A few years back, when news of the clergy sexual abuse scandal hit the church, many people would think that young men would be turning away from the church and ignoring the call of our Lord to the priesthood. The biggest fear was that the number of men entering the seminary would drop dramatically. Though the clergy abuse scandal may have had some impact on numbers immediately after the news broke, things have not remained that way. In the past couple of years, numbers at seminaries across the United States and globally are on the rise.

In fact, at St. John Vianney College Seminary this year, the number of seminarians is at 35-year record high. The seminary welcomed 35 new seminarians at the beginning of August, bringing the total number of seminarians to 76 for the year. We are witnessing hope.

MIAMI | When former Air Force pilot Ryan Boyle, 32, finished his stint in the military to pursue a 10-year call to the priesthood, he inadvertently helped make history.

Boyle, who hails from St. Petersburg, is part of the largest group of seminarians – a total of 76 – that St. John Vianney College Seminary has seen in more than three decades.

“The last time we had numbers like this was more than 35 years ago,” said Msgr. Michael G. Carruthers, rector-president of the seminary, which is marking its 50th anniversary this year.

St. John Vianney opened in 1959 as a high school seminary for the then newly created Diocese of Miami. It now takes in students from throughout Florida, other U.S. dioceses and the Bahamas who are pursuing a bachelor’s degree in philosophy or a two-year degree in pre-theology in preparation for the priesthood.

The larger-than-usual entering class has created some extra work for the faculty and staff.

“It’s been a lot of hard work, but we’re very excited. We’ve been adding extra tables, chairs, and preparing to accommodate these young men here,” Msgr. Carruthers said.

He credited Archbishop John C. Favalora’s support for the seminary – particularly his resistance to the idea of moving the education and training of priests-to-be away from the seminary setting – for “enabling the growth of a healthy environment and a strong model of priestly formation” that made the growth in enrollment possible.

“Some suggested that we have a study house attached to a university,” Archbishop Favalora said, where future priests would attend classes with other college students while living and being instructed on the particulars of the priesthood in the study house. “However, neither the U.S. Catholic bishops nor I agreed with that. Seminarians need to be trained in the seminary. That is how it is done and how the bishops want it done.”

The historic number entering the seminary also seems to defy the economic reality.

“I’m proud these men are answering God’s call. There is a lot of pressure, especially during these hard times, to go and do something else. However, they are here seeking (Christ),” Archbishop Favalora said. “It really shows that God’s ways are not our ways.”

The archbishop visited the seminary Aug. 22 to officially open the academic year with the traditional Mass of the Holy Spirit, during which he invoked the guidance of the Spirit upon the seminarians, their professors and the seminary’s staff.

“We’re invoking the Holy Spirit to transform us into something greater than what we appear to be,” Archbishop Favalora said. “We’re asking the Holy Spirit to make holy the work we’re going to do.”

“The Holy Spirit is the breath of the seminary. It is a string that connects us to Christ whom we follow,” said Martin Nguyen, 20, a third-year seminarian from the Diocese of Orlando.

“It is an honor to pass on the priesthood from one generation to the next. Passing on the faith is what this seminary is all about, and I’m very proud to see so many taking on that tradition,” Archbishop Favalora said.

–The Florida Catholic, “St. John Vianney Seminary enrollment at 35-year high”

Bye for now…

PHOTO SOURCE: The Florida Catholic