Seminary students at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit (Detroit Catholic/Marek Rzekonski)

A new formation program at a US seminary will force first-year seminarians to spend more time in prayer and less screen time. sauce: C.N.A.

The sixth edition of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Priestly Preparation Program (PPF), which began being implemented in seminaries across the country last year, requires all men entering seminary to undergo an “educational” year.

Following this guidance, Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit will begin a year-long preparation period for first-year seminarians starting this year, with men discerning the priesthood focusing on personal and spiritual growth rather than academics. You will have to guess.

The main features of the year of Proeduce, “propereducative” meaning preparation, preparation, are limited to limited screen and device time and a lot of focus on forming a sense of camaraderie among seminarians. It is about spending time helping seminarians develop spiritual lives rooted in prayer as they discern God. God is calling them, said Father Stephen Poulis, director of graduate pastoral formation at Sacred Heart Seminary.

Father Poulis said detroit catholic The Year of Education “reduces the number of classes and changes the rhythm of life in order to accommodate personal growth and spiritual growth.”

The change in schedule was made in response to the Holy See's recommendations on what should be included in the formation of seminarians to form praying cantering priests, Father Pulis said.

“One of the challenges that men often face when entering seminary is that they used to be very busy,” Father Pulis said. “We are so used to devices, social media, email, and so much noise that it can be difficult to adjust to hearing the voice of the Lord.”

Father Poulis said the goal is not to avoid technology, but to put technology and the world's needs in their place.

This year of promotion has been implemented at other seminaries across the country, and Pris says it has had positive results for seminarians who cherish time to disconnect from the outside world and reconnect with the people and community in front of them. the priest said.

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First-year seminarians will be disconnected from technology at Detroit Theological Seminary starting in the fall (Daniel Meloy, CNA)



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