A call to priesthood in the Church is much more than just an individual, personal desire to serve and lead. While the call comes from God, it is mediated through the Church. With input from the whole Church and assistance from professionals in the areas of discernment and formation, bishops or religious superiors are entrusted with the responsibility of determining whether a candidate’s sense of being called is genuine. That determination is largely based on these factors:
Certainly, these factors are not fully developed in any candidate when he first applies to the diocese, but there should be evidence in him of the potential to develop them. The unfolding of these gifts, talents, and attitudes continues throughout the time of formation, and the discernment of a call to ordination also matures and deepens over the years.
Depending on how much higher education a man has received prior to beginning his prieslty formation, his time in seminary will last between six and eight years. The following detail the various possibilites for his priestly formation.
All seminarians must first complete an undergraudate degree for their priestly formation. Men who enter prieslty formation at the collegiate level will attend St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward, NE to obtain a bachelor's degree in philosophy. If he enters seminary formation in the midst of his undergraudate studies, his time in college seminary may be less than four years, but never shorter than two years.
A seminarian who has already completed an undergraduate degree prior seminary, will enter priestly formation at the pre-theology level. This is a two-year program of philosophy, as well as other standard seminary courses such as Latin, Greek, and a study of the Catechism. Fargo pre-theologians will attend either St. Gregory the Great Seminary or Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, MD, as decided by the bishop.
After the necessary philosophical requirements have been met at either a college or pre-theology seminary, a seminarian will then begin his graduate theological studies. This will include a masters degree in divinity, and may also include a second masters degree in theology or another equivalent degree. His theological studies generally take four years. Fargo theologians will attend either Mount St. Mary's Seminary or St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul, MN, as decided by the bishop.