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The spiritual gift which priests receive at their ordination prepared them not for a sort of limited and narrow mission but for the widest possible and universal mission of salvation 'even to the ends of the earth' (Acts 1:8), for every priestly ministry shares in the universality of the mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles.– Presbyterorum Ordinis
Seminarians and priests worldwide seek the formation and guidance the Sulpicians provide. Sulpicians direct seminaries on five continents. The Sulpicians of the Province of the United States operate in the U.S. and in Zambia, Central Africa. In the U.S., we operate three seminaries, two programs of continuing formation, a spiritual center and a parish. The seminaries are St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore; Theological College, the national seminary of The Catholic University in Washington, DC and St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park, California. The continuing formation programs are the Center for Continuing Formation at St. Mary’s and the Vatican II Institute for Clergy Formation at St. Patrick’s. The spiritual center is St. Mary’s Spiritual Center & Historic Site on Paca Street in Baltimore, and the parish is Our Lady of the Angels, also in Baltimore.
In 1989, after a period of reflection on our Sulpician heritage, we began to assist the Zambian Episcopal Conference with priestly formation in that country. In Zambia we now operate the Emmaus Spirituality Centre, which is the introductory program for Zambian seminarians, and individual members of our Province are also helping in other seminaries there. As a result, several young Zambian priests have joined our community. While individual Sulpicians continue to engage in priestly formation outside the framework of our own programs, e.g., by giving priests’ retreats and workshops, two have been especially visible recently on the national level. One is our Provincial Father Ronald Witherup, currently serving as president of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men. For many years he has been a consultant to the Bishops Committee on Priestly Formation.
Who We Are
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The
mission of the Sulpicians is as urgent and timely in 2008 as it
was in 1641. There continues to be widespread need for quality
preparation for seminarians and deeper spirituality in the priesthood.
In
addition to the seminaries that we operate in the U.S., Sulpicians
have also been active in seminary formation and continuing education
in the Southwest, most notably at Assumption Seminary in San Antonio,
Texas, a program known for its sensitivity to the needs of the Hispanic
Catholic community in the U.S. Hispanic and Latino Catholic Community.
The
other is Fr. Melvin Blanchette, who serves the Sulpician vision
by running programs of continuing formation. Since 1993, the Sulpicians
and the National Catholic Education Association have sponsored a
biannual Formators’ Institute, co-directed by Fr. Blanchette,
which has introduced some 150 men and women to the work of priestly
formation. He was recently honored for his ministry by both the
Seminary Department of the NCEA and the National Organization for
Continuing Education of Roman Catholic Clergy. 