Steps to the Seminary
If you decide that you are still interested in the priesthood, and you have a strong sense of God calling you to be a priest, then it is time to apply to take part in the selection process. This takes quite a while, but it is important not to rush anything. The process is there to help discern what God is asking of you. Whatever happens in the end, you will learn a lot about yourself and you will be closer to discovering what Jesus is calling you to do for him.
Dioceses have different procedures for assessing the suitability of people for priestly formation, but each involves four main steps before you are accepted for formation at a seminary:
- Talk about it all with your local priest or chaplain
- Contact your diocesan Vocations Director
- Take part in a Selection Conference or whatever selection procedure your diocese has adopted
- Have an interview with the Bishop.
Your local priest
You may have talked to your priest informally already, perhaps over a long period, but now is the time to approach him more formally. Discuss everything with him openly. Ask all the questions that you have, air your doubts and worries, get him to be honest with you about his own feelings about your suitability.
The Vocations Director
If after this you still feel you would like to test your vocation, your local priest will put you in touch with the Diocesan Vocations Director, or suggest you contact him yourself. You can find details of your local Priestly Vocations Director on this site.
He will want to meet you several times, to get to know you and see what sort of person you are. He will ask about family life and friends, your background and interests, your education, your health and of course your Christian life. It is very important just to be yourself with everyone involved in each stage of the selection process. They are all there to help you and your bishop to discover what God's call to you really is.
The Vocations Director will give you information, guidance and advice. Each diocese varies as to what activities are organised. You may find you are invited to join a group of others exploring their vocation; such a group may meet regularly for reflection, prayer and social events. Some dioceses organize vocation days and weekends, or longer retreats. These can be a real help in focusing yourself on the question at hand: is Jesus calling you to be his priest?
It may be possible to spend a few days at a Seminary. There you can talk with both staff and students, ask questions and see seminary life at first hand. You will discover very quickly that students for the priesthood are ordinary people like you, and a very mixed bunch indeed!
Your contact with the Vocations Director will probably go on for a year or more before any formal application to the bishop is made. More and more stress is being put today on formation before going to the seminary.The Vocations Director will want to see you increasingly involved in the life, worship and work of the Church as a dedicated lay-person. If that is not possible in your own local church for some reason, he will help you to have such experience elsewhere. Some dioceses provide an opportunity for living as a community in a presbytery or special house with others considering a call to the priesthood.
When the Vocations Director is reasonably happy that you are a suitable candidate, there will be an application form to be completed and you will be given the date of the Selection Conference (or similar process). You will be asked to provide Baptism and Confirmation certificates, and a number of references from your school, place of employment and some priests who know you. Eventually you will be asked to undergo a medical examination, and often some kind of
psychological assessment. Don't worry about this! You may also be asked to write a short autobiography, expressing in your own way what has brought you to this point. All of these bits of input help the bishop and his team to put together a real picture of you, the candidate. They will want to know how others see you, and it is important that God's people play a part in discerning your suitability.
The Selection Conference
You will be invited to attend a selection conference with other men offering themselves for the priesthood. This may well be at your nearest seminary over the course of a weekend. The aim of the conference is to help to complete the picture of you for the bishop. You will probably be interviewed by a number of people, priests and lay people, men and women. Some of the senior students may be involved as well. You will have the chance to mix with the seminary students and the other candidates, and there may be discussion groups and other activities. It is important to relax and be yourself, difficult though this is when so much seems to be at stake!
The conference will be looking for signs of the qualities outlined earlier: a true disciple of Jesus and a good, caring and loving human being; a balanced and stable person who has the character, ability and stamina necessary for priestly formation. The team is not there to decide whether you have a Vocation to be a priest, but whether you are suitable to begin a program of further discernment and formation.
The Selection Conference does not make the final decision. The team passes on their recommendations and comments to the bishop.
The Bishop
The final step in the selection process is a personal interview with your diocesan bishop. He will already have the thoughts of the Vocations Director and the Selection Conference, but it is he who makes the final decision. He is the visible shepherd of the diocese, and he has a special concern for providing good priests to share his ministry.
Soon after the interview you will be informed whether you have been accepted as a student for the priesthood. There are three possible results of the whole process of selection:
- You are accepted. The Bishop may ask you about which seminary you are to go to, but it is his decision in the end. It may be one of the seminaries in England or possibly abroad. Increasingly, students are undertaking a preliminary year of formation at our college in Spain. Those who have come to priestly formation aged 40+, may be asked to go to the Beda in Rome for a course that is shorter than the usual six years. The Seminary chosen for you by your bishop will be in touch with you to welcome you and explain what is required.
- It may be felt that you have the potential for priestly formation, but that you first need a fuller experience of ordinary life and Christian involvement. The bishop may suggest that you spend a year or two, or possibly longer, in secular employment, further education (perhaps a university degree) or pastoral work. A time as a lay pastoral assistant in a parish may be a possibility. This will all depend on your personal circumstances and experience. It would not be fair to rush you into a seminary, with all the sacrifices that it may involve, unless you seem ready to make the most of such an experience. The bishop will want to help you towards the degree of personal maturity, knowledge, involvement and experience which is vital before you enter a seminary. You will naturally be rather disappointed if asked to wait a while before going to the seminary, especially if the length of the wait is left rather open ended. You will need to trust the bishop, and make the most of this chance to put your vocation even more to the test of time.
- The final possibility will be even more painful, although to some candidates it may come as a great relief! The bishop may tell you that he and his team feel that your vocation lies elsewhere, not as a priest. If you have had a strong feeling of being called, that will be difficult to take. In the end, however, it may be just what you need to free you to discover what special calling Jesus is making to you. Your Vocations Director will help you to understand the reasons for the decisions, and will encourage you to find a new direction for you generous commitment to serve the Lord and his Church. You will have much to give!