Pope Francis has told seminarians that the seminary is not a refuge for those who lack the courage to “get on in life”. The Pope told seminarians training for the Italian diocese of Lazio that a seminary is not a refuge for those who have psychological problems either. The Pontiff was speaking on April 15 Read more
Eight new first year seminarians at Holy Cross Seminary make for a diverse group, reflecting the increasingly multi-cultural nature of the Church in New Zealand. But although there might be seven different ethnicities represented, most of them are young, aged in their twenties. Continue reading
The newly appointed Rector of Holy Cross Seminary in Auckland will bring a breadth of experience with him when he takes up his task next year, including a stint playing first class cricket in New Zealand and in England. Fr Brendan Ward is a priest of the Dunedin Diocese and has been ministering in parishes Read more
“Do you mind if I feed Jonathan?” my sister-in-law asked me as she threw an oversized blanket over her shoulder – but the question she was posing to me wasn’t really “if,” it was “where.” My sister-in-law was gauging whether or not I was comfortable with her breastfeeding my 3-month-old nephew around me in her Read more
A report said the Catholic Church in the United States is seeing a growing number of men enrolled in graduate level seminaries. Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate noted that this year’s tally of 3,694 graduate theology students represents a 16 percent increase since 1995 and a 10 percent jump since 2005. Read more
The number of aspiring priests in Ireland is finally on the rise with 20 students enrolling to be clerics when the new college year begins next month. Maynooth College in County Kildare will admit the wannabe priests in September as 37,500 students begin third level education in Ireland. The college will welcome 20 clerical students Read more
More than 200 people gathered in Wellington on the weekend marking the launch of On a Mission, a book, tracing the lives of 22 former Marist seminarians. A weekend chocker of catchups, re-introductions and lots of stories, for old mates, some who had not seen each other for 30 years or more focused around Friday Read more
Seminary enrolments in Australia and the United States are rising, in spite of the sex abuse and other scandals that have plagued the Catholic Church in recent years. In Australia, the seminary intake has risen from about 235 a year in 2007 to 350 in 2012. The rector of Holy Spirit Seminary in Queensland, Monsignor Read more
Military conscription in Eritrea that forces seminarians and Church workers into long periods of army service is “bleeding the Church in Eritrea to death”, according to a Catholic charity. The communist government of the north-east African state, which does not set a fixed period for military service, has kept Church workers and seminarians in the Read more
In 2001 there were only 26 seminarians in England and Wales. Things are now changing. With more than 200 seminarians, the England and Wales Bishops’ Conference has confirmed the number of men training for the priesthood in England and Wales is at its highest level for nearly twenty years. This is the first time seminaries Read more