or major seminary, are required to have studied Catholic philosophy. Don’t look for this to change any time soon either. Pope Benedict, arguably the world’s leading theologian believes that a thorough understanding of philosophy is essential for a thorough understanding of theology. Also, St. Thomas Aquinas also believed that as he wrote the Summa Theologica under the assumption that his students who would be reading it would already have had four years of philosophical studies. I can’t speak for other universities/seminary programs, but at St. Thomas/St. John Vianney the program is as follows:

Philosophy of the Human Person
Ethics
Logic
Ancient Philosophy
Medieval Philosophy
Modern Philosophy
Contemporary Philosophy
Metaphysics
Epistemology
Philosophy of God

Different institutions will have different names for the classes, or a different order in which they are presented (i.e. at UST, Metaphysics is one of the last courses you will take, usually first semester of your senior year while Human Person is the first course your take. At. St. John Vianney in Denver, they are reversed). However, these are the ten core courses that college seminarians must complete as outlined in the Program for Priestly Formation published by the USCCB.
 
brotherhrolf said:
Br. David - I’m just curious. Doesn’t the 12 hour requirement in Theology necessitate that the degree be granted from a Catholic institution? Is it within the 30 hour requirement or distinct from?

Is that a requirement of your order or does it apply equally to diocesan seminaries? I can see the Spanish tie-in.
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This is a requirement for all who will go on to priestly formation regardless of being secular or religious priesthood candidates. That is for all those who will attend an accredited Masters of Divinity program.
I can see the Theology…but I can’t see the necessity for 30 hours in Philosophy. Can you explain this to me, please?
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The study of Philosophy helps in theological study.
buc_fan33 said:
All Catholic seminarians, before being admitted to a theologate, or major seminary, are required to have studied Catholic philosophy.
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From my look at the document Program of Priestly Formation, 5th edition, I do not see any distinction that says that the philosophy studied must be “catholic”. It only says 30 credit hours of philosophy.
However, these are the ten core courses that college seminarians must complete as outlined in the Program for Priestly Formation published by the USCCB.
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I do not see that it lays out these ten courses in such a manner. Here is what it says.
  1. Sound philosophical formation requires a biennium of study, which is understood in the United States to be at least 30 semester credit hours, together with the out-of-classroom work associated with each credit hour traditionally expected in American higher education. The philosophical curriculum must include the study of the history of philosophy (ancient, medieval, modern, and contemporary), logic, epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of nature, natural theology, anthropology and ethics.
  2. A minimum of 12 semester credit hours must be required in appropriate courses of undergraduate theology. These courses should study the themes of the Catechism (doctrine, liturgy and sacraments, morality, prayer) as well as Sacred Scripture.
So it doesn’t really give a “class list” but what the classes one takes should cover.
 
I understand that the philosophy is not really “Catholic” per se. Afterall, philosophy is a discipline that does not deal with Revelation, which the Church has been entrusted with. What I meant by “Catholic philosophy” was that one’s study should be grounded in the truth. In other words, a man who walked into a major seminary with a degree in philosophy from a liberal, secular university with an emphasis on subjectivism, moral relativism and the like would most likely be required to do at least some further philosophic study in a pre-theology program before being allowed into First Theology.
 
buc_fan33 said:
I understand that the philosophy is not really “Catholic” per se. Afterall, philosophy is a discipline that does not deal with Revelation, which the Church has been entrusted with. What I meant by “Catholic philosophy” was that one’s study should be grounded in the truth. In other words, a man who walked into a major seminary with a degree in philosophy from a liberal, secular university with an emphasis on subjectivism, moral relativism and the like would most likely be required to do at least some further philosophic study in a pre-theology program before being allowed into First Theology.
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This is one of the issues I have with the PoPF, 5th ed., it does not explicitly state this.

So while some seminaries/theologates may do just what you say, they are not required to do so.
 
JJjamin71472583 said:
I’m graduating from high school and want to become a priest. I would like to go to a college seminary, but my parents want me to earn a degree at a normal, maybe secular, college so that if I find out the priesthood isn’t for me, I will have something to fall back on. What do you think about this?
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I think that I would talk to the vocation director of the diocese or order you’re interested in. I wouldn’t want to make a decision one way or the other and then find out that they preferred something else.
 
JJjamin71472583 said:
I’m graduating from high school and want to become a priest. I would like to go to a college seminary, but my parents want me to earn a degree at a normal, maybe secular, college so that if I find out the priesthood isn’t for me, I will have something to fall back on. What do you think about this?
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**Having “been there, done that” many many years ago, from my own personal experience I think your parents are right on target, although I feel you should attend a fully-sanctioned Catholic college or university. While you are there, you can, with the help of priests present, discern a calling to a religious vocation. If the Lord wants you to be a priest, you will. He may wish for you to be a brother in a religious order. Or a deacon later in life, or a lay minister in your parish. It’s a process, and it takes a lot of prayer and discernment.

Go get your degree and follow from there, in my humble opinion. 🙂 **
 
bilop said:
As Chicago said, many college seminaries send the students to a regular college while they live at the seminary. NY is like that.
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In my opinion that is the worst of both worlds. I was in a program like that.
 
peary said:
**Having “been there, done that” many many years ago, from my own personal experience I think your parents are right on target, although I feel you should attend a fully-sanctioned Catholic college or university. While you are there, you can, with the help of priests present, discern a calling to a religious vocation. If the Lord wants you to be a priest, you will. He may wish for you to be a brother in a religious order. Or a deacon later in life, or a lay minister in your parish. It’s a process, and it takes a lot of prayer and discernment.

Go get your degree and follow from there, in my humble opinion. 🙂 **
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Just be aware that if your degree contains less than 30 credits of philosophy and 12 credits of theology that you will have to make it up before you enter the seminary.
 
Seton Hall University (www.shu.edu in south Orange NJ has Many “secular” degrees and a seminary. It waould be a great place to discern.

Best of Luck!
 
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