Program of FormationPope Paul VI Minor Seminary is the diocesan seminary of the Diocese of Maasin. It is primarily a place of formation for candidates to the diocesan priesthood. The program of formation in the seminary seeks to form seminarians to be “true shepherds of souls after the model of our Lord Jesus Christ, teacher, priest and shepherd.” (Optatam Totius, 4) This is seen in the program of formation in the seminary which consists of three stages: High School, Philosophy and Theology.
“The document ensures the continuity of the different stages of seminary formation… As such, different stages are seen not as isolated formative process but as one leading to the other, ensuring continuity and inter-relatedness.” – Updated Philippine Program of Priestly Formation, 3 Seminarians in High School are the newcomers in the community who have no prior experience of seminary formation. This serves as a transition phase for the new seminarian to be acquainted with the structure of seminary formation. In this stage the new seminarian is introduced to a life of prayer and study which will help him develop good habits and virtuous lifestyle. Seminarians in College spend four years of rigorous philosophical training where they harness the skills of critical thinking, reading with comprehension and articulating their thoughts and insights. After the initial experience of seminary life, seminarians in this stage continue their formation to generously respond to the call of God as they also discover their identity as a person. They are also given pastoral work outside the seminary to be exposed to the different social realities. A seminarian graduates with the degree of Bachelor of Arts Classical, Major in Philosophy. Seminarians in taking up Theology are formed to be “true pastors of the Church, after the model of Jesus Christ, The Head of the Body and the Good Shepherd”-Updated Philippine Program of Priestly Formation, 4. This last stage of seminary formation consists of five years: two years of theological studies, one year of Pastoral-Spiritual Integration Year (PSIY, a non-academic year with formation programs devoted to integrate the human, spiritual and pastoral formation), and another two years of theological studies. Seminarians in this stage study theology to nurture their spiritual life and to prepare themselves for pastoral ministry. Theology formation seeks to inculcate the concrete gospel values and attitudes of Jesus in the future priestly ministry of theology seminarians. |