The Propaedeutic Stage

Beginning in August 2023, St. Joseph’s Seminary will offer a Propaedeutic Year Program that seeks to provide men discerning a priestly vocation with the foundation needed to enter priestly formation by fostering integrative growth in the areas of human and spiritual formation, especially as indicated by Pastores Dabo Vobis (1992), Ratio Fundamentalis: The Gift of the Priestly Vocation (2016), and the Program of Priestly Formation Sixth Edition (2022).

Led by Fr. Joseph Holcomb, L.M.S.W., M.Div., the aspirants will enter into a dedicated community life meant to foster prayer, discernment, and personal growth, all the while living a rule of life distinct from academic study to allow space for their human and spiritual growth. They will enter a rhythm of prayer through Daily Mass, Lectio Divina, and the Liturgy of the Hours seeking to cultivate a deeper relationship with Christ. Silence and detachment from media devices, as well as the accompaniment of their formator, spiritual director, and the director of psychological services, will help each man to hear God’s call and grow in interior freedom.

Intellectual formation will include engagement with Sacred Scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, as well as other topics including church history, the lives of the saints, Christian art and literature, and language study (Spanish or ESL). Regular apostolic work and reflection on their apostolates will enable the aspirants to form hearts on fire with pastoral charity. All of these dimensions seek to foster a personal integration, which allows for mature discernment of celibacy and one’s priestly vocation, and helps prepare men for the subsequent stages of initial priestly formation.

The Seminarian Handbook and Rule of Life: Propaedeutic Stage, 2023-2024

For more information, please contact Fr. Joseph Holcomb, L.M.S.W., M.Div.
at [email protected]