Seminarians

The Latest

Incoming students at Wyoming Catholic College in Lander, Wyoming, are required to take a three-week wilderness trek that challenges them both body and soul.

New wilderness program for seminarians promises to ‘strengthen faith and brotherhood’

Feb 18, 2024

By Martin Barillas

Wyoming Catholic College now offers backcountry treks for seminarians from dioceses across the country.  Read more

Pope Francis arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Jan. 31, 2023. The streets of the pope’s five-mile drive from the N’Dolo Airport to the presidential residence were lined with thousands of locals who cheered and waved flags.

Vatican statistics: Africa had biggest increase in Catholics, while numbers fell in Europe

Oct 24, 2023

By Jonah McKeown

Catholics in the world numbered 1,375,852,000 people at the end of 2021, with an overall increase of 16.2 million compared... Read more

Seminarians and priests enjoyed a friendly bowling match in the St. John XXIII Pontifical Lanes during some downtime on an afternoon in May 2023.

PHOTOS: American seminarians having a ‘ball’ in Rome college’s restored 1960s bowling alley

Jun 3, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

The original bowling alley had been a gift from St. John XXIII to the Pontifical North American College in Rome. Read more

Universidad Católica Inmaculada Concepción of the Archdiocese of Managua (UCICAM).

Nicaragua dictatorship announces ‘voluntary dissolution’ of university forming seminarians

May 18, 2023

By Diego López Marina

The Immaculate Conception Catholic University of the Archdiocese of Managua was a formation center for seminarians from the Nicaraguan capital. Read more

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Church in Spain has fewer than 1,000 diocesan seminarians for first time in 21 years

Mar 16, 2023

By Nicolás de Cárdenas

Spanish seminaries continue to suffer a downward trend in enrollment. Read more

More than 100,000 people attended the papal Mass in Juba, according to local authorities.

10 things to know from the latest survey on the Catholic Church today

Mar 8, 2023

By Peter Pinedo

Here are the most important takeaways from a study on the state of the Catholic Church today. Read more

Runners in the 13th Annual Thanksgiving Turkey Trot around Vatican City on Nov. 24, 2022.

Seminarians run a Thanksgiving Turkey Trot around Vatican City State

Nov 24, 2022

By Courtney Mares

More than 130 seminarians, priests, and Catholic college students ran in the 13th Annual Thanksgiving Turkey Trot around Vatican City... Read more

Pope Francis meets with members of the editorship of the theological magazine La Scuola Cattolica at the Vatican's Consistory Hall, June 17, 2022.

Pope Francis: Candidates for the priesthood must be well scrutinized

Jun 17, 2022

By Courtney Mares

The pope was speaking to seminary formators from the Milan archdiocese. Read more

The Pontifical North American College is a major seminary in Rome that educates seminarians from U.S. diocese and elsewhere.

North American College to cancel teaching and celebrating Masses in the Extraordinary Form

Aug 31, 2021

By Alejandro Bermudez

In a memo sent to "the Community'' at the North American College (NAC), Rector Fr. Peter Harman announced that all... Read more

Pope Francis meets with members of the Pius XI regional pontifical seminary in Ancona, Italy, June 10, 2021.

Pope Francis: Rigid priests are a manifestation of clericalism

Jun 10, 2021

By Hannah Brockhaus

“Clericalism is a perversion of the priesthood,” the pope told Italian seminarians. Read more

Ngu Quoc “Peter” Tran, who was killed in a hit-and-run accident on May 11, 2021.

Metuchen seminarian killed in hit-and-run accident in New York City

May 13, 2021

By CNA Staff

A seminarian for the Diocese of Metuchen was killed Tuesday evening in a hit-and-run accident in Manhattan.  Read more

Pope Francis meets with the Pontifical Scots College in 2016.

Scots College in Rome to change location in the city

Dec 7, 2020

By Hannah Brockhaus

The Scottish seminary in Rome is looking to relocate closer to the city center next year, after determining that needed... Read more

The inner courtyard of Heiligenkreuz Abbey in the Vienna Woods, Austria.

Catholic archdiocese of Vienna sees rise in seminarians

Nov 19, 2020

The archdiocese of Vienna has reported a rise in the number of men training for the priesthood.   Read more

Spirituality Year: How a break from academics helps prepare men for priesthood

Nov 8, 2020

By Mary Farrow

When Fr. Josh Mayer entered St. John Vianney’s Seminary in Denver, his first year looked a little more monk-like than... Read more

Sacred Heart Cathedral in the Diocese of Thái Bình, Vietnam.

Catholic diocese in Vietnam builds new seminary amid rising vocations

Oct 2, 2020

By Courtney Mares

A diocese in northern Vietnam is expanding its seminary in response to an increasing number of priestly vocations.  Read more

Seminarians from the Pontifical North American College meet Pope Francis Sept. 6, 2020.

Newly arrived American seminarians meet Pope Francis after travel quarantine

Sep 9, 2020

By Courtney Mares

American seminarians met with Pope Francis this week after completing a 14-day mandatory quarantine upon their arrival in Rome.  Read more

Seminarians for the Diocese of Providence. Photo courtesy of Our Lady of Providence Seminary.

Prayers answered: Diocese of Providence sees decades-high number of new seminarians  

Aug 6, 2020

By Perry West

The Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island, is welcoming eight new seminarians this year - the highest number of incoming seminarians... Read more

Seminarians from the North American College in Rome, Italy pray the rosary in St. Peter's Square March 13, 2016. CNA file photo.

American seminary in Rome sends students home during coronavirus

Mar 23, 2020

By Christine Rousselle

Amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, the Pontifical North American College seminary has sent students to return to their homes and... Read more

The funeral Mass of Michael Nnadi at Good Shepherd Seminary in Kaduna, Nigeria, Feb. 11, 2020. Photo courtesy of the Diocese of Maiduguri.

Seminarian's killing a 'defining moment' for Christians in Nigeria

Feb 11, 2020

At the funeral Mass for Michael Nnadi, the 18-year-old seminarian abducted and killed by gunmen last month, Bishop Matthew Hassan... Read more

Good Shepherd Seminary in Kaduna, Nigeria, whence four seminarians were abducted Jan. 8, 2020.

Nigerian archbishop: Seminarian's killing shows government's security failure

Feb 4, 2020

Following the death of an 18-year-old seminarian in Nigeria at the hands of his kidnappers, the Archbishop of Lagos urged... Read more