Saint John Vianney Seminary (Denver)
Saint John Vianney Theological Seminary is a Catholic seminary in Denver, Colorado, dedicated to Saint John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests. It is located at 1300 South Steele Street in the Cory-Merrill neighborhood of Denver, on the campus of the St. John Paul II Center for the New Evangelization. Founded in 1999, St. John Vianney is run by the Archdiocese of Denver. St. John Vianney offers formation programs for seminarians studying for the priesthood, candidates to become permanent deacons, and lay people interested in learning more about Catholicism. History St. John Vianney Theological Seminary was constituted on March 17, 1999. It replaced the former St. Thomas Seminary, which operated from 1907 to the early 1990's. Cardinal James Stafford, archbishop of Denver, purchased the St. Thomas Seminary campus from the Congregation of the Mission in 1995. He renamed it the St. John Paul II Center for the New Evangelization and remodeled a facility there for the archdiocesan chancery. Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, Stafford's successor. commissioned a feasibility study on establishing a new seminary at the St. John Paul II Center. After consulting with priests and parishioners, he formulated a plan to create the St. John Vianney Theological Seminary. The plans also called for the establishment of: The St. Francis School of Theology for Deacons The Catechetical School The Denver Catholic Biblical School for lay formation Seminarian program Summary The St. John Vianney program for seminarians studying for the priesthood follows the four pillars listed in Pope John Paul II's Pastores Dabo Vobis: human formation, spiritual formation, pastoral formation and intellectual formation. The seminary has three components in the priestly formation process: Spirituality year, a one year program for prayer, discernment, study and community service Pre-theology cycle, a two or three year program of coursework in philosophy, languages and introductory courses in theology Theology cycle, a four-year program of coursework in the theological and pastoral disciplines required for ordination Spirituality Year The spirituality year (SY) is a 12 month program of prayer, meditation, limited classroom study, community service and evangelization. It is a prerequisite for the pre-theology cycle. SY is marked by a commitment to prayer; seminarians attend three retreats, including a 30-day silent Ignatian retreat. They give up phones, television, computers, and popular media. The seminarians live in a separate community on the seminary grounds and pray, study, work and take recreation together. The men also spend two hours a day studying sacred scripture, catechism, and spiritual classics in the classroom. At the end of the SY, the seminarians undertake apostolic assignments outside the seminary. These assignments include teaching young people, visiting the elderly, and ministering to the sick. In January of their spirituality year, the seminarians are sent out in pairs for one month to live with the poor, serve them and teach them about Catholicism. Pre-theology cycle The pre-theology cycle at St. John Vianney is a two- or three-year set of courses that cover philosophy, introductory theology, and languages. It is a prerequisite for the theology cycle.