Priestly Formation

A seminary is, first and foremost, a place for the formation of Catholic priests. St. John Paul II stated that the seminary strives to cooperate in fulfilling God's promise given through the prophet Jeremiah: "I will give you shepherds after my own heart." (3:15)

In fidelity to the Second Vatican Council, papal teaching and the directives of the bishops of the United States, the priestly formation program at The Saint Paul Seminary takes up this important work for the life of the Church. We are a community oriented toward holiness and mission, in the model of the original apostles who gathered around Christ. Here, a man who feels called by God to be a priest, submits himself to intensive training in the four dimensions of priestly formation: human, intellectual, spiritual and pastoral. The seminary program aims to help each man become an effective minister of God's love to a world that desperately needs more witnesses of it.

Stages of formation

In accord with the new Program for Priestly Formation, Sixth Edition, priestly formation at The Saint Paul Seminary consists of the following stages:

saint paul seminary stages of formation

Meet your future priests!

Meet a new seminarian each month + get an inside peek into life at the seminary

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