Priestly Formation

Welcome to the seminary formation page of St. Joseph’s Seminary where you can learn more about our programs
in the Propaedeutic, Discipleship and Configuration stages of priestly formation!

Following both the 2016 Ratio Fundamentalis and the 2019 Program for Priestly Formation Sixth Edition, St. Joseph’s Seminary seeks to form men to be “missionary disciples who are ‘in love’ with the Master, and who will be shepherds ‘with the smell of the sheep.’”
Our goal in each stage of formation is to encourage our seminarians to cultivate a deep relationship with the Lord and to foster communion among God’s people whom they will serve as priests.  As the new Program for Priestly Formation makes clear, in each of these stages the seminary community plays an essential role, as a “school of human virtue” and a “school of spiritual growth,” where seminarians are able to grow in their love and relationship with the Lord, and become equipped to carry the Gospel into a largely secularized society and culture. 
Relying on the grace and assistance of the Lord and the support of so many alumni, friends, and benefactors, the seminary formation program at Dunwoodie welcomes a new generation of seminarians seeking to answer the Lord’s call, “Come, follow me!”

Fr. Michael Bruno, S.T.D.
Dean of Seminarians