The Blessed Father Michael McGivney Propaedeutic House of Formation

Formation Program Brochure

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Text of the brochure follows.

1. To Live Supremely for God in Christ Jesus

2. Built Upon a Long and Faithful Tradition

In 1929 the seminary expanded to include a new campus in Roland Park. Later, in 1974, the program was consolidated at the new site and the old seminary building on Paca Street was demolished to make way for the present St. Mary’s Park. The Society of St. Sulpice, however, retained several of the original buildings: the chapel, the house that the Sulpicians gave to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton when she was forming her community, and the former convent for the sisters who served in the seminary. This convent is being significantly renovated and expanded and will serve as the main house for the program, accommodating up to twelve seminarians and two priest-formators.

The former convent on the grounds of the original St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore—now being renovated and expanded into the new Blessed Michael McGivney House of Formation.

3. The McGivney House Program

The propaedeutic stage seeks to provide seminarians with the basic groundwork they need to engage in priestly formation. Through no fault of their own, the requisite qualities for formation are often missing in new seminarians. A significant imbalance is present between the lifestyle promoted by contemporary society and priestly formation. There are many generous young men open to a priestly call who nevertheless need more intensive preparation before they are ready to enter into the discipleship stage of formation; thus, a propaedeutic stage prior to the discipleship stage is essential. (PPF § 119)

To fulfill this vision, The McGivney House provides:

• A facility distinct from the major seminary designed to foster the apostolic community envisioned by Olier and the PPF.
• An urban location that provides both easy access to pastoral and cultural opportunities in Baltimore, as well as a secure, private, and beautiful house, chapel, and grounds that foster a balance of contemplation and common life.

4. Human Formation: A Conscientious and Virtuous Disciple

While The McGivney House program addresses all four dimensions of priestly formation, it places particular emphasis on human and spiritual formation (PPF § 120). In its human formation dimension, the McGivney program seeks to help the seminarians move from “self- knowledge” to “self-possession” to “self-gift.” (PPF § 188) Their “human personality” becomes “a bridge and not an obstacle for others in their meeting with Jesus Christ.” (PPF § 182) “Following St. Thomas Aquinas,” the program is designed to be an “education in the human virtues perfected by charity.” (PPF § 204)

Upon completion of the propaedeutic stage, the PPF indicates that the seminarian should:

• Have grown in self-knowledge, particularly recognizing his areas for growth.
• Be able to form friendships, maintain appropriate boundaries, and have good social skills and a capacity for empathy and adaptability.
• Grow in self-discipline in all areas of his life, i.e. chastity, time management, the use of technology and other goods, obedience.
• Have well-developed habits of self-care.

To help the seminarian achieve these goals, the program includes:

• Community building and cultural awareness through outings to fine and performing arts and sporting events, outdoor excursions, and pilgrimages.
• Periodic communal fasting from technology and media.

5. Spiritual Formation: To Live in Union with the Triune God

As grace perfects nature, so “human formation leads to and finds its completion in spiritual formation.” (PPF 225) The aim of the Christian spiritual life is “to live in intimate and unceasing union with God the Father through His Son Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit.” (PPF § 226; PDV 45) In a statement that could have been taken from Olier’s own works, the PPF specifies that spiritual formation in a seminary promotes this union by helping the seminarian to “interiorize the sentiments and ways of acting of Jesus Christ.” (PPF § 228; cf. Catéchisme Chrétien 1) This formation is grounded in participation in the liturgy, particularly the Eucharist, which “is itself a participation in the heavenly Liturgy offered by Christ, our great High Priest.” (PPF § 229; Sacr. Conc. 8)

By the end of the propaedeutic stage, the PPF (§ 235) indicates that the seminarian should:

• Be familiar and disciplined with respect to public and private prayer.
• Be able to make good use of spiritual direction.
• Understand and incorporate silence in his life.
• Have grown in understanding the spiritual dimension of consecrated celibacy.
• Have grown in understanding the priestly vocation in a diocesan context.
• Have a capacity to read and meditate with Sacred Scripture.
• Have grown in his capacity to speak about his relationship with Christ in the Church.

The McGivney House program aims to help seminarians achieve these benchmarks by:

• Three week-long retreats and other days of reflection throughout the year.
• A weekly class, together with other presentations, introduces the seminarian to the full range of private and communal prayer, devotion, and spiritual discipline, as well as the thought and practice of the principal schools and key figures of Catholic spirituality.
• Exposure to and participation in models of small-group faith sharing.

6. Intellectual Formation: To Know and Love the Lord

As we cannot love that which we do not know, and we seek to know more about those we love, so “there is a reciprocal relationship between spiritual and intellectual formation.” (PPF 261) The seminarian’s study is aimed at enabling the seminarian both to have “personal knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ” and to aim to use that knowledge for the good of the Church, particularly in “the teaching office of the priesthood.” (PPF §§ 263, 265)

During the propaedeutic stage, the seminarian is expected to acquire and demonstrate:

• A basic understanding of Catholic doctrine as taught in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (§ 268), and as found in the Fathers, the Councils, and as expressed in the lives of the saints (§ 269).
• A basic knowledge of Sacred (§ 271)
• Good habits of study, intellectual curiosity, and a love of (§ 271)
• An understanding of the Catholic priesthood, especially as an aid to vocational discernment. (§ 296)

Aspirants will study An Introduction to Scripture, Essential Catholic Doctrine (Outline: The Catechism of the Catholic Church), and the Traditions of Catholic spirituality.

7. Pastoral Formation: Practicing Self-Gift

From among the many feasts honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary, Fr. Olier chose the feast of her Presentation in the Temple (Nov. 21) as the patronal feast of the Society of St. Sulpice and the Seminary. He saw in the Virgin’s willing offering of herself to the service of God in the temple a most fitting image of that self-gift that he sought to imitate himself and foster in those preparing to serve as priests. Pastoral formation offers seminarians opportunities to practice this self-gift, particularly in charitable works (PPF § 373), together with guidance as to how to integrate those experiences theologically. Enabled by grace to give of themselves to the service of God and the Church, they can become more prepared for the later stages that will form them to be “true shepherds of souls after the example of our Lord Jesus Christ, teacher, priest, and shepherd.” (PPF § 369, PDV 57)

The PPF (§ 373) indicates that seminarians in the propaedeutic stage should:

• Have contact with, and service to, the poor and the less fortunate.
• Develop a habit of self-donation and spirit of generosity.
• Demonstrate a capacity to work with people with different cultural backgrounds
• Grow in awareness of the pastoral situation in the local, national, and global Church.
• Demonstrate an awareness of and capacity to comply with relevant professional and ethical standards. (§ 370n)

The McGivney House program helps seminarians meet these goals by using the many opportunities available in the Baltimore area for service to the poor and others in need. Seminarians will have opportunities to engage in weekly, supervised apostolates to those in need of food, to the elderly, to inner-city students, and others. Seminarians will also serve the McGivney community in their weekly house jobs.

8. Time in the McGivney House

9. The Facilities and Location

Above is the Seminary Chapel on Paca Street, adjacent to the Blessed Father Michael McGivney House of Formation.

Below are views of the private gardens on Paca Street, part of the House of Formation grounds.

Contacts for Information

Sedes Sapientiae
Our Lady Seat of Wisdom, the work of French sculptor Henri Bouriche (1826–1906).
U.S. Sulpicians adopted this image as a visual reminder of Olier’s prayer:
O Jesus living in Mary, come and live in your servants.