April 20, 2020

Dear Bishops and Vocation Directors,

I hope the blessing of this Easter season finds you well. In keeping with our scheduled academic calendar, Saint Joseph Seminary College honored our Easter break last week with the seminarians returning to class on Thursday. On Friday, April 18th, the men were again free from their afternoon classes for what would have been Alumni Day. This was done to keep a certain sense of normalcy on and off campus. On Saturday, I hosted a barbeque for those on campus and we gathered in celebration of the season and our perseverance through our current situation dealing with this pandemic. The spirit of community and togetherness was a refreshing respite to us all.

This week, we will resume our full schedule of academics and our modified formation in these times when some are near and others are away from our seminary. As we approach the end of this trying semester, we continue with our evaluation process with the Formation staff and accumulating the academic grades for each of our students. The online classes are well-attended by our seminarians and our faculty is doing an excellent job in keeping all engaged in learning. The administration continues to monitor the changing situation and looks forward to the time when a true normalcy can prevail.

The administration and I are currently planning for our upcoming fall semester. Before we would move on to this new semester, I would very much like to hold a proper ‘goodbye’ for our graduating seniors of 2020 and recognize their hard work over the past years of seminary. It is my hope that by July, we will be able to host a gathering to celebrate each of our graduates. As we work through this and comply with what would be required by the officials of our state and surrounding states, I will keep you informed of our plans.

I want to leave you with my word that you, your seminarians and the whole Church are always in our prayers here at Saint Joseph Seminary College. I appreciate each of you and your relentless work to help us continue the formation process that will give us men that will become diocesan priests. It is my belief that having gone through these unprecedented times will give us a more generous and compassionate generation of young men who will be equipped to deal with adversity and challenge through the love that Jesus Christ provides.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Gregory Boquet, O.S.B.