Human Formation
Spiritual Formation
Intellectual Formation
Pastoral Formation

Human Formation

“In order that his ministry may be humanly as credible and acceptable as possible, it is important that the priest should mold his human personality in such a way that it becomes a bridge and not an obstacle for others in their meeting with Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of humanity [...] Future priests should therefore cultivate a series of human qualities [...] needed for them to be balanced people, strong and free, capable of bearing the weight of pastoral responsibilities”
-John Paul II, Pastores Dabo Vobis #43

The goal of this component of the formation program is to assist the future priest to develop his personality “in such a way that it becomes a bridge and not an obstacle for others” in their meeting of Jesus Christ. In his years in formation, this inevitably requires of the seminarian a deep and thorough reflection on himself. The seminarian must come to understand his gifts and talents, as well as those aspects of his personality that are an obstacle to bringing others to Christ.

Jesus Christ is what God wills all of us to become. All human ministry depends on Jesus’ ministry and is a continuation of it. Following the example of Christ, the candidate for Holy Orders must become more human, not less, by growing in human maturity that manifests itself in the natural virtues.

The future priest will be entrusted with a community of faith. Such a call and trust requires that during his seminary years, the seminarian be formed “to love the truth, to be loyal, to respect every person, to have a sense of justice, to be true to his word, to be genuinely compassionate, to be a man of integrity and, especially, to be balanced in judgment and behavior” (PDV #43).

In order to foster relations with others, the seminarian should be educated to be “affable, hospitable, sincere in his words and heart, prudent and discreet, generous and ready to serve, capable of opening himself to clear and brotherly relationships and of encouraging the same in others, and quick to understand, forgive and console” (PDV #43).

Human formation builds upon affective maturity. This basic factor in the formation of candidates for the priesthood presupposes an awareness that love has a central role in human life. This is a love that involves the entire person in all his aspects – physical, psychological and spiritual – and that is not impoverished by linking it solely with the body and selfish pleasure (PDV #44).

It is within the context of responsible love and affective maturity that formation for celibacy takes place. The seminarian, who is called to celibacy, should find in affective maturity a support to live chastity in faithfulness and joy by bringing to human relationships a strong love for Christ which overflows in love for the Church and the whole human family. Moreover, candidates to the priesthood need to be formed in an affective maturity that is “prudent, able to renounce anything that is a threat to it, vigilant over both body and spirit, and capable of esteem and respect in interpersonal relationships between men and women” (PDV #44).

Finally, human formation requires a clear and strong training in freedom that allows the future priest to be “truly master of oneself [...] ready to open out to others, generous in dedication and service to one’s neighbor” (PDV #44).

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Spiritual Formation

“Just as for all the faithful spiritual formation is central and unifies their being and living as Christians, that is, as new creatures in Christ who walk in the Spirit, so too for every priest his spiritual formation is the core which unifies and gives life to his being a priest and his acting as a priest [...] Those who are to take on the likeness of Christ the priest by sacred ordination should form the habit of drawing close to him as friends in every detail of their lives” (PDV #45)

The Second Vatican Council’s Decree on the Training of Priests, Optatam Totius, states: “Spiritual formation [...] should be conducted in such a way that students may learn to live in intimate and unceasing union with God the Father through his Son Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit” (#8). St. Gregory of Nazianzus writes, “We must begin by purifying ourselves before purifying others; we must be instructed to be able to instruct, become light to illuminate, draw close to God to bring him close to others, be sanctified to sanctify, lead by the hand and counsel prudently.”

The decisive factor to spiritual formation is Jesus Christ. More precisely, it is one’s habitually developed relationship with Christ: “Those who are to take on the likeness of Christ the priest by sacred ordination should form the habit of drawing close to him as friends in every detail of their lives” (PDV #45). Hence, the seminarian “should be taught to search for Jesus.” As his relationship with Jesus Christ grows, so will his love and commitment to the Church; as his faith grows, so will it illumine his attitudes until it eventually dominates his entire outlook on life. The discovery of God’s love and presence in human life will be attained through ongoing conversation of mind and heart such that the seminarian will become self-giving through freedom on the human level.

The search for Christ will focus on three areas: a faithful meditation on the word of God, active participation in the Church’s holy mysteries and the service of charity.

