St. Mary's Seminary is the first Roman Catholic seminary in the nation: rich in tradition while focused on priestly preparation for the 21st-century.
These pages provide information on the history, personnel, environment, and formation (in the Sulpician tradition) at St. Mary's.
The three pages in this section of our site touch on the very basics of the formation process.
A major part of priestly formation is intellectual formation, accomplished through the pursuit of academic degrees.
Desiring to assist in the strengthening of Hispanic ministry and recognizing the need for well-prepared priests dedicated in-part or in-full to this ministry, St. Mary’s Seminary and University has established a specialized track in Hispanic ministry.
St. Mary’s Propaedeutic Stage implements the vision of the Program for Priestly Formation (6th edition). It takes place in a revitalized and expanded structure on the historic grounds of the original St. Mary’s Seminary in downtown Baltimore. The McGivney House welcomes candidates from all dioceses and is not limited to candidates destined to enter St. Mary’s Seminary & University, but is the recommended program for those who will come to St. Mary’s.
St. Mary’s Ecumenical Institute (EI) was founded in 1968 by St. Mary’s Seminary & University, America’s oldest Roman Catholic seminary, in cooperation with ecumenical leaders. St. Mary’s is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools and by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. The Ecumenical Institute encourages people of all denominations to explore theological studies in a serious, open-minded, and supportive environment. All EI programs are available wherever you are - on campus in Baltimore, and on-line.
The Ecumenical Institute invites people of all denominations into theological study that pursues excellence and promotes ecumenical understanding and respect. All EI programs are available wherever you are - on campus in Baltimore, and on-line.
St. Mary's Ecumenical Institute has a rolling admissions policy. Students may apply at any time for admission by submitting the appropriate materials.
The Ecumenical Institute offers accredited graduate theological programs for two master’s degrees, several graduate certificates, and introductory explorations.
The post-master’s Certificate of Advanced Studies in Theology (CAS) is designed for individuals who possess a master’s degree in theology (e.g., MAT.), ministry (e.g., MACM), divinity (e.g., MDiv), or a related field and who desire to continue their theological education with a general or focused program of study.
The Doctor of Ministry program roots ministry in the mission of God, the ways God is working in your context, in your ministry, and in you.
Students have a host of resources available to support their theological education, from free parking and a great library to writing assistance and advising.
St. Mary's Ecumenical Institute offers accredited graduate theological education that is intellectually rigorous, personally enriching, and professionally empowering.
More than 750 alums of St. Mary's Ecumenical Institute are making a difference in Baltimore, in Maryland and D.C., West Virginia and Pennsylvania, and around the world.
General communication and individual contacts
It is the mission of the Center for Continuing Formation to encourage bishops, priests, deacons, and lay ecclesial ministers to engage in human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral growth and to enable processes of growth that are ongoing, complete, systemic, and personalized.
Conference space rentals include a large room that will seat as many as 58 and smaller rooms that will seat from 4 to 30.
St. Mary's Center for Continuing Formation offers and hosts a variety of continuing formation programs for priests in the spirit of the Bishops' new Basic Plan for the Ongoing Formation of Priests.
St. Mary’s Seminary & University’s Pinkard Scholars is the cornerstone of Youth Theological Studies at SMSU.
For more information about any of our conference facilities or space rentals, please contact our offices directly.
The Marion Burk Knott Library of St. Mary’s Seminary and University is the largest specialized theological library in the Baltimore area, with additional materials in the areas of philosophy, psychology, pastoral counseling and church history, among others. The library receives over 390 periodicals and maintains a collection of 20,000 volumes of bound periodicals. Other holdings include newspapers, microfilm, and audio-visual materials.
The Associated Archives at St. Mary’s Seminary & University opened in the spring of 2002. Located on the campus of the nation’s first Roman Catholic seminary, this program brings together the archives of the Archdiocese of Baltimore (est. 1789), St. Mary’s Seminary & University (est. 1791), and the Associated Sulpicians of the United States (U.S. Province est. 1903), making it one of the most significant repositories for records relating to the early history of the Catholic Church in the United States.
Click here for more information about hours and visitor policies.
This section was created to provide researchers with a brief description of the open collections in the archives of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, St. Mary's Seminary & University, and the Associated Sulpicians of the United States.
The Associated Archives at St. Mary’s Seminary & University has developed a genealogical policy responsive to individuals researching their Catholic roots.
We facilitate personal integration of the human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral dimensions necessary for authentic priestly witness and service in the image of Jesus Christ.
Meet Abdul – a 10-year-old who has worked in the cocoa fields of the Ivory Coast for 3 years and has never tasted chocolate.
This is Theophile – he works 12 hours a day mining for gold in a cramped, poorly ventilated shaft and he’s 7 years old.
According the International Labor Organization, a million children between the ages of 5 and 17 work in small-scale gold mines in Africa.
The average worker in Africa’s gold mines earns less than $2 a day – that’s the price of French fries from Café NDP.
Chocolate exports from the Cote d’Ivoire brings in $2.3 billion annually, which relies on more than 1.8 million children.
For the past four months I have been a part of the Pinkard Scholars program at St. Mary’s Seminary and University. This is a program that focuses on developing a dialogue about present day issues in relation to God and theology. As a final project we researched a specific population that is vulnerable and subject to human trafficking. The facet of human trafficking I chose to cover was child labor and slavery in Africa, specifically in the gold and chocolate industries.
Many people share the delusion that slavery is no longer an issue in the world. Not only is slavery still in existence but it is also prevalent. In a global market where money overpowers morality the workers’ value as human beings diminishes to the point of dehumanization. Perhaps the most startling example of this is child slavery. Take that literally – children as young as seven years of age are being forced to complete the same labor as grown men with primitive tools and no protection. In the gold mines of Burkina Faso half-naked children use pick-axes to mine for the ore then operate machinery that could very easily rip off a limb. Children working in the cocoa fields of the Ivory Coast wield machetes that cut the grass as well as their legs, scarring and marking them.
What forces the child workers out of the house and onto the fields and mines is an even more complex issue. Trafficking is the broad term, but there are many scenarios that fit under that topic. In some cases parents, unable to feed and provide for the entire family, will send their children to work and help the family. Though most bring their children to work with them, there are accounts of children being sold into labor for a handsome fee. Another sad reality is bosses kidnap children from their homes or schools and employ them as cheap labor. A huge population of the child workers are smuggled from across the border, many of whom are orphans who have no one to protect them.
Reading the stories of the children and looking at pictures of them working was very difficult and also enlightening. What struck me the most was the unanimous yearning for freedom, especially for education. As a teenage student, school has never been my favorite priority nor do I view it as a blessing when I wake up every morning. To think that the children, who work nearly twelve hours a day for days on end, are wishing for the ability to read and write makes me reevaluate how much of a privilege available education is and just how blessed I am. It also worries my conscience that they mostly suffer in silence. CNN launched an investigation in 2011 that exposed rampant child slavery in the cocoa plantations of the Ivory Coast, yet there are still children hacking at cocoa pods today who do not know what chocolate tastes like. There have been laws and initiatives implemented by governments to take the children from the workplace and back into their homes and hopefully schools, but due to the intricacies of human trafficking these efforts do little for the children.
As members of the human race it is our duty to raise awareness for the plight of child laborers and slaves. It is also crucial that we hold ourselves and our manufacturers to a higher standard when accepting luxurious products such as gold and chocolate.
Is that chocolate bar really worth the life of a child? Think about it.
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