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Saint Francis de Sales Seminary will continue to be the residence of archdiocesan seminarians, as well as the source for their spiritual, pastoral and human formation. However, as part of a plan announced April 5 by Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, the seminarians will receive their academic formation at Sacred Heart School of Theology, Hales Corners, beginning with the 2006-2007 academic year. (Catholic Herald photo by Sam Lucero) |
Read more about the changes at Saint Francis Seminary in this week's Herald of Hope.
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ST. FRANCIS — As it has during the last 160 years, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee will continue to provide formation for all who are preparing for priesthood, diaconate and lay ministry. What will change over the next several months, however, is how that formation will be provided and where.
“Saint Francis Seminary will remain open, but the archdiocese will collaborate with local universities and colleges to provide high-quality formation in a fiscally-responsible way of future priests, deacons and lay ministers,” according to a statement by the archdiocese.
The statement, made public April 5, provided an overview of how the formation — academic, spiritual, pastoral, and human – would be provided for those studying for the priesthood, diaconate and lay ministry.
Seminarians in the five-year priestly formation program will receive academic formation at the Sacred Heart School of Theology in Hales Corners. Their spiritual, pastoral and human formation will take place at Saint Francis Seminary through a yet-to-be established house of formation.
There are 23 seminarians currently enrolled at Saint Francis, as well as five others who are receiving their priestly formation elsewhere, e.g, Pontifical North American College in Rome, The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.
Spiritual, pastoral and human formation of the 23 students in the diaconate program will continue to be provided at Saint Francis Seminary. A decision has not been made as to where the academic formation will be given, but among the options are Sacred Heart School of Theology, one of the Catholic colleges/universities in the archdiocese; or it might remain a “stand-alone program,” according to the archdiocese’s statement.
The 60 students in the lay graduate program, a program through which participants pursue either a master’s degree in divinity or master’s degree in pastoral studies in order to prepare for leadership positions in the church, will now receive their academic formation either at Sacred Heart or at other colleges/universities offering degrees in these areas.
There are also 77 students enrolled in the certificate division program – a program that prepares lay people for service in the church, either as members of parish staffs or as volunteers in ministries.
According to the archdiocese’s statement, the certificate division program “will be restructured and expanded to a broader lay formation program.” It will be renamed the “Pope John Paul II Center for the New Evangelization.”
One of the goals in the restructuring will be to make the certificate program more accessible throughout the 10 counties of the archdiocese by working with other educational institutions and by utilizing technology for distance learning.
“The expansion of this program is essential, as the Church faces a pressing need for well-trained lay ministers in the Latino community,” the statement said, noting that nearly 40 percent of current students are Latino.
The decisions regarding formation come after the work of two commissions. In 2004, Fr. Dan Pakenham, rector of Saint Francis Seminary from 1979 to 1992 and currently pastor of St. Mary, Elm Grove, headed the eight-member Archdiocesan Commission on Ministerial Formation that studied how the archdiocese could provide, in a “fiscally-responsible fashion,” quality formation for those studying for ordained and lay ministry.
Of the commission’s 15 recommendations, Archbishop Dolan chose five for “substantive renewal, refinement and intensification,” according to a Feb. 16, 2005 memo to the seminary’s board of trustees.
A second commission, focusing upon strengthening priestly formation, fiscal solvency, increasing enrollment, collaborating with other institutions, and improving the certificate program – the areas designated by Archbishop Dolan, has been working for the last 10 months. The archbishop made his decision about the seminary based upon their research, deliberations and consultations.
One of the results of the archbishop’s decisions, according to the statement, is that the archdiocese will have “the opportunity to consolidate its resources and facilities.” A facilities’ assessment of the Saint Francis Seminary property will be done “with the intention of gradually moving archdiocesan central offices to the vacated space at Henni Hall, and possibly other Seminary buildings.”
The archbishop was planning to name a leader for the transition team that will work out the details and the timelines in seven areas:
- Academic collaboration with Sacred Heart School of Theology
- Saint Francis de Sales Seminary
- Diaconal program
- Transition of lay graduate students
- New lay formation program through the “Pope John Paul II Center for the New Evangelization
- Saint Francis Seminary facility assessment
- Financial resources
In a separate statement, Sacred Heart School of Theology termed the partnership with Saint Francis Seminary “a wonderful opportunity for us to work together in an essential mission of the Church” and “an exciting new venture for all concerned.” |