Knowledge of the word of God and familiarity with it are especially important for the prophetic ministry of the priest. The seminarian will learn to listen to him who speaks such that his vocation can be ‘discovered and understood, loved and followed, and one’s own mission carried out” (PDV #47). The most fundamental response to the word is prayer, which must be a key concern of spiritual formation.

A priest is not just a man who prays; he must be a man of prayer, a man transformed by constant prayer. One sure sign that the seminarian is both listening to and responding to the word of God will be his eagerness to participate in those sacramental and prayerful events which will deepen his relationship with Jesus Christ. The high point of both sacrament and prayer is found in the daily Eucharist. It will also find expression in recourse to the sacrament of Penance and recitation, both communal and private, of the Divine Office.

Finally, spiritual formation involves “seeking Christ in people” (PDV #49). Jesus came “not to be served but to serve.” For the seminarian, this will mean formation in conformity to the servant Jesus in the particular mode of Christian priestly ministry. The seminarian should be trained in the charity of Christ, specifically in obedience, celibacy and poverty such that the student is led to that state of joy that will enable the focus to move from self to others.

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Intellectual Formation

“Candidates for the priesthood should have diligent care for the quality of their intellectual formation in their education and pastoral activity. For the salvation of their brothers and sisters they should seek an ever deeper knowledge of the divine mysteries [...] Theological formation [...] should lead the candidate for the priesthood to a complete and unified vision of the truths which God has revealed in Jesus Christ and of the Church’s experience of faith.” (PDV #51, 54)

The Program for Priestly Formation states: “In a significant way, intellectual formation for priesthood means a theological education in which a thorough and comprehensive grounding in the Catholic faith is conveyed” (#334). The seminary’s academic program resonates with the Program of Priestly Formation: “The goal in intellectual formation is the conversion of mind and heart, which is the only sure foundation for a lifetime of teaching and preaching” (#335).

Although intellectual formation has its own specific program and characteristics, it is deeply connected with human, spiritual and pastoral formation, since through it one “participates in the light of God’s mind and seeks to acquire a wisdom which in turn opens to and is directed toward knowing and adhering to God” (PDV #51). Through study, the future priest assents to the word of God, grows in his spiritual life and prepares himself to fulfill his pastoral ministry. St. Bonaventure speaks of this synthesis: “Let no one think that it is enough for him to read if he lacks devotion, or to engage in speculation without spiritual joy, or to be active if he has no piety, or to have knowledge without charity, or intelligence without humility, or study without grace, or to expect to know himself if he is lacking the infused wisdom of God.”

To achieve this synthesis, intellectual formation has two phases. The first is the understanding of the word of God as set down in the Sacred Scriptures, celebrated and lived in the living tradition of the Church, as authoritatively interpreted by the Church’s magisterium. The second phase is the application of the same word of God by the one who is called to believe, to live, to communicate to others the Christian faith and outlook (PDV #54).

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Pastoral Formation

“Formation in its different aspects must have a fundamentally pastoral character. The Council’s decree Optatam Totius states so clearly when speaking of seminaries: ‘The whole training of the students should have as its object to make them true shepherds of souls after the example of Our Lord Jesus Christ, teacher, priest, and shepherd’.” (PDV #57, Optatam Totius #4).

It is not enough that candidates for Holy Orders be humanly, spiritually, and intellectually mature. These attributes have to be placed at the service of others. Hence formation must inculcate a pastoral charity that will enable the priest to be the “living image of Christ.”

The ultimate aim of pastoral formation is ‘the ever-deeper communion with the pastoral charity of Jesus” (PDV #57). According to Optatam Totius, this “pastoral concern ought to permeate thoroughly the entire training of the students” (#19). It is not merely a question of equipping future priests with some pastoral skills or practical techniques, but rather imbuing them with the very sentiments and behavior of Christ the Good Shepherd: “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus” (Phil 2:5).

What the seminarian has learned by study will be integrated with what he has learned by experience. Hence, the field education program, whose purpose is to initiate the candidate into the sensitivity of being a shepherd through the cooperation of diocesan and religious priests and lay people will be built upon by pastoral formation in the seminary through the following goals: to assist students in developing a life style that is consistent with the Gospel; to understand more fully the nature of the Church and Her mission; to become more deeply committed to the Church’s mission; to develop the habit of reflecting theologically on experience; to acquire a beginning professional competence for priestly ministry, which involves appropriating the role of spiritual leaders and public persons in the Church, and to develop the skills needed for effective priestly ministry.

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