Student debt and the FSSP

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I’m currently discerning a vocation to the priesthood (whether that be in a monstery or with the FSSP). I recently completed my MA degree so I have a fair amount of student debt (UK). The FSSP doesn’t allow men to be ordained with any outstanding debt - does this also cover student loans as I know sometimes these are considered different from bank loans for example?

Thanks in advance
 
joshringsell said:
I’m currently discerning a vocation to the priesthood (whether that be in a monstery or with the FSSP). I recently completed my MA degree so I have a fair amount of student debt (UK). The FSSP doesn’t allow men to be ordained with any outstanding debt - does this also cover student loans as I know sometimes these are considered different from bank loans for example?

Thanks in advance
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You will need to confirm with them, but typically yes - orders don’t accept people with student debt.

However, you could contact Labouré Society for help. They help people to pay off debt in order to become a priest or join a religious order


God Bless
 
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So I don’t have any direct answers to yours question, but I’m going to give you my story of God’s divine providence as encouragement:
I’d been discerning for a while, and I’d essentially made a plan with God, that within three years I’d go to seminary. But then I got tempted to buy a new car, pushing my economy, making the plan span AT LEAST 2 additional years. By the time the “new car smell” wore off and I’d seen the “error” of my ways I said to myself “okay, I should sell this car, but even then it’s going to cost me at least year to pay it off”. So I had resolved to add an extra year to my plan and just swallow my pride.
But I did as God directed me to, sold the car and just started to save money wherever I could. Now, not quite three years into the original plan, I’m debt free, I’m doing pre-seminary with my order of choice and I even have enough cash to pay for about half the seminary tuition. I can’t explain to you how I made it here, there is no way I could have made/ saved that amount of money with the time it took. But God had a plan and I just followed it.

So my advice to you would be: just try to settle your debts if you can and don’t worry about the time it takes you to get to seminary. That time will be well spent if you spend it in prayerful anticipation. And God will provide the rest, whether economically or spiritually.
 
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By Canon Law, no community can accept someone with debt unless the applicant has some way to pay it. I strongly suggest contacting Mater Dei and Laboure Society, linked above. There are some “success stories” (including the FSSP) on YouTube.
 
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