We are a community of young men committed to growing into who God is calling us to be.
Our goal is to strengthen and develop the potential of young men
for God’s glory and service to His people.
"The glory of God is man fully alive" - St Irenaeus
In 1992, Pope John Paul II gave the Church a document on the formation of priests, called Pastores Dabo Vobis (I Will Give You Shepherds, hereafter we'll call it "PDV" for short), which is the ‘road map’ for our formation into priests, here at Corpus Christi College. This blueprint for priestly formation is organised around four key components: human, spiritual, academic and pastoral formation. The Vatican's Congregation for the Clergy, has recently produced an updated document based on this, called The Gift of Priestly Vocation, which further explores the education of priests.
“- F O R M A T I O N -
/fɔːˈmeɪʃ(ə)n/ noun
the action of forming, or process of being developed, usually meaning growth in the sense of betterment.”
Our College’s programme is most easily summarised under those four areas, while supplemented by prayer, word and sacrament and lived in community; this is foundational to the formation programme. Each year of ones formation has a special character and emphasis, while blending each of these four areas for growth and learning. Here's a quick sketch of the course:
First Year
Preparatory year, with special emphasis on spiritual foundations.
Second and Third Years
Emphasis on the academic, especially philosophy.
Fourth Year
Emphasis on the pastoral; during this year, seminarians live and work with a parish priest.
Fifth Year
Emphasis on the academic, especially theology.
Sixth Year
Full load of academic work continues; usually a year of final decision about ordination: many are ordained deacons at the end of this year.
Seventh Year
Usually the culmination of the seminary course and the academic program; some spend it living in the parish, some in the College; many are ordained priests at the end of this year.