Ministerial Formation

Students are accompanied through a structured yet flexible process to grow in a deeper understanding of themselves and chart a roadmap for their own formation. Marked by assessments, feedback, and one-on-one meetings, students not only strengthen their gifts, identify their growing edges, and explore their cultural identity but also co-responsibly steer their formation trajectory. 

Students regularly reflect on their deepening sense of God’s presence and action in their lives and the lives of others. They work one-on-one with a spiritual director, meet in peer groups for spiritual companioning, and participate in the liturgical life of the campus. In addition to daily Masses, monastic prayer, and liturgy of the hours that mark the broader campus life, the School of Theology and Seminary also offers school-wide Mass, Eucharistic adoration, the sacrament of reconciliation, and an ecumenical prayer service on a weekly basis. 

Through the Collegeville Core and our degree programs, students take classes from an internationally recognized faculty whose research not only shape contemporary theology but also who have consult for the United States Conference of Catholic bishops and numerous Vatican dicasteries. Alongside a diverse body of classmates that include women and men, international and domestic students, and lay and ordained students, courses engage insights and questions from multiple perspectives that prepare students for ministry amid the complexity of contemporary challenges. 

Students steadily grow in their sense of servant ministry and pastoral leadership. Through pastoral coursework, field-education, immersion experiences, graduate assistantships, and clinical pastoral education, students gain hands-on experience, build practical skills, and grow their ministerial network. At the School of Theology and Seminary, students not only gain unique skills necessary for ministry in rural settings and intercultural contexts but also develop broad skills required for ministry in the synodal Church of the third millennium. 

Yes! The School of Theology and Seminary welcomes and supports students who choose to pursue graduate studies while also balancing a professional career. The office of Ministerial Formation can assist students who are working in ministry to craft a specific learning agreement to advance their ministerial competencies while working in the field. 

While Field Education projects and placements are normally student-initiated, the School of Theology and Seminary has also several local partnerships for potential Field Education projects. Some examples include Saint Johns’ and Saint Ben’s campus ministries, the Abbey Retirement Center, the Episcopal House of Prayer, and several departments at the Diocese of St Cloud.The Director of Ministerial Formation can connect interested students to possible placement sites, so the student can then select and make a decision about a project. 

Yes, online students can complete Field Education like in-person students.. They would do their field work at their geographic location and meet online for the seminar portion of the class. The Office of Ministerial Formation can assist in this process.

Participating regularly in spiritual direction is a requirement of the M.Div and MAM degree programs. A student may continue an ongoing spiritual direction relationship from before their studies or begin with a new director. For those looking for a spiritual director, Saint John’s Abbey and the Saint Benedict’s Monastery both offer spiritual direction as part of their ministries. The Office of Ministerial Formation can help students find a good fit for a spiritual director to meet their individual needs.

Usually, but not always. Spiritual directors typically receive a fee for working with directees. Spiritual directors at the Saint John’s Abbey and Saint Benedict’s Monastery offer spiritual direction for a comparatively low fee. Additionally, the School of Theology and Seminary provides a stipend directly to students’ university account to help offset this cost.

Like spiritual direction, group spiritual companioning is a process oriented toward spiritual formation. Comprised entirely of peers, students practice personal and group discernment in a semi-structured way. The student group meets several times a semester and the process is guided by a series of journals. Most degree programs require three semesters of group spiritual companioning. 

The School of Theology and Seminary requires one unit of CPE in the M.Div degree program. For those not in the M.Div degree program or for those interested in pursuing another unit of CPE beyond what is required, it is possible. Please consult both your academic advisor and the Office of Ministerial Formation.

The Benedictine charisms of community, prayer, and work permeate the daily life of the school inside and outside the classroom. Most tangibly, the school’s community life marked weekly by school-wide Mass, ecumenical prayer, and school-wide lunch embody the Benedictine charism of community. Even for those whose spirituality is not particularly Benedictine, this emphasis on communal life creates an environment of friendship, commaradie, and dialogue where students can engage pressing theological and pastoral questions alongside faculty, formators, and classmates. 

The School of Theology & Seminary has relationships with numerous professional organizations that include the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry, the Catholic Campus Ministry Association, the National Association for Catholic Chaplains, and more. Students have the opportunity to connect with these organizations during their degree program. In so doing, students can connect with seasoned ministers across the country and chart a trajectory for their ongoing formation post-graduation.