By Fr. John Adamski

St. Mary’s Seminary and University is actually two separate schools near Baltimore, Maryland where eight of our Atlanta seminarians are studying this year. The liberal arts college is located in a Baltimore suburb, Catonsville, and the school of theology is in the Roland Park section of the city. My recent visit with our men at these schools left me with several strong impressions.

The old buildings on both campus settings indicate the long tradition of priestly formation which has been conducted at these schools. St. Mary’s Seminary is the oldest Catholic seminary in the United States, having been founded in 1791.

Just as the old buildings reflect the tradition of the schools, the faculty and administration reflect the zest of today for the possibilities of service in the Church and life as a priest. The schools are run by the Sulpician fathers who are men dedicated primarily to this seminary apostolate. Their enthusiasm and optimism are contagious.

The liberal arts college in Cantonsville offers some 230 young men the opportunities of an accredited, strong educational program with the addition of the kind of spiritual formation which might help a young man decide if priesthood might really be his vocation. Six men studying for the Church in Atlanta are a part of the student body this year: Chris Mussell from Sts. Peter & Paul, Rick Allen and Chris Starr from the Cathedral, Basil Congro, Ron Bono, and Mike McElwee. They’re a fine group of men who are seriously facing the idea that God may be calling them to devote their entire lives to the service of the Church. The atmosphere of the seminary college seems to be helping them in this process of self-understanding.

Seminaries have changed greatly since the days when I started in 1958, especially as a result of the 2^nd Vatican Council. There’s a whole new emphasis on the needs of each individual student and his own pace of growth.

Nevertheless, there are expectations for a man involved in the process. He must meet certain academic standards and give positive indication of his intellectual capability; he must be a man of prayer and the many programs provided by the seminary should assist him in growing as a prayerful person. He must find himself capable for ministry – something which becomes clearer through his participation in the life of the seminary community and his outside work with people right now. It’s a strong program that seems to be a valued experience for our men.

The school of theology reflects a slightly different atmosphere. Presumably the 330 men here have a more definite commitment toward the priesthood and their four years in the theology program are an important time for them to learn the skills they will need to be able to function as leaders in the Church. Atlanta’s two representatives, Pat Bishop from St. Thomas the Apostle in Smyrna and Jack Druding, are a part of that serious effort.

St. Mary’s School of Theology overwhelms an individual by its massive size; the corridor of the main building is over one quarter mile long. But the size also helps to insure many opportunities for several kinds of programs which might help the student in this final, crucial stage of his preparation. The presence of students from nearly 50 different dioceses across the country helps one to realize something of the scope of the Catholic Church in America.

There have been times in the not-too-distant past when seminaries seemed like strange and mysterious places. Very few people other than faculty and students had any idea what went on in a seminary. Thankfully so much of that has changed within the last decade.

Most seminaries understand their role of preparation for ministry to be taking place within a world which desperately looks for some meaning and purpose in life. As a theological center, the seminary can provide significant input into that search for meaning through its rich resources of faculty and students. This open atmosphere of service for the community and the Church seems to have had a very positive effect in helping our men to realize what sort of world it is that needs the Christian message and what sort of men they must be if they hope to present that message in an effective manner.