What stands out above all else with this year’s seminary class in the Diocese of Columbus is undoubtedly the size.
Sixteen men have stepped forward to begin prayer and study that could ultimately lead to ordination to the priesthood.
The sheer number of first-year seminarians makes this one of the largest classes in several decades in the diocese and ranks among the biggest in the country.
The influx of newcomers comes at an opportune time for a diocese that, like others throughout the world, has seen the number of priests dwindle to the point where hard decisions have been made to close parishes in part because the ranks are so thin.
The 16 newcomers bring the total number of seminarians in the diocese to 37, an increase of 12 from the previous year. Five seminarians are on schedule to be ordained to the priesthood in May and another three in May 2025.
Father William Hahn, the diocese’s vocations director, points to several factors for the spike in new seminarians. Among them are altar serving at parishes, the Damascus Catholic Mission Campus retreats and camps, Melchizedek Project meetings held throughout the diocese for young men considering a religious vocation, the annual Quo Vadis summer retreat at the Pontifical College Josephinum for high-school age students, Andrew Dinners with Bishop Earl Fernandes, and the work of such missionary evangelization groups as St. Paul’s Outreach (SPO) and Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) with college students.
The diocese has also established regional priest moderators who serve as a point of contact for potential candidates and are often able to get to know them and facilitate the discernment process.
“I would say probably something pretty common to all of them was that they got involved with either the Melchizedek Project or had been to Quo Vadis or in some way had come in contact with the seminarians or the seminary,” Father Hahn said.
“There were two at Ohio State who were both involved with SPO, and there were a couple who were involved in their parish life. Some have a Damascus connection and served as a missionary there.”
Father Hahn stressed the importance of young men getting to know priests.
“There should be some kind of event that brings them closer to God and then some kind of component that connects them to the priest and/or seminarians,” he said. “Those are the two most important pieces and also actively growing closer to the Lord with a spiritual practice through some kind of involvement with Adoration or prayer.”
When then-Columbus Bishop Robert Brennan launched the diocese’s Real Presence Real Future initiative three years ago, he placed a strong emphasis on vocations. His successor, Bishop Earl Fernandes, picked up where Bishop Brennan left off and emphasized the urgent need for vocations from the time he arrived in the diocese in May 2022.
“He has an intentionality about vocations and evangelization, and he’s a strong leader that guys want to follow,” Father Hahn said of Bishop Fernandes. “He inspires them, and I think people trust him.”
When other diocesan vocations directors throughout the country ask Father Hahn the reasons behind the influx of new seminarians, he points to a zeal for evangelization and discipleship in the diocese.
“They say, ‘How the heck did you get 16?’ I think it’s a culture that has been very supportive, and part of that is from the lay missionary groups like SPO and Damascus,” he said. “I think it’s creating a culture where young people sense that they do have a mission in life.”
The new seminarians are beginning a lengthy journey on the path to the priesthood. With the changes recently implemented by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in conjunction with the Holy See, the formation process now includes an additional year, which is referred to as a “propaedeutic year,” that gives incoming men a year of additional discernment, prayer and study with an emphasis on a monastic-type experience to block out cultural distractions such as media.
For most of the individuals entering without any college experience, the number of years in seminary will now add up to nine. The majority of men with college degrees will spend seven years in formation before ordination to the priesthood.
The extra year has not proved to be a deterrent, Father Hahn said.
“Guys might be a bit resistant at first,” he said, “but I think they appreciate its purpose, and they understand the need to detox from the culture and have time to work on themselves and prepare themselves for seminary.
“For some of them, it can be a real challenge after being in college and also for those who are more mission oriented or have worked with local youth groups. All of a sudden, they’re pulled back from that, but they recognize the importance of it.”
For the first time in a number of years, some of the men are being sent outside the diocese for a portion of their seminary studies to vary their experience during the years of formation. Seven members of this year’s class have been assigned to Mount St. Mary Seminary of the West (The Athenaeum of Ohio) in Cincinnati.
The entrants out of high school and most of the returning seminarians have remained in the diocese at the Pontifical College Josephinum.
Jacob Wilson, whose home parish is Gahanna St. Matthew Church, is one of the seminarians who is at Mount St. Mary this year.
“From the time I was 8 years old I remember wanting to become a priest,” he said. “I would play Mass in my room by myself with animal crackers. When I got to junior high and high school (Pickerington North), I started going to youth group and summer camps. It was there that I began encountering the Lord Jesus through silent Eucharistic Adoration.
“During that time of Adoration at camp, I truly heard the Lord’s words: ‘Will you be my priest?’ My immediate answer was ‘Yes!’ It was an incredible moment that I will never forget.
“Now, going to public school, these were some fun conversations to have with my friends who weren’t even Christian. Telling people at a public high school that I wanted to be a priest usually left most of them surprised or confused.
“After graduating from my four years of college studies, I still heard the Lord’s call to enter into the seminary. … I now find myself at Mount St. Mary’s seminary in Cincinnati, studying pre-theology and trusting the Lord’s call every step of the way. Please continue to pray for vocations!”
Some of the older seminarians and those with more life experience, such as Kennedy Ofezu of Columbus St. Joseph Cathedral, enter at stages known as “discipleship” and “configuration.”
Discipleship is the second stage of formation designed for growth in developing a relationship with Christ through meditation, contemplation, philosophical study and develop of character in Christian virtue.
Configuration, the third stage, includes the study of theology, pastoral formation and cultivation of leadership virtues in preparation for ordination.
The transitional diaconate is the final stage in preparation for ordination to the priesthood.
For more information and a list of vocations-related events, visit www.vocationscolumbus.org.