Mount St. Mary’s Seminary has a long and illustrious history of forming priests. Since 1808 seminarians have lived, learned, worked, and prayed on Mary’s Mountain. The Mount has responded in each generation to the needs of preparing men for the Catholic priesthood.
If you are interested in hearing more about the Blessed Stanley Rother House of Formation and how to apply, please contact Seminary Admissions.
Listen to Seminary Rector Msgr. Andrew R. Baker, S.T.D., and Seminary Dean of Men Rev. Diego Ruiz talk about Rother House and the Propaedeutic Stage of formation.
With the propaedeutic stage to begin in August 2023, Mount St. Mary’s Seminary is conducting the Blessed Stanley Rother House Campaign to fund this program. The three-year campaign has a goal of $5 million that will provide funds to support the required renovations, program support and an endowment, that will ensure long term sustainability. It is imperative to raise funds for the costs of renovations to the chapel, classrooms, 35 seminarian rooms, bathrooms, library and office space.
We prayerfully encourage support of this exciting program as the Mount continues forming better seminarians and better priests. The success of the campaign will ensure the Mount continues as a national leader in forming tomorrow’s clergy.
To support the campaign, select the button below to visit the seminary giving page, then select the "Blessed Stanley Rother House Campaign" option from the "Your Gift Will Benefit" dropdown.
For additional information about the campaign, please contact:
Diane L. Favret
Director
Seminary Development & Alumni Engagement
301.447.5902
d.l.favret@msmary.edu
Now that the 6th Edition of the Program of Priestly Formation has been published, the Mount is excited to offer a home for the new stage of formation called “The Propaedeutic Stage.” The House of Formation is dedicated to Mount graduate Blessed Stanley Rother, the first American martyr.
This stage of priestly formation takes place before beginning the Discipleship Stage (i.e., before the study of Philosophy). It introduces the new seminarian to the spiritual life and provides a solid foundation in human formation.
Knowing that individual dioceses may struggle to organize such a program in their own diocese and confident in the formation expertise of Mount faculty and formators already present on Mary’s Mountain, the Mount will be renovating a wing of the St. Joseph House of the Daughters of Charity, a complex of buildings that also houses the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.
There the Blessed Stanley Rother House of Formation will be the home for seminarians in the Propaedeutic Stage of priestly formation.
The program is not an academic year but an opportunity within a formational community for new seminarians to deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ, come to a greater knowledge of the Catholic faith, and grow in character and virtue.
The men of Rother House will follow a schedule for liturgy, communal and individual prayer, and devotions. Through various classes, conferences, and lively discussions, the seminarians will learn about such things as discernment, scripture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, time management, and how to maintain healthy physical and emotional health.
There will be several days of recollections and retreats built-in to the yearly schedule. A technology “detox” will take place whereby each man will practice detachment from his electronic devices and gradually learn how to virtuously use technology in view of possible priestly ministry.
The men of Rother House will be a community of discerners under the guidance of a priest formator. They will pray together, work together, and grow together as brothers as they begin their journey of priestly formation.