Pastoral Formation Program
The Pastoral Formation Program is coordinated with and integrated into the spiritual and academic spheres of the Seminary. The program aims to provide seminarians with an opportunity for personal involvement in and practical exercise of the pastoral ministry. Learning through active engagement in the ministry is seen as an integral part of the total formation of the future priest, for it both draws from and further enriches academic and spiritual aspects of formation. Active pastoral involvement, when properly designed and supervised, is educational in nature. Field work is thus a laboratory for learning through practice. This program is coordinated by the Director of Pastoral Formation.
Field Education Program
During the academic program students take part in pastoral field placements. Students in the first year take a practical teaching course to prepare for teaching religion. Seminarians have the opportunity to participate in the following:
Religious education in parish-based programs from grammar school through high school level. This can include working in a parochial grammar school.
High School ministry which involves classroom instruction, vocation programs, and assisting in students' service programs. Also, there is a retreat program for high school students at the Seminary.
Hospital work, available in a number of medical centers in the New York area. These range from general health care facilities to centers specializing in the care of orphans, abused or abandoned children, and the terminally ill.
Ministry to specific groups including work with the homeless, those in prisons, persons in alcohol treatment centers, those in hospice programs, persons with AIDS, persons with mental handicaps, and persons who are deaf.
Pastoral Summer Program
Seminarians of the Archdiocese will be assigned to parishes within the Archdiocese in order to apply their academic, spiritual, and pastoral abilities to specific parish communities. The student serves for two consecutive years in the same parish. Parishes are carefully chosen for the fullest pastoral development of each seminarian and stress is placed upon thorough student evaluation.
Pastoral Languages
All New York students are expected, upon ordination, to have gained a liturgical facility in Spanish and/or Italian. Language studies take place during their third and fourth years. For those entering Hispanic or Italian ministries, immersion courses will be provided.
Pastoral Skills Workshops
During his formation, from entrance into Dunwoodie until ordination to the priesthood, each seminarian will participate in a series of three day workshops. These workshops both complement and bridge the spiritual, academic, and apostolic phases of seminary formation.
Workshops are conducted prior to the Fall semester and will feature recognized professionals or instructors in each respective field. No credit is given for these workshops which are held at the Seminary and in other locations as needs require. Workshop topics include the following:
Spiritual Direction: This workshop seeks to help the students draw upon their theological knowledge in leading lay people toward a deeper spiritual life.
Catholic Education: Seminarians will be familiarized with the principles and techniques of religious instruction.
Parish Life: The workshop reviews developments in parish life since the Second Vatican Council with an eye toward the most effective involvement of lay people, religious, and deacons in parish programs.
Counseling: Building upon related courses required in the seminary curriculum, this workshop will provide a concentrated opportunity for developing counseling skills.
Evangelization: This includes an overview of the varieties of approaches being utilized in today's Church to deepen the faith of churchgoers and to attract the alienated and non-churched. Special attention is given to work among Hispanic, African-American, and Asian communities.
Communications: This workshop offers the student exposure to the power of the media and ways of utilizing it for the work of the Church.
R.C.I.A.: This workshop provides an in-depth look at the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, its theology, and practical implementation in the parish.
Substance Abuse: The workshop is intended to familiarize the seminarian with the problem of substance abuse in all its forms, including how to detect abuse, the legal and counseling obligations of a parish priest, and treatment. It also addresses the problem of substance abuse among clergy.
Theological Reflection
Seminarians participate with faculty in small group theological reflection seminars following the conferences given by the Rector. This provides the seminarians with the chance to discuss formation and pastoral issues raised by the Rector within the context of their theological training and pastoral experience.
