“I will send you shepherds after my own heart who will feed with knowledge and understanding.”
Jeremiah 3:15
Did you know that between Washington, DC and Boynton Beach, FL and over to New Orleans, LA – there is not a single major Catholic seminary? No seminary teaching men how to be priests in the Southeast – one of the few areas in the United States where the Catholic population is rising?
Through the intercession of the Holy Spirit and under continual spiritual direction, the Foundation has set out to build a Major Seminary in the Southeastern United States. The Bishop of Charlotte, Most Reverend Peter J. Jugis, is not only aware of the Foundation’s intention, but he has granted permission to the Te Deum Foundation to raise money to purchase land for this purpose. And, His Excellency has blessed the work of the foundation (see here).
Seminarians for southern dioceses would be blessed if they could stay in their own area and receive not just the necessary academics and formation for the priesthood, but also learn how to face the everyday challenges of living in the “Bible Belt,” learn how to open parishes, learn how to build churches, and learn about apologetics. Most seminaries only teach how to close parishes, cluster parishes, and how to administer several parishes in light of dwindling numbers of Catholics. Praise be to God that this is not a problem in the South! In the South, the Catholic population is rising. In the Diocese of Charlotte alone, the Catholic population is expected to rise to over 120,000 by 2030.
Links to additional resources:
- The Program for Priestly Formation, Fifth Edition
- “The Formation of Clerics” in the Code of Canon Law (c. 232 – c. 264)