Priestly Formation

Forming disciples. Proclaiming Jesus Christ.

Saint John's Seminary is proud to serve the Church since 1884 in forming men who aspire to be priests in the Roman Catholic Church. Seminary life is marked by communal prayer, fraternity, evangelistic zeal, growth in virtue, and intellectual engagement. It is a house of discernment filled with joy, encouragement, and guidance.

We welcome those men who feel called to the priesthood to discover all that we have to offer through our Priestly Formation Program and to respond with generous faith to the Lord’s call.

Seminary formation is a process of continuous personal growth and development of a man aimed toward the goal of priestly ordination. It is a program of preparation and formation of the whole person in the context of the four areas of formation: Human, Pastoral, Intellectual, and Spiritual.

Vocations

Four Areas of Formation

Formation Programs

Pre-Theology Program - Philosophy

Theology Program - Master of Divinity

Saint John's Seminary relies on your help for our critical work of forming your future parish priests.

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When you make a donation to Saint John's Seminary, you are supporting the education of your future parish priests, laity, deacons, and professed religious who serve in countless ministries throughout New England and beyond.

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Alumni Throwback

Rev. Alex Boucher

Ordination Class: 2020

Saint John’s will always hold a special place in my heart. It is the place where I truly embraced the vocation to the priesthood, made friends that will support and sustain me for the rest of my life, and had the opportunity to learn from excellent professors and formators. All of these things would’ve been fruitless had it not been for Saint John’s Chapel, the true heart of the seminary. For all of that, I am grateful to God and to Saint John’s Seminary.

“The seminary can be seen as a place and a period in life. But it is above all an educational community in progress: It is a community established by the bishop to offer those called by the Lord to serve as apostles the possibility of re-living the experience of formation which our Lord provided for the Twelve. In its deepest identity the seminary is called to be, in its own way, a continuation in the Church of the apostolic community gathered about Jesus, listening to his word, proceeding toward the Easter experience, awaiting the gift of the Spirit for the mission. Such an identity constitutes the normative ideal which stimulates the seminary in the many diverse forms and varied aspects which it assumes historically as a human institution, to find a concrete realization, faithful to the Gospel values from which it takes its inspiration and able to respond to the situations and needs of the times”