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Greetings from St. Mary’s new president-rector! May the grace and peace of the Lord Jesus be with you.
It is an honor for me to serve as the rector of the oldest Catholic seminary in the United States and my own alma mater. This is my third assignment to St. Mary’s Seminary & University and I am full of joy and excitement to be back. I came here first in August of 1968 as a first theologian, taught on the faculty from 1980-1992, and served as vice rector from 1986-1992. I am delighted to be back at St. Mary’s for a third time. I am grateful to Father Robert Leavitt, S.S., who served as rector from 1980-2007, for his advice and counsel during my months of transition. He now begins a well-deserved sabbatical. I hope you will find that this website gives you an overview of the wonderful seminarian community and vibrant programs at St. Mary’s Seminary & University today. Auspice Maria |
St. Mary's Priestly Formation Program
St. Mary's offers an outstanding priestly formation program based on the Bishops' Program of Priestly Formation and in the spirit of Pastores dabo vobis of Pope John Paul II. In addition to the B.A., M.A., and M.Div. degrees, St. Mary's is the oldest pontifical faculty in our country and awards the S.T.B.. S.T.L., and S.T.D. degrees by the authority of the Holy See. The Knott Library and the Raymond Brown Center provide outstanding theological and biblical resources for all academic programs.
Every seminary, of course, takes special pride in something. Today, St. Mary's Seminary has made "pastoral formation" its primary emphasis. Pastoral formation, though, is closely integrated with human, spiritual, and theological formation at St. Mary's. So, the major focus in the entire program is forming "good shepherds" and capable pastors for the Church.
The Ecumenical Institute of Theology was established in 1968 in response to the Second Vatican Council. This evening school program is open to lay persons of all faiths, but offers special programs for Roman
Catholic lay ministers. It also offers similar program for other churches and congregations.
The Center for Continuing Formation is St. Mary's thirty-room conference center on campus for continuing education for priests. The Center offers special programs each year for pastors, newly ordained priests, and senior priests. It also hosts various bishops' meetings, ecumenical gatherings, and other conferences.
The Associated Archives — a state-of-the-art facility — contains the archival records of the Society of Saint Sulpice, St. Mary's Seminary & University, and the Archdiocese of Baltimore, the country’s first diocese (1789), and is an outstanding resource for Church historians.