 Main Seminary building (left of tower) and Christ the King Chapel (right of tower) | |
| Type | All-maleseminary; coed lay programs |
|---|---|
| Established | 1999 |
| Affiliation | Catholic Church (Archdiocese of Denver) |
| Rector | Very Rev. Daniel Leonard |
| Students | 120 |
| Location | 1300 South Steele Street,Denver, Colorado, United States |
| Website | www |
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Saint John Vianney Theological Seminary is aCatholic seminary inDenver, Colorado, dedicated toSaintJohn Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests. It is located at 1300 South Steele Street in the Cory-Merrill neighborhood of Denver, on the campus of the St.John Paul II Center for the New Evangelization. Founded in 1999, St. John Vianney is run by theArchdiocese of Denver.
St. John Vianney offers formation programs forseminarians studying for thepriesthood, candidates to becomepermanent deacons, and lay people interested in learning more about Catholicism.
St. John Vianney Theological Seminary was constituted on March 17, 1999. It replaced the former St. Thomas Seminary, which operated from 1907 to the early 1990s. CardinalJames Stafford, archbishop of Denver, purchased the St. Thomas Seminary campus from theCongregation of the Mission in 1995. He renamed it the St. John Paul II Center for the New Evangelization and remodeled a facility there for the archdiocesanchancery.[1]
ArchbishopCharles J. Chaput, Stafford's successor. commissioned afeasibility study on establishing a new seminary at the St. John Paul II Center. After consulting with priests and parishioners, he formulated a plan to create the St. John Vianney Theological Seminary. The plans also called for the establishment of:
The St. John Vianney program forseminarians studying for the priesthood follows the four pillars listed in Pope John Paul II'sPastores Dabo Vobis: human formation, spiritual formation, pastoral formation and intellectual formation. The seminary has three components in the priestly formation process:
The spirituality year (SY) is a 12-month program of prayer,meditation, limited classroom study, community service and evangelization. It is a prerequisite for the pre-theology cycle. SY is marked by a commitment to prayer; seminarians attend threeretreats, including a 30-day silentIgnatian retreat. They give up phones, television, computers, and popular media. The seminarians live in a separate community on the seminary grounds and pray, study, work and take recreation together. The men also spend two hours a day studyingsacred scripture, catechism, and spiritual classics in the classroom.
At the end of the SY, the seminarians undertake apostolic assignments outside the seminary. These assignments include teaching young people, visiting the elderly, and ministering to the sick. In January of their spirituality year, the seminarians are sent out in pairs for one month to live with the poor, serve them and teach them about Catholicism.[2]
The pre-theology cycle at St. John Vianney is a two- or three-year set of courses that cover philosophy, introductory theology, and languages. It is a prerequisite for the theology cycle. The seminarian'sdiocese can choose between degree and non-degree programs in philosophy to meet the entrance requirements for the theology cycle. The study of philosophy is central to the pre-theology program. St. John Vianney offers three undergraduate philosophy programs:
The Theology Cycle at St. John Vianney is a four-year program of study in theological and pastoral disciplines which meet the requirements for priestly formation specified by theUnited States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Each seminarian is enrolled in a graduate level program that enables him to earn both aBachelor of Sacred Theology degree (S.T.B.) and aMaster of Divinity degree (M.Div.) prior to ordination.[2]
St Francis School of Theology for Deacons, (SFSTD), is a division of St John Vianney Seminary. The SFSTD trains permanent deacons for the Archdiocese of Denver utilizing the same professors as the seminary. The men who are ordained to Holy Orders provide service of Liturgy, Word, and Sacrament to the Church of Northern Colorado. Admission to SFSTD is limited to men under the age of 60.[2]
The Catechetical School and the Denver Catholic Biblical School are divisions of St. John Vianney Seminary for laypeople.
St. John Vianney is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools and is affiliated with thePontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome andRegis University in Denver.
Previous rectors of St. John Vianney include Denver's current archbishopSamuel J. Aquila, Msgr. Michael Glenn, Rev. Scott Traynor. As of 2018[update]. the rector was Fr. Daniel Leonard.
St. John Vianney serves 15 dioceses in theWestern United States and two international dioceses. As of 2014, 136 men from these dioceses were attending the seminary to prepare for the priesthood.[2]
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