Seminarian Formation Program

“I will give you shepherds after my own heart.” Jeremiah 3:15

The Program for Priestly Formation: Sixth Edition, from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and St. John Paul II’s Pastores dabo vobis are the foundational documents upon which Conception Seminary College’s program of Seminary Formation is built. Interpreted via the 1500-year-old Benedictine tradition and the legacy of Conception Abbey, Conception Seminary College strives to form men of community and conversion.

The Seminary Formation program is centered around forming seminarians in the four dimensions of priestly formation:

Human Formation
Assists 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
Helps 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
Helps 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 will have developed a strong personal relationship with Jesus Christ and His Church, enabling them to further their vocational discernment, engage in graduate theological studies, and advance to the next stage of priestly formation.