Questions About Seminary Education and Formation in the Catholic Church

Casual Discussion
1

I am a researcher studying Catholic seminaries. This research is primarily out of personal interest. I would like to understand the current processes of education and formation in Catholic seminaries. I am posting my questions here and would greatly appreciate any guidance or help you could provide.

  1. Currently, are both minor/introductory seminaries and major/advanced seminaries active in countries such as Italy, the UK, and the United States?

  2. What is the difference between the two? Can someone receive training only at a minor/introductory seminary? If so, what degree do they ultimately receive, and what rank or position do they attain within the Catholic Church?

  3. Can someone enter a major/advanced seminary directly, or must they first study at a minor/introductory seminary?

  4. For someone entering a major/advanced seminary, what degree do they ultimately receive, and what rank or position do they attain in the Catholic Church?

  5. In my research, I have noticed that a seminary student (whether in a minor/introductory seminary or a major/advanced seminary) must also pursue studies at a pontifical or ecclesiastical university and obtain an official degree from these institutions. Is this correct? If a student does not do this, would they be prevented from being appointed to any position in the Church?

  6. In the current educational system of the Catholic seminary, is there any priest, deacon, or bishop who does not hold an official university degree, and whose rank or position is solely the result of seminary training?

  7. If all priests, deacons, and bishops must have pontifical or ecclesiastical university education and obtain an official degree from these institutions in order to hold their title and rank, what then is the purpose of the seminary? Why does the seminary (whether minor/introductory or major/advanced) exist at all?

  8. In other words, my question is: what is the independent function of the seminary itself? What academic degrees does it confer to seminarians? What rank or position does it grant them? And are these degrees and ranks recognized? That is, are they accepted in pontifical and ecclesiastical universities, as well as in state or secular universities?

  9. If someone wishes to attain Church ranks—including deacon, lector, priest, bishop, or cardinal—must they necessarily study in a seminary, or can they achieve these positions without attending one? For example, is it possible to never enter a seminary and only study at pontifical/ecclesiastical universities and still reach these ranks?

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2

@CanadianPriest might be able to tell you a bit about Catholic Seminaries in Canada.

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Oh, that is very kind of you. Thank you so much

4

Minor seminaries are for boys of high school age. I visited one when I was in maybe 8th grade. (That was almost 60 years ago.) My understanding is that there are few minor seminaries nowadays. Certainly attending seminary (minor or major) does not always result in ordination.

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Thank you so much for your response. Could you explain a bit more? Why doesn’t attending seminary (minor or major) necessarily lead to ordination? Isn’t that all that’s required, or is there something else needed? Does this have to do with the level of academic degrees at the seminary?

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For one thing, you could attend minor seminary and decide not to go on to major seminary. Also, I’ve heard a priest talking about vocations say that seminaries are not only to prepare for the priesthood but to discern whether you have a vocation to the priesthood. You might attend for some time and decide that you don’t have that vocation after all. And the priest said you officially have the vocation when the bishop calls you forward to be ordained. I don’t think that’s usually a surprise, though. You learn as you are going through seminary whether the priesthood is right for you, although if it is not, the word might come from the church. I don’t know a thing about the degrees.

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In my own country, I think there is only one high school seminary (it’s the closest thing I can think of as being a minor seminary here). There are major seminaries, but not as many as in other countries like the USA.

I know very little about the high school seminary in Canada. However, I know that not all of the students go to major seminary after graduation. Those who graduate from this high school would (I assume) receive a high school diploma. If they do not go to major seminary or join a religious community, they will not become part of the clergy, though they would hopefully use their education and spiritual formation to be of service to the Church in various ways.

Only a small minority of seminarians in Canada ever studied at the high school seminary.

As mentioned above, I believe the high school seminary awards high school diplomas. People can hold positions in the Church, but they cannot be ordained to the priesthood without doing theological studies. I believe all the major seminaries in my country award at least a Master of Divinity degree to graduates.

In my country, graduates of seminaries normally do receive university degrees. Many, but not all, seminarians received university degrees before entering seminary. I do not know enough to speak about all possible exceptions. What I can say is that it is easiest to find deacons who do not have degrees, for two reasons. First, transitional deacons (that is, deacons preparing to be ordained to the priesthood) are still usually doing their theology studies at the time they become deacons. Second, permanent deacons (that is, those who are not preparing to be ordained to the priesthood) do not necessarily have to live in seminary or attain a degree, but only have to do the preparation prescribed by the local bishop.

