US Catholic Seminaries Said to Be in a ‘Golden Age’

Seminaries are at the healthiest point they have been in for decades in terms of culture and quality of priestly formation, experts say.

For decades, Catholic seminaries — buffeted by the post-Vatican II turmoil of the 1960s and the sex-abuse crisis — have seen the ranks of candidates for the priesthood steadily shrink.

So far, that trend hasn’t changed, but it no longer reflects the reality within seminaries, which are at the healthiest point they have been in for decades in terms of culture and quality of priestly formation, experts say.

“I am convinced that U.S. Catholic seminaries are doing very well, better than they have in many decades. While there are statistics on seminary formation, my own conclusion comes down to personal experience and conversations with many other seminary rectors and formators over the 14 years that I have been doing this work. I would even call this a ‘golden age’ of seminary formation,” said Father Carter Griffin, rector of Saint John Paul II Seminary in Washington, D.C.

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