Prospective Students
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God is calling you. Everyone has a vocation, and some are invited to play a special role in service to God’s people. God calls some men to be priests — shepherds, pastors, fathers, ministers, servants and leaders in the Church.
St. John’s Seminary forms men especially for service to the Church in the Southwest United States. Our diversity reflects the diversity of the people here. Our graduates, once ordained, can meet the demands of ministry here.
If you sense that God is calling you to this service, you should ask for the approval and sponsorship of your diocesan bishop or the relevant religious superior. You can ask your parish priest how to begin the process. You must first be accepted by a vocation director before you can be admitted to St. John’s. Find your vocation director for your diocese here.
Lay students must have the approval of their local parish pastor.
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The Priesthood
“… a priest is able to stand and act in the community in the name and person of Jesus Christ, Head and Shepherd of the Church. This sacramental character needs to be completed by the personal and pastoral formation of the priest, who appropriates “the mind of Christ” and effectively communicates the mysteries of faith through his human personality as a bridge, through his personal witness of faith rooted in his spiritual life, and through his knowledge of faith.” — Program of Priestly Formation
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Lay Students
The Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry is designed for non-resident students — lay Catholics and members of religious communities who want to acquire the skills they need for effective ministry in the local Church. It is a professional program that offers intellectual, spiritual and pastoral formation in the Roman Catholic tradition. Classes are aimed at people identified by their pastors or superiors as potential candidates for roles such as pastoral associate, parish life director, director of religious education, youth or young adult minister, or adult faith formator (among others).
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