See above about deacons. The seminary serves multiple purposes. It is a way to be somewhat separate from the world and take time to discern whether one is called to Holy Orders (likewise, for the faculty to discern whether the man is called this way or not). The formation program of the seminary is also more than classroom education. There are four pillars of the formation program: human formation (e.g. growth in virtue; social skills), intellectual formation, spiritual formation, and pastoral formation. Related to discernment, the seminary faculty also give recommendations to the bishop of the seminarian about whether or not he should be ordained.

I would not say the seminary has an independent function (it exists within the greater context of the Church and her mission). The degrees conferred may very depending on seminary, but the most common in my country would probably be Master of Divinity (M.Div.) and Bachelor of Theology (B.Th.). The M.Div. is recognized by schools in North America (including in secular schools that have divinity schools), though it is meant to be a professional degree. I know less about the B.Th., but know it is recognized by pontifical schools and may be recognized in Europe. The seminary itself does not confer positions to graduates.

It is possible for one to become a lector or acolyte without going to seminary, though it is rarely done. I have already mentioned that the formation program for the permanent diaconate varies, but need not involve seminary. Transitional deacons, priest, and bishops have all normally been to seminary (especially since bishops are normally taken from among priests; they don’t return to seminary for a special bishop program). Exceptions can be those who belong to religious congregations (e.g. Jesuits, Dominicans) who do not live in a major seminary, but live in a religious house with their community and take philosophy and theology courses at a nearby school. (In that case, most of their non-academic formation and discernment takes place in their religious community.) Cardinals are usually taken from among the bishops, though every once in a while a priest is made a cardinal.

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Thank you for your clear and helpful explanation!

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Thank you so much. Your responses have been complete, clear, and extremely helpful. I’m really glad to have had the chance to connect with you. I know I asked many questions, but you answered them patiently and thoroughly. To complete my understanding based on your answers, a few more points came to mind, and I would be very grateful if you could kindly clarify them whenever you have the time.

First, as I understand it, almost always, Church ranks study in seminaries, but the academic degrees are not independently conferred by the seminary itself. Rather, they receive their bachelor’s and master’s degrees from a pontifical/ecclesiastical university or faculty connected to the seminary, correct?

Second, you mentioned that “The seminary itself does not confer positions to graduates”, so can I conclude that seminaries do not have their own independent degrees that they can issue on their own?

Third, I have heard that pontifical/ecclesiastical universities are sometimes pursued after seminary studies, meaning that after completing seminary, one continues at a pontifical university to complete studies and possibly reach a doctoral degree. From your explanation, however, I understood that this is not necessarily the case; rather, the bachelor’s and master’s degrees are granted concurrently with seminary formation—presumably through the seminary’s affiliation with a pontifical/ecclesiastical university. So, it seems that these universities are not necessarily “post-seminary” institutions but are integrated from the start through the conferral of academic degrees. Is that correct?

Fourth, is there any requirement for episcopal, cardinal, or even priestly positions that one must attend these pontifical/ecclesiastical universities?

Fifth, from your explanations, I also understand that seminary degrees can be recognized by universities (sometimes even secular ones). For example, could a seminarian with a bachelor’s or master’s degree in theology or philosophy continue studies in philosophy at Cambridge University?

Sixth, I have a question regarding employment. With seminary degrees, is it possible to work professionally, for example, in related government or private institutions? I have heard that there are organizations that facilitate credential recognition and other processes to help seminarians find employment outside the Church. Do you have any information about this?

Finally, I want to thank you again for your patience. I would also like to ask if you might be able to connect me with a knowledgeable priest or expert in the UK, the US, or Italy, or provide an email contact. I have sent many emails via seminary websites in these countries but unfortunately have not received any responses. I do not wish to impose on you, but if it is at all possible, I would be extremely grateful for your assistance.

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Peace to all,

To me Seminarial Logic and Formulation is still becoming into the mark through The OMNILogicalGod.Com and will soon see The Holy Spirit as a Family together with The Father and the Son together with the Mother, I believe.

Formulation of The Catholic Church had a beginning in the understanding of the Trinity from early Trinity Forefathers and documents consisting of early church literature including The Didiache, Tertullian and Praxaes , I believe. They determined the Holy Spirit is a Person and not a Family of God preexisting and this leaves no room in the Trinity for the Mother, according to early Trinity Logic.

