“As we settle into our new home, I invite you to consider making a gift to this year’s Seminary Appeal. Your generosity directly impacts the lives of our seminarians and students, providing them with the resources they need for their journey – spiritual guidance, theological education, pastoral experience and the support of a vibrant community.”
This is the short and clear message that Bishop Keith J. Chylinski, the rector of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, wants us all to hear this year as we prepare to support our seminary during its annual appeal drive. I’ve had the opportunity to visit our new seminary facilities and was greatly impressed. While the chapel is reminiscent of the old ones (the handsome stained glass windows were taken from one of the former chapels and the beautiful marble Stations of the Cross, statues of the Blessed Mother, St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist were taken from the other), the technology throughout the facilities is clearly brand new and cutting edge. The preparation of our priests, deacons and laypeople who will serve our archdiocese in today’s world and for years to come was clearly the focus in planning these facilities.
As you will see on the posters on the church doors, 72 seminarians are at some stage in a nine year process of preparing for priestly ordination for our archdiocese. All together, there are 167 seminarians at St. Charles; the others are from 13 (arch)dioceses and three religious congregations and will be ordained to serve throughout the United States as well as in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.
In addition to preparing our priests, St. Charles Borromeo Seminary trains permanent deacons and provides the opportunity for laypeople to earn a Master of Arts degree in Theology, as well as other certifications. In case you’re not familiar with it, the School of Theological Studies – a division of our seminary – helps teachers, catechists, youth ministers, lectors, Church employees and, in fact, all Catholics to grow in their knowledge of the faith. It is already an important division of our seminary. Being located next to a Catholic university offers new opportunities for this division that are already being explored. So, you can see, there is a new vibrancy to the seminary, with great plans for the future!
Along with every other registered parishioner throughout the archdiocese, you should have already received a packet from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary as it begins its annual direct mail appeal. Support for our seminary is especially important today. As part of our annual Seminary Appeal, Mr. Joshua Parmet, a seminarian who spent several weeks here this past summer and is now assigned here for his weekly Thursday apostolate, will speak at all the Masses next week to let you know about the seminary and ask for your continued support. The motto for this year is: For Today. For Tomorrow. For All of Us – a very fitting motto as we look to support the seminary today as it prepares the priests, deacons and laity to serve us for years to come! Please be as generous as you can in supporting our seminary to ensure a continued bright future for this very important institution of our archdiocese.