The Priestly Discernment Program at Franciscan University of Steubenville is designed to form men for entrance into major seminary or religious community.
The Priestly Discernment Program fosters the priestly vocation in the life of the Church by preparing young men studying at Franciscan University of Steubenville for entrance into a major seminary or religious community and for a life of service in the Church.
The program provides a nurturing environment for those discerning a vocation to the priesthood and builds up the vocation of the man by way of our programming, direction, prayer and fraternal life. Each man goes through the process of discernment with his brothers in Christ, particularly those designated to guide and direct him.
The program is based on five pillars of formation. The four pillars of Intellectual, Human, Spiritual, and Pastoral formation are set up by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in the document "Program of Priestly Formation, 5th Ed." The fifth pillar is Fraternal formation or the building up of community life and brotherhood among the Priestly Discernment Program students.
The program is made up of three households, Living Stones, for underclassmen and men new to the Priestly Discernment Program, Koinonia (meaning "brotherhood of believers" in Greek), for upperclassmen, and Electi Mariae (meaning "Chosen of Mary") for graduate and non-traditional students.