Church understanding is through The Faith through the Church faithfully states The Trinity is the Father and the Son together with the Holy Spirit as is a Spirit Person of non-gender? and Mary is not a part of the Trinity. So logically it makes no sense the Father and The Son and The Holy Spirit are One God in what?

Logical formulas of the Faith are fulfilled in the feature benefits from Old Covenant Salvation following the pattern of the good works of the flesh from Sacrifice through Penance from the words through the Priest in the Words of Absolution forgiven from Penance through the flesh becoming from death for resurrection life glorified becoming spirit incorruptibly becoming transfiguration for all re-imaged becoming again in all One Holy Spirit Family One God in being, OMNILogically, I believe.

Google AI
“Formal, logical “formulas” of faith do not exist in the sense of a scientific or mathematical equation. However, the relationship between faith and logic has been explored through philosophical and theological reasoning for centuries. This exploration has produced several arguments and conceptual frameworks, primarily within the field of Christian apologetics and philosophy of religion, that use logical principles to support and clarify religious beliefs.”

Until OMNILogicalGod.Com, I believe.

To me, rationally and faithfully, the “Mind of God” can be understood, OMNILogically, I believe.

Trinity
Trinity816Ă—1056 42.6 KB

Peace always,
Stephen

11

“With seminary degrees, is it possible to work professionally, for example, in related government or private institutions?” Some work requires certification rather than a degree. One example from my experience: when I was a volunteer hospital chaplain (only informal training was required), one day I was told I would have an intern with me on my shift. I expected a young college student, but it was an Episcopal priest. As I recall, he had a college degree and definitely had been ordained, but he wanted chaplain certification, which required formal training and a lot of hours as a volunteer chaplain. (By the way, I enjoyed working with him.) Some of the other volunteer chaplains were also pursuing chaplain certification. The head chaplain at the hospital was an ordained minister, and I don’t think he could have held his job without the certification.

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Thank you so much for your explanation—it’s really interesting. When a priest decides to serve in a hospital, is the idea that he’s entering the professional world of the hospital, like nurses or doctors, in order to make a living? Or is it more that, as a priest, he wants to offer spiritual care to patients, and at the same time this also becomes a job for him?

What I mean is: after completing their studies and being ordained, do clergy typically feel the financial and professional need to seek employment somewhere? And in that case, do they, like anyone else, pursue an additional certification in order to qualify for a position?

Also, does being a priest with seminary training actually count as an advantage when they apply for a job?

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Thank you so much for your explanation—it’s really interesting. When a priest decides to serve in a hospital, is the idea that he’s entering the professional world of the hospital, like nurses or doctors, in order to make a living? Or is it more that, as a priest, he wants to offer spiritual care to patients, and at the same time this also becomes a job for him?

What I mean is: after completing their studies and being ordained, do clergy typically feel the financial and professional need to seek employment somewhere? And in that case, do they, like anyone else, pursue an additional certification in order to qualify for a position?

Also, does being a priest with seminary training actually count as an advantage when they apply for a job?

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I think that those questions have many answers, depending on the priest and the job. I knew only two priests who were chaplains at the hospital system where I volunteered. The Episcopal priest was seeking chaplain certification. I don’t think I asked him why and what he planned to do with the certification. We talked together, but mostly we were working. The other priest was Catholic and a full-time hospital chaplain but a volunteer—the hospital didn’t pay him; I think he got a salary as a diocesan priest. The head chaplain at our hospital was an ordained minister who was paid by the hospital for his full-time service. Other kinds of chaplains (for military, police, firefighters) typically are ordained, as far as I know, but may have different requirements for the job.

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I’m sorry, but I don’t have the leisure to answer all your questions, but I will clarify one point.

It’s possible we have different things in mind when we say “positions”. I don’t ever recall in seminary speaking about positions. I assumed that what you meant by “positions” was employment. So, what I meant to say was that the seminary does not grant employment (e.g. parish appointments) to graduates.

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Thank you very much. Your answers have given me some valuable leads for my further studies. I truly appreciate your kindness.

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Of course, I understand. I only wish there were more time to talk. Thanks for clarifying — it was my mistake for not asking clearly. I really learned a lot from your last message. Thanks again, and best wishes.