Public Announcement: New Seminary Partnership

Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, Archbishop of New York

One of the most important responsibilities for any bishop is the education, pastoral training, and spiritual formation of future priests, the men who will ultimately bear the primary responsibility for the care of God’s people.  This is a sacred duty, and every bishop I have ever known takes that duty very seriously.  I know that this is true for Bishop Murphy and Bishop DiMarzio, just as it is for me, and the same is true of my predecessor, Edward Cardinal Egan.

That is why today’s announcement is so important and necessary.  By embarking together on a single program of priestly formation, we three bishops have demonstrated our commitment to providing the very best training and preparation we possibly can for our priests.  The Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, and Saint Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, were each doing a good job.  The priests that have been ordained for the Diocese of Brooklyn, the Diocese of Rockville Center, and the Archdiocese of New York, are all good, energetic, and faithful men.  But, we realized that by combining our resources and bringing together the best of our respective institutions, we would be able to provide the best Seminary formation that we possibly could.  It’s what our future priests deserve, and it’s what our people deserve.

There is one other aspect I would like to mention.  I spent nearly 12 years in Rome at the North American College, first as a seminarian in the 1970’s and as Rector in the 1990’s.  As a seminarian, I lived and studied and prayed with men from all across the United States as they prepared for ordination.  I still count many of them among my closest friends.  I saw the same thing happening when I was Rector – and that’s how it should be.  By bringing together seminarians from our three dioceses—and God willing, from other dioceses, as well—we will be providing them with the opportunity to form friendships and relationships that will remain with them for the rest of their lives, and will be a source of support, camaraderie, and fraternity throughout their lives as priests.  We anticipate that we will have approximately 100 seminarians at Saint Joseph’s Seminary beginning in September 2012, building upon the success of the college and pre-theology program for our three dioceses begun this past September at the Cathedral College of the Immaculate Conception at Douglaston, Queens in the Diocese of Brooklyn. 

I am particularly excited that our collaboration will also include special programs for on-going priestly formation here at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception.  The Verbum Domini Preaching Institute, the Sacred Heart Institute for On-going Formation of Priests, and the programs for lay formation that will be housed here are all vitally important, and will serve a very important role for our three dioceses. 

My thanks to Bishop Murphy, to Bishop DiMarzio, to Cardinal Egan, and to all those who have worked to make this day a reality. 

Announcement of the New Seminary Partnership

Bishop DiMarzio, Bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn

At the beginning of September 2011, Cathedral Seminary Residence in Douglaston welcomed 77 new students to its pre-theologate and collegiate program of priestly formation. Together, they represent six dioceses: the Archdiocese of New York, the Diocese of Brooklyn, the Diocese of Rockville Centre, the Diocese of Rochester, the Diocese of Syracuse, and the Diocese of Scranton, Pa.

At the outset, I am grateful to Archbishop Timothy Dolan for his leadership, and for taking the risk of sharing the resources of Brooklyn and Rockville Centre at the college level. As a former rector of the North American College, Bishop Murphy and I would agree that Archbishop Dolan was prescient to recognize the benefits of bringing together these seminarians. It has proven fruitful for students and faculty alike.

I want to say a word about Douglaston, which I believe has implications for the new graduate level program at Dunwoodie and the ongoing formation of clergy and existing lay theology programs envisioned for Huntington. The ethnic, experiential and intellectual diversity, as well as catechetical formation, among the students at Douglaston has enabled the program of priestly formation to ensure that the human development of these students is well rounded. At the same time, the liturgical celebrations in spiritual life have improved dramatically, leveraging the gifts and resources of those who are in the process of priestly formation. Finally, the intellectual formation of these young men is robust. Those students with greater abilities have opportunities for deeper exploration with peers and those with more limited abilities have greater resources among their peers to assist them in their studies.

The success of this year’s program of priestly formation is in no small part due to the efforts of my neighbor to the East, Bishop William Murphy. Our dioceses have a long history together and will be forever joined. From 1853-1957, we were one diocese. And from 1957 to the present, our students have been formed at the same institutions; our respective presbyterates have deep roots with one another.

Bishop Murphy is among our nation’s most intelligent and courageous bishops and I am glad to have been a partner with him in the formation of priests together in our two dioceses. In my experience, there is no greater proponent of a rigorous program of priestly formation than Bishop Murphy. Few bishops are as concerned about the welfare and the well being of our priests as he. I look forward to our continued collaboration on the ongoing formation of the clergy and the faith formation of the laity.

Announcment of the New Seminary Partnership

Bishop William Murphy, Bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre

Thank you all for coming this evening to be a part of this historic announcement.  I want to thank Archbishop Dolan, Bishop DiMarzio, Cardinal Egan, and the late Archbishop Pietro Sambi for their fraternal collaboration and wise counsel.

Your presence today is witness to the creation of a new single program for priestly formation for the three dioceses and beyond, a new program for the ongoing theological and spiritual enrichment of priests and permanent deacons and a centralization of lay ministry programs to support the New Evangelization called for by the late Blessed John Paul II.

This announcement is the culmination of several years of planning and discussion among the three dioceses and builds upon the program that was begun in 2011 when undergraduate pre-theology students from the three dioceses came together in formation at the Cathedral Residence of the Immaculate Conception in Douglaston.

I want to formally recognize Reverend James Massa, a priest from the Diocese of Brooklyn and lately on the staff of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops for his leadership and dedication in coordinating this effort.   I wish to also thank Bishop Gerald Walsh, Rev. Msgr. Robert Thelan, Rev. Msgr. Peter Vaccari, and all my colleagues, Rev. Msgr. Robert Brennan, Rev. Msgr. Robert Morrissey, Thomas Renker Esq. and Mr Thomas Doodian, all of whom made significant contributions to the development of this new and exciting initiative.  I wish to thank the three communication directors: Rev. Msgr. Kieran Harrington, Joe Zwilling and Sean Dolan for working together to communicate the news of this day.

I want to thank, on behalf of my brother bishops, members of the diocesan media and other Catholic media outlets who were invited here this evening.

Immaculate Conception Seminary is the primary theologate for men in formation from our Mother Diocese -- the Diocese of Brooklyn and the Diocese of Rockville Centre.  It has been the true hearth and heart that has formed and guided the life of our two dioceses.  With God’s grace, the impact of the seminary on the life of the Church in Brooklyn and Rockville Centre has been truly transformative.  Think about it – since the inception of the seminary in 1930, the spiritual care of millions and millions of Catholics in our respective dioceses was largely the responsibility of men who were formed in this seminary.
 
This historic agreement signed today, is intended to provide a stronger experience of formation for men of the downstate area.  In bringing the two programs together, we will be able to offer a formation experience that integrates the best qualities of the Immaculate Conception Seminary and Saint Joseph’s Seminary.

Each of the three dioceses will retain ownership of the respective institutions but each has agreed to establish a new council for joint oversight of the three formation programs, named the Saint Charles Borromeo Inter-diocesan Council for Spiritual and Theological Formation. 

Throughout the period of transition to these new arrangements and in the coming years, both seminaries will work with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and the Association of Theological Schools maintain accreditation and act on previous recommendations of the two agencies.

Tonight’s announcement ensures that while the mission of the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception is changing, the Seminary will continue to serve as a center for the ongoing formation of priests, deacons and the laity for the entire downstate region.

Tonight, as part of the agreement, we are pleased to announce that this seminary will inaugurate the Sacred Heart Institute for the Ongoing Formation of Clergy.  The Institute will have regular programs of theological and spiritual enrichment for priests and permanent deacons and will also include the new Verbum Domini Preaching Institute, formation programs for international priests and special workshops for new pastors.  You will hear more about the Sacred Heart Institute in the weeks and months ahead.

At the Seminary here in Huntington, we will also have formation programs for the laity and a retreat center, as we seek to better prepare members of the laity to be active participants in the daily life and activities of the Church.

In closing, I wish once again to thank Archbishop Dolan, Bishop DiMarzio and Father Massa on bringing this vision to reality.  I believe that this is the right thing to do for the Church, for our priests, for the seminarians of today and tomorrow.  Blessed John Paul II called us at the beginning of this century to be courageous and set out into the deep.  With his prayers and with the vision of our Holy Father Pope Benedict, I believe we today are creating the structures and the opportunities for our churches to be heralds of the New Evangelization.  Thank you all.