Spiritual life is at the heart of seminary life, where students learn to make their lives a prayer. Priests and seminarians gather morning and evening to sing God’s praises through the celebration of the Gregorian office and the Eucharist. All learn personal union with God through meditation on the Word of God and prayer.
Spiritual life is at the heart of seminary life, where students learn to make their lives a prayer. Priests and seminarians gather morning and evening to sing God’s praises through the celebration of the Gregorian Office and the Eucharist. All learn personal union with God through meditation on the Word of God and prayer.
Before becoming a priest, one must become a man; the grace of the sacrament does not spare our human nature. Community life is a great school of fraternal charity and human formation.
Obedience to superiors, discipline of life, and a spirit of service are also important dimensions of discernment and priestly formation.
The affective and psychological dimensions of the person are also part of the concerns of formators and are subjects that are frequently and deeply addressed.
Every day, for six years of their lives, seminarians study ‘sacred science,’ in constant contact with the Word of God, drawing on the treasures of Tradition and the Magisterium of the Church. Faithful to the directives of the Church, particularly those of the Second Vatican Council, the faculty teaches by taking ‘St. Thomas as their master,’ drawing inspiration from his doctrine and the example of intellectual openness that he represents.
A one-year internship in a parish is part of the training, as are shorter periods: every summer, in particular, seminarians spend several weeks between youth and family camps, animating shrines and simple parish life, thus familiarising themselves with the future tasks of their ministry.
Pastoral charity, a gift flowing from the priestly heart of Christ, is also received in daily fraternal life, which teaches attention and listening, as well as in prayer for the intentions of the world, entrusted to the seminarians.
In addition to the four usual dimensions of formation, the Community has added community formation, which is its hallmark and distinctive feature. Throughout their years in Évron and during their parish placements, seminarians learn to move forward with others, adopting a community lifestyle: praying together, sharing the life of the house with one heart (as they will later do in their pastoral mission), and sharing the faith that animates them.
The daily challenge is to ensure that community life is not just a framework but becomes an opportunity for true fraternal charity for those who will receive the grace of the same priesthood through ordination.
Practical housekeeping duties – performed in turn by each seminarian – contribute to the education of those who wish to become priests or deacons and are called to be men of service.
Each person meditates on the Word of God, especially the texts of the day’s liturgy. The fruit of this meditation then nourishes the intimate dialogue with Christ, prayer.
Lauds are morning prayers, where we dedicate our entire day to God in the light of the risen Christ.
Four 45-minute lectures are given each morning by professors from the Evron School of Theology and Philosophy.
Leisure and sport bring the seminarians together, teaching them not only to care for others but also to pay attention to their bodies and health, which is so important for always being available for apostolic work.
Reading the spiritual masters of all ages nourishes the spiritual life of seminarians and helps them discover the richness of the saints and spiritual currents that the Holy Spirit has given and continues to give to the Church.
The study is carried out jointly in classrooms. In addition, it provides for daily exchange and support between the most advanced and the youngest students.
‘We must see the Eucharistic mystery as the centre and root of the whole life of the priest and seminarian, both in terms of personal spirituality and pastoral mission.’ (John Paul II). Vespers, at sunset, is the office of thanksgiving for all the blessings received from God.
