PASTORAL FORMATION

The primary purpose of the Pastoral Formation Program at Saint Joseph Seminary College is to provide seminarians with an opportunity to develop ministerial awareness and effectiveness in preparation for the Roman Catholic priesthood. Through a process of actual engagement in ministry on a weekly basis, seminarians are familiarized with the various facets of ministry and are challenged to begin to develop their own ministerial identities.

Concerns and challenges facing the Church in contemporary culture offer all Christians, and especially those who aspire to priestly ministry, significant opportunities for pastoral activity. In particular, Pope John Paul II has repeatedly emphasized the need for a new evangelization, one in which, as the Pope writes in Christifideles Laici, a mending of the Christian fabric of society is accomplished through the remaking of the Christian fabric of the Church itself.

In order to grow in their understanding of how to be "servant-leaders", seminarians are engaged in a wide variety of ministry experiences. They are presently serving the elderly residents of Christwood Retirement Home; disadvantaged youth at Sister Theresa's "Blue Stand"; the growing Latino community on the Northshore; the poor, homeless, and those struggling with addiction at Ozanam Inn, Habitat for Humanity and Bridge House. Additionally, our final year seminarians participate in Border Immersion and Guatemala Mission programs.