Mass of the Holy Spirit begins new formation year at Saint John's Seminary

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful and kindle in them the fire of Thy love.

The Mass of the Holy Spirit takes place at the beginning of each school year, and is celebrated so that the seminary community might seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit for the coming academic year. During the Mass the seminary faculty made a Profession of Faith and made their Oath of Fidelity. The Mass was celebrated in the seminary chapel by Cardinal Sean on September 6, 2022 followed by a barbecue for the seminary community.

The Mass of the Holy Spirit inaugurates a new academic year and is our cry to God to stir up within us the gifts and power of the Spirit to propel us on the path to holiness. Seminary formation is to prepare us for priestly ministry. Our success as ministers of the Gospel and dispensers of the sacraments will depend on our personal holiness, not necessarily the heroic holiness of the great martyrs, but the everyday holiness of friendship with the Lord and fidelity to God’s will … I pray that this new year will be a time of spiritual growth, a deepening of our friendship with Christ and of our fellowship with each other.
Cardinal Sean

The work of the seminary is central to the life of the whole Church. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI pointed this out in a plenary assembly of the Congregation for Catholic Education, when he called seminaries “one of the most important [formative institutions for which the Congregation is responsible] for the life of the Church” (February 7, 2011). As our seminarians and students begin another year of formation, please keep them and those responsible for their formation and education in your prayers. Our mission to form your future parish priests and lay ecclesial leaders depends on the support of Catholics from across the New England region and beyond.

We invite you to join us in prayer every 27th of the month for the continued success of our mission.