St. John Vianney Seminary

St. John Vianney Seminary
St. John Vianney Seminary as seen from the Upper Quad at the University of St. Thomas
Motto Men in Christ. Men of the Church. Men for Others.
Type Private, Diocesan Seminary
Established 1968
Religious affiliation
 Roman Catholic
President Archbishop Bernard Hebda
Vice-president Very Rev. Michael Becker
Rector Very Rev. Michael Becker
Students 135
Address 2110 Selby Avenue, St. Paul, Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, United States
Campus Suburban
Sponsoring diocese Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
Nickname SJV
Affiliations ATS
Website www.vianney.net

St. John Vianney Seminary (SJV) is a Roman Catholic college seminary located on the campus of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. The seminary's mission is "to provide basic training today for tomorrow's Catholic priests." Seminarians undergo a four-year program of spiritual conferences and individual spiritual direction in order to help them grow strong in their Catholic faith and for vocational discernment.[1] The major seminary affiliated with SJV, the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity, is on the other side of the campus of the University of St. Thomas.

History

The seminary was founded in 1968. Before the current building was built, the seminary spent several years in Loras Hall, then Brady Hall on the University of St. Thomas campus. The rector of the seminary Very Rev. Michael Becker was appointed by Archbishop John Nienstedt in 2010.[2]

As of 2013, the seminary was the largest college seminary in the United States with over 130 seminarians and 27 sponsoring dioceses.[3] The seminarians at SJV represent about 10% of all college seminarians in the United States.[4]

From its first 40 years of classes, over 400 alumni had been ordained to the Catholic priesthood.[5]

Rectors

The seminary has had eight rectors since its founding.

Notable alumni

Outreach

St. John Vianney Seminary is present on the University of St. Thomas campus in many ways.

St. John Vianney chapel

Last Chance Mass

Last Chance Mass is an outreach offered by the seminary to the students of the University of St. Thomas and the surrounding community. Every Sunday night at 9pm, Mass is offered in the SJV chapel to the general public by the rector of the Seminary, with refreshments following.[6] It was originally for the football players of the University of St. Thomas.

Caruso's Crew

When Coach Glenn Caruso took over the University of St. Thomas football team in 2008, he approached the men at the seminary and asked them to come and cheer on the Tommies at football games, as not many people attended them due to their losing record. Since then, the men of SJV have been some of the most active fans for the football team, attending every home game.[7] A subgroup of the seminarians, called "Caruso's Crew", dress up as hard hat workers and paint on faux moustaches. The crew carry large tools made of cardboard and duct tape (a hammer, saw, wrench, and lunch box). This group has been known to travel hundreds of miles to attend away games.[8] Each year's Caruso's Crew is chosen by the previous year's crew.

Building

Zucchetto of Benedict XVI on display in Pope Benedict Room

The seminary building is on the north campus of the University of St. Thomas, just northwest of Ireland Hall and east of Flynn Hall.

The basement contains the Pope Benedict XVI Room (abbreviated Pope Benedict Room) where then-Cardinal Ratzinger met with then-Rector Richard Pates. On display in the room is a zucchetto of Benedict, given to a seminarian from SJV who visited Rome and extended a new one to the Pope as he passed by; the Pontiff then exchanged the new one for his own.

The ground floor has offices for the in-house priests and academic and administration staff, as well as guest rooms. The SJV Chapel is also on the first floor, where the Last Chance Mass is offered every Sunday.

The remaining four floors are residence floors.

Sponsoring Dioceses

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Saint John Vianney – Saint John Vianney – University of St. Thomas – Minnesota".
  2. ↑ "Saint John Vianney – Saint John Vianney – University of St. Thomas – Minnesota".
  3. ↑ "Saint John Vianney – Saint John Vianney – University of St. Thomas – Minnesota".
  4. ↑ "10%". Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  5. ↑ "St. John Vianney Seminary". Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  6. ↑ "Last Chance Mass". Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  7. ↑ "Freshman – Office of Admissions – University of St. Thomas – Minnesota".
  8. ↑ "Distance is but a number for loyal 'Caruso's Crew' « TommieMedia".

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