The Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary is committed to preparing holy & effective pastoral leaders to serve the Church.
The Pope St. John XXIII Seminary community is committed to our founding mission: the human, spiritual, academic and pastoral formation of candidates between 30 and 60 years of age. Our unique institution is the only American seminary for these mature candidates administered by diocesan priests. For more than four decades, candidates have been accepted from various professional backgrounds; such as law, medicine, business, teaching, sales, banking, social work and military service. The diversity of life experiences shared by these mature seminarians enriches both the Seminary community and their future ministries in the Church.
At Pope St. John XXIII, seminarians are offered a balanced program of priestly formation in a healthy, happy and mature environment specifically suited for the adult learner. The curriculum of theological studies is designed to nurture what is central to our Catholic Faith and Tradition in an integrated human, spiritual and pastoral formation program. The expectation is that candidates applying for admission will have obtained an undergraduate degree and many enter the Seminary having already earned advanced degrees.
Candidates considering admission are sponsored by a diocese or religious order. Our current seminarians represent over thirty dioceses and five religious orders located throughout the United States and beyond. Since 1964, 140 dioceses and religious orders have entrusted the formation of their candidates for priesthood to this Seminary. Our 600 alumni serve throughout the world.
Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary is a Roman Catholic professional and graduate theological institution dedicated uniquely to the preparation of seminarians thirty years of age and older responding to a call to priestly ministry.
Our program fosters the human, spiritual, academic and pastoral formation of its seminarians. We especially respect and utilize the life experiences and accomplishments of our mature seminarians, as we prepare them for priestly ministry.
The Seminary program is based on the Ratio Fundamentalis of the Holy See, the Program of Priestly Formation Fifth Edition, of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Post-Synodal Exhortation of Pope John Paul II, Pastores Dabo Vobis.
