PROVIDENCE — According to an article in the Catholic World Report from February, just shy of 3,000 men are currently studying for the priesthood in 175 dioceses within the U.S.
The Diocese of Providence currently has 12 seminarians in various stages of formation, a solid number for a population of roughly 400,000 Catholics. These young men study at one of three seminaries: Our Lady of Providence, St. John’s Seminary in Boston and the Pontifical North American College in Rome. As they begin the new school year, these young men discerning vocations in the priesthood need the prayers of other Catholics throughout the diocese.
Our Lady of Providence Seminary educates future priests from all around the Northeast: New York, Massachusetts, etc. Twenty-three men—13 new this year—from 10 different dioceses are students this year.
“For the first time we have a man from the Diocese of Syracuse, and we have men from Hartford and Springfield, which we have not had for a couple of years,” said Father Ryan W. Connors, S.T.D., rector of the seminary.
Father Connors noted that Bishop Bruce A. Lewandowski, C.Ss.R., “is very interested in the formation program here. He is very supportive of the work of priestly formation and encourages the men especially in their daily prayer.” In fact, the bishop will give a formation lecture in October at the seminary.
“I fully support the work of Vocations Director Father Ryan Simas, and Assistant Vocations Director Father Jairon Olmos Rivera. They do a wonderful job and we all need to support them,” Bishop Lewandowski said.
Father Connors also expressed his gratitude to Archbishop Richard G. Henning for allowing Father Patrick O’Connor, “a priest of the Archdiocese of Boston, to serve on our seminary faculty” as Coordinator of the Propaedeutic Stage of formation.
This stage was instituted last year by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. According to documentation on their website, this 12-month (at minimum) period “is introductory in nature, but also intensive through its focus on significant times of growth in prayer, trust and fraternity.”
The propaedeutic stage is intended to “lay a foundation for a new way of life centered in Christ and in communion with his Bishop, presbyterate and his local Church or ecclesiastical entity through involvement in