< Back | A to Z Index | Search | Home
Master of Divinity for Priesthood Candidates
The Master of Divinity program seeks to prepare students for pastoral leadership. Solid understanding of the theological tradition and the integration of intellectual, spiritual, human, and pastoral dimensions of the minister's life lie at the heart of this degree.
The seminary community at Saint John's seeks to promote in men studying for the Roman Catholic priesthood a love and understanding of the distinctive mission and ministry of the priest. Through ordination, priests have a special responsibility to teach, sanctify, and lead (The Program for Priestly Formation). This challenging yet fulfilling way of life originates in and is sustained by the call of Christ to go forth and proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God. Because the effectiveness of such proclamation depends upon the authenticity and depth of commitment to Christ, the formation for priestly ministry addresses the development of spiritual and personal gifts and intellectual and pastoral skills.
Ordination is an event which signals the coming together of the desire for conversion and the outpouring of the Spirit who commissions and strengthens one for this ministry. This sets the context to understand the distinctive role of the priest within the Christian community: a role closely related to the priesthood of all the baptized, but one that differs from that priesthood essentially and not only in degree (The Program for Priestly Formation). The years of seminary formation are designed to assist seminarians to discern their gifts and to prepare for a ministry of service to the people of God in union with bishops and other pastoral leaders.
For more information about monastic priesthood formation at Saint John's, please contact Fr. Michael Patella, OSB, at mpatella@csbsju.edu or at 320-363-2108.
For detailed program outcomes, see the Academic Catalog.
Degree Requirements
- A total of 102 graduate credits.
- A maximum of twelve credits earned in web-based courses may be applied to the degree.
- A grade point average (GPA) of 2.50 (C+ average) on a 4.0 scale.
- Required courses:
- Introduction to the Christian Tradition (3 credits)
- Pentateuch (3 credits)
- Prophetic Tradition (3 credits)
- Synoptic Gospels (3 credits)
- Pauline Letters (3 credits)
- Christology (3 credits)
- Trinity, Faith, Revelation (3 credits)
- Ecclesiology (3 credits)
- Theology of Sacraments and Worship (3 credits)
- Theology of Lay and Ordained Ministry (3 credits)
- Fundamental Moral Theology (3 credits)
- Christian Social Ethics (3 credits)
- Special Topics in Moral Theology (3 credits)
- Eucharistic Liturgy and Theology (3 credits)
- Evangelization and Catechesis (3 credits)
- Introduction to Pastoral Care (3 credits)
- Homiletics (3 credits)
- Pastoral Liturgy I (3 credits)
- Pastoral Liturgy II (3 credits)
- Introduction to Ecclesial Law (3 credits)
- Parish Administration (3 credits)
- Integration Seminar (3 credits)
- CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) (4 credits)
- Field Education (8 credits)
- Constrained Electives:
- Systematics (3 credits)
- Church History (9 credits): 3 credits in each time period (0-1200; 1200-1600; 1600-present)
- Spirituality (3 credits)
- Social Ministry OR Rural Social Issues (3 credits)
- General Electives (6 credits)
- Participation in the formation program.
Master of Divinity students who are priesthood candidates may also earn an MA degree, either simultaneously with or after their MDiv studies. The requirements are successful completion of fifteen more credits (for a total of 117 credits), two graduate papers or a thesis, the language proficiency exam, and comprehensive exams.
Last updated: 4/25/08 RB
Saint John's School of Theology·Seminary
Collegeville, Minnesota 56321
Phone: 320-363-2102
Toll-Free: 800-361-8318
Fax: 320-363-3145