Seminarian Formation

As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” At once, they left their nets and followed him.
Matthew 4:18-20

The Seminary Formation program is designed utilizing the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Program for Priestly Formation: Sixth Edition and St. John Paul II’s apostolic exhortation Pastores dabo vobis and draws upon the 1500-year-old Benedictine tradition of the monks of Conception Abbey with the goal of preparing those discerning a vocation to the ministerial priesthood.

It is centered around forming seminarians in the four dimensions of formation:

Human Formation
Assist seminarians in developing their character and personality so that they become for others a bridge to Christ by a threefold progression of knowledge of self, acceptance of self, and gift of self.

Spiritual Formation
Help each seminarian to gain intimate companionship with Jesus Christ; to live, as the Church says, “in intimate and unceasing union with God the Father through his Son Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit. This is the foundational call to discipleship and conversion of heart.” (PPF, 226).

Intellectual Formation
Help seminarians acquire a personal knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and to develop the intellectual skills and curiosity that will sustain them on their lifelong faith journey, and to equip them with the tools to share that knowledge in the community of faith.

Pastoral Formation
Takes seminarians beyond the classroom and the seminary community to direct and ongoing interaction with a variety of people. This outreach dimension of community living flows from the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist.

Upon completion of the Seminary Formation program, seminarians are prepared in all the areas necessary to continue their seminary formation and a graduate level of theological study.

Seminarians will find that the holistic approach of Conception Seminary College’s formation program will guide them in their vocational discernment. As a helpful guide and resource to that discernment, the Seminarian Handbook is intended to promote the values and lifestyle of priestly formation. It presents Conception’s philosophy of priestly formation and the programs that realize it, information about student services and activities and seminary policy and procedures.