Mount seminarians learn to be shepherds imbued with the charity of Christ, filled with a missionary spirit, possessing pastoral competence and pastoral skills, especially through experiences in various ministries, including teaching, health care, and parish apostolates, developing a special loving commitment to the weak and vulnerable, the sick and dying, the poor and outcast, immigrants and the oppressed.
The pastoral formation program prepares seminarians to become shepherds imbued with the charity of Christ, filled with a missionary spirit, possessing pastoral competence and pastoral skills which are developed through formative, supervised educational ministry experiences that include social service ministry, teaching, ministry to the sick and needy, evangelization, promoting vocations, developing administrative skills, and the ordained ministry of the transitional deacon.
The central component of the pastoral formation program involves active participation and engagement in a cycle of ministry, which includes supervised ministry under a specifically designed syllabus, theological reflection, regular evaluation, and an annual pastoral workshop for supervisors and seminarians. The Director of Pastoral Formation conducts an on‑site visit for an evaluation while also affording an opportunity to evaluate the supervisor’s experience of the program itself.
The Seminarian Handbook contains a detailed section on the Pastoral Formation program and the elements of supervised ministry.
Download the Seminarian Handbook (.pdf)The aim of pastoral formation is the development of a true shepherd who teaches, sanctifies, and governs after the example of Jesus Christ. The seminarian gains pastoral experience by his Pastoral Field Education and summer assignments under the care of and evaluation by a supervisor. Pastoral Formation develops the heart of a shepherd in the seminarian as a man who:
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Sequenced settings provide the arena for the acquisition of a pastoral personality and a set of pastoral competencies to be developed: catechetical ministry, ministry to the sick and needy, and evangelization. Placements for the transitional deacon continue this pastoral formation within a parish and rectory context. Special opportunities are offered for experiences in Hispanic Ministry. In each area seminarians are to show they can teach, collaborate, evangelize, administrate, and lead. They are to develop a sense of themselves as authorized ministers performing their service in the name of the Church. They are to develop the skills demanded of this service, and are to be appropriately aware and responsive to different social classes, races and cultures, age groups and genders, with a special loving concern for the poor. They are to share the mind of the Church regarding the ecumenical dimension of pastoral ministry. They are to be men who, in keeping with “Pastores Dabo Vobis,” possess a comprehensive pastoral character (PPF, 237; PDV, 44).
Newly ordained priests are asked to take on the management of parishes within three to five years after ordination. Pastors and Stewards is a program that provides seminarians, and lay parish professionals, with the tools they need effectively run operations that extend beyond their pastoral studies.
Learn MoreMount-2000 is a weekend retreat for high school students coordinated by our current seminarians. Future priests are paired with a student group assigned for the entire weekend. This includes eating meals together, teaching students how to pray the bible and offering time for conversation. With almost 2000 high school students on campus this is an opportunity to practice pastoral formation.
Visit the WebsiteCoordinated through the university's Office of Campus Ministry, seminarians may opt to take on the role as Mount sports chaplains to build, develop, and deepen the faith of the student athletes by meeting them “on the court,” building a relationship with each member of the team, and challenging athletes to grow in their faith.
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