WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - The Catholic Diocese of Wichita is beginning a training program aimed at high school graduates who want to start on the path to seminary without leaving the city.
The St. Joseph House of Formation is a two-year program for seminarians who will live on the campus of St. Joseph Parish and pursue associate degrees at Newman University while interacting with local priests, the Wichita Eagle (https://bit.ly/2pKZY10 ) reported.
“When the men actually see the people they will serve one day, it does open their heart, because it’s just a very concrete and tactile way they can picture themselves in the shoes of a parish priest,” said the Rev. Mike Simone, chancellor for the Diocese of Wichita. “Rather than going somewhere else, there’s no more disconnect, because they’re doing it in their own hometown.”
“Formation” is a period during which the Catholic Church works to educate a man so he is able to eventually live as a priest or member of religious order.
“This process allows the man to kind of in a sense walk in the shoes of a diocesan priest for these years while he’s also discerning or trying to figure out if this is God’s call for his life,” Simone said.
Wichita’s seminarians currently study at three different colleges out of state. Now they will have the ability to obtain their associate degree from Newman, transfer to a college seminary for their bachelor’s degree in philosophy before going on to a master’s degree in theology, then ordination to the priesthood.
The program will start with three to five men but is expected to grow to up to 16 or more in the next five to seven years.
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Information from: The Wichita (Kan.) Eagle, https://www.kansas.com
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