Thank you for supporting joyful, Catholic leaders.
The Saint Paul Seminary and Saint John Vianney College Seminary have worked together the past several years to raise more than $55 million as part of a joint fundraising campaign: Joyful Catholic Leaders.
It is with great joy and gratitude that we share with you the successful completion of this effort and its tremendous impact on our seminaries, our communities, and our broader Church.
There is great hope for our Church. It is alive in the chapels, courtyards and classrooms of our seminaries.
Your gift made a profound impact.
With your help, we transformed a tired dormitory at Saint John Vianney College Seminary into a facility suitable for today’s formation requirements. Working together, we also strengthened and sustained our priestly formation efforts and built new initiatives at The Saint Paul Seminary to serve our priests, permanent deacons and Catholic school leaders.
Saint John Vianney College Seminary (SJV), which serves college-age men discerning the priesthood from 18 different Catholic dioceses, has renovated its existing facilities and is nearing the completion of a 20,000-square-foot addition that features a brand-new chapel.
“The seminary is more than just a building,” SJV rector Fr. Jonathan Kelly said. “It’s a home where seminarians grow in discipleship and learn to make a sincere gift of themselves to others. The environment where they pray, study and build community is a central part of their formation and discernment process.”
The seminary’s reimagined facilities also include new meeting rooms and residences for the priests who live and work at the seminary. Updated residence halls, floor lounges, kitchen and dining areas and restrooms have already been completed.
Each year, approximately 90 men come to The Saint Paul Seminary to answer God’s call
to the priesthood.
They come to grow in holiness. They come wanting to understand God’s word more
deeply. They come so that they will be prepared to serve you. And they do this without
financial burden.
With commitments to the Joyful Catholic Leaders campaign, The Saint Paul Seminary will double its endowment.
This means each year, long-term, dependable resources will eventually be available to relieve dependence on tuition and annual fundraising and ensure the best formation possible for even more seminarians.
That is significant. It means the priestly formation program has financial stability. And that means we will be here for generations to come — preparing joyful priests ready to serve God’s people with mercy, truth and compassion.
Our parishes, schools and communities thrive under the leadership of those who are committed to the faith and guide others with humility, kindness and courage.
Three new programs were recently developed to complement the seminary’s existing priestly formation and graduate degree programs:
• Institute for Ongoing Clergy Formation
• Institute for Catholic School Leadership
• Institute for Diaconate Formation
Like the core programs of the seminary, these institutes prepare, support and instruct Christian disciples who lead by example and serve as witnesses to the saving love of Jesus Christ. Their commitment to the faith and their dedication to servant leadership will transform our parishes, schools and communities.
Together, we accomplished great things.
Download the full campaign impact report.
Partner with us in this important work.
To learn more about how you can support the seminaries, please contact:
Nancy Johnson | Director of Institutional Advancement Operations
nhjohnson@stthomas.edu | (651) 962-5967
