A new stage of seminary is setting the rhythm and laying a foundation for men entering into seminary life, said Ryan Rasmussen, a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Louisville, in a recent interview.
He’s one of five men from the archdiocese who completed the propaedeutic year of seminary — the first year of formation — at St. Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology earlier this year.
This fall, three new seminarians from the archdiocese entered the propaedeutic year. They are the third class from the Archdiocese of Louisville to experience this recently mandated, preparatory stage, which was promulgated by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ “Program of Priestly Formation in the United States of America.”
The word “propaedeutic” is Greek for “preparation,” said Father Martin Linebach, the Archdiocese of Louisville’s vicar for vocations and director of the Vocation Office, in a recent interview.
People can misunderstand the propaedeutic year to be a precursor to seminary, rather than the first stage of seminary, said Father Linebach.
“That’s kind of a misunderstanding — when you’re in the propaedeutic stage — that you’re not a seminarian or you’re not in seminary. You are,” he said.
The propaedeutic stage of seminary is the first year in a seven- to eight-year timeline that brings a typical seminarian to priesthood ordination.
But the first year of seminary sets a “different pace” than the years that follow, he said.
During this year, the men live daily life at the seminary among other first-year seminarians. “They’re somewhat integrated into the seminary community, but not fully,” said Father Linebach.
While the seminarians receive intellectual and pastoral formation during this period, the “richness of the propaedeutic stage” is its focus on spiritual and human formation, he said.
Spiritual formation
During the propaedeutic year, the men follow a schedule of prayer that consists of the Liturgy of the Hours, Mass and adoration.
The hope is that the men can build their priestly formation on an established prayer routine, said seminarian Peter Bifone Jr., who completed his propaedeutic year at St. Meinrad in May.
“You establish your prayer routine and then you add stuff on top of it, so you can always fall back on your habits of your prayer rather than trying to learn it as you go,” he said.
Rasmussen said he found the spiritual formation provided in the propaedeutic year to be “fruitful.”
“You start discovering how deep the spiritual life can really be,” he said.
The year of formation is “retreat-like,” helping the men grow in their certainty of a religious vocation, said Father Linebach.
“There has to be a degree of certainty as someone progresses through seminary. And that certainty should grow,” he said. “None of these young men go into seminary thinking, ‘Well, I’m just gonna try this.’ There’s more certainty in them at this point.”
But, “the first few years of seminary are still part of the discernment process, it’s just more intense,” he said.
Human formation
Human formation is the “jewel of the propaedeutic year,” said Rasmussen.
During his first year, he gained a greater understanding of himself and how he interacts with others, he said. He and his fellow first-year seminarians became “close” friends, and that bond has continued into their second year of seminary, he said.
As the seminarians grow in fraternity, they help form one another as men, said seminarian Thomas Wichmann.
“You come to know your flaws when you’re in community. They’re just more exposed and being rubbed against. So, for me, it taught me to be patient with myself, to love people better,” he said.
“We’re all like these jagged rocks in a tumbler, and we’re tumbling around together. So we knock off each other’s jagged edges to become well-rounded rocks,” Wichmann said.
Intellectual formation
While the first year of seminary is not as intellectually rigorous as the years of formation that follow, the first-year seminarians spend time in class, studying Scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, said Father Linebach.
These classes give the men “the tools to be successful” when the academic responsibilities intensify in the next stages of seminary, he said.
For Bifone, who worked in software development for four years before joining the seminary, the propaedeutic stage provided a helpful transition back into academics.
“I was kind of out of the whole tests and classes and reading for class workflow. So it’s a lot of getting used to doing that again, having to take notes, how to study for stuff,” he said.
Similarly, Rasmussen, who studied mechanical engineering, said the year helped him “wade into the waters of academia” in a low-pressure environment.
Pastoral formation
During the propaedeutic year, the seminarians also begin their pastoral formation through ministry assignments, such as hospital ministry, service at a soup kitchen or helping with OCIA preparation, said Father Linebach.
Last year, all of the first-year seminarians at St. Meinrad worked in Hispanic Ministry at nearby parishes.
Technology fast
Another element of the propaedeutic stage is a fast from technology, said Father Linebach. Typically, seminarians do not have access to their cell phones on weekdays, although different seminaries take different approaches, he said.
The fast helps the men “have a healthy integrated approach to technology and their own person,” he said.
“I thought they would complain like crazy, but they all appreciated it. They experienced a certain freedom, and then that also gave them opportunity to do other things,” he said.
During the technology fast, Wichmann “rediscovered” his love of sports — such as ultimate frisbee, basketball and soccer, he said. Rasmussen found a new hobby in playing pool with other seminarians, he said.
Other seminarians have developed hobbies, such as cooking, playing guitar and running, Father Linebach noted.
The seminarians complete the propaedeutic stage by going on a pilgrimage to the Camino de Santiago in Spain, said Father Linebach.
