Saint Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology

Saint Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology of the Diocese of Cleveland prepares candidates for the Roman Catholic Priesthood while also serving as a center for advanced theological education.

This year we are thrilled to partner with Borromeo Seminary as they have an opportunity to receive a $50,000 matching gift for this year's #weGiveCatholic! Therefore, our goal this year is to raise $100,000.00 for the Propaedeutic Immersion Year (PY). This incredible opportunity means that every dollar you give between Saturday, November 23, and Tuesday, December 3, will be matched dollar-for-dollar, doubling your impact.

The Propaedeutic Immersion Year (PY), which is the church's response to living in a culture that is becoming increasingly antagonistic to living the faith. God still speaks quite profoundly in His silent love language, but it is growing ever more difficult to hear and receive His message in an age of constant distraction and noise. The PY, therefore, presents an opportunity to step out of the prevailing culture for a time so that seminarians can wisely critique the culture and learn to listen deeply to the voice of God. Then they can reengage with the culture, embracing what is good in it and letting go of what is detrimental, as they undertake the rest of their seminary formation.

Your generosity helps us continue our mission of forming future priests and strengthening the Church. With your support, we can provide seminarians with the spiritual formation, academic excellence, and pastoral training they need to answer God's call.  Don't miss this chance to multiply your impact. Visit our #weGIVECATHOLCI page starting November 23 to make your gift and help us form faithful leaders for the future of our Church. Thank you for your prayers and support- it means everything to our seminarians and their journey of faith.

Who We Are

Human Formation and the Seminary Today:

In the past three decades, some major changes were made by Rome and the United States Conference of Bishops that impact how seminaries understand the formation process. Formation is now viewed in phases, personal benchmarks that must be achieved before he moves to the next level. These benchmarks contain human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral elements that require integration throughout the time spent in formation. Like the past model of formation, there is a certain gradualism in the process that allows each seminarian to mature at his own pace. However, today there is a more personalized map that each seminarian must begin to prepare for himself. What does this map look like? In these years of formation, the seminarian is called to embrace his personal humanity. This includes self-knowledge of his gifts as well as areas that need further growth. He becomes vulnerable in the process and at that same time transparent with a spiritual director and formation advisor (a public life coach) who mentors him. He must learn how to interact with others in the marketplace and field hospitals of the city. He engages the culture of today. He is exposed to the beauty of music and art by attending concerts and visiting art museums. He travels and appreciates ethnic diversity, partakes in unfamiliar cuisine and is subjected to ideas that stretch him outside of his comfort zone. He learns how to debate with his peers through the lens of the gospel. The seminarian embraces a healthy lifestyle through diet and exercise. He plays intermural sports and has a daily workout routine to balance his study and prayer time. He learns to be a well-rounded Christian man who is prepared to lay down his life for sake of the Gospel in order to be all things to all people in Christ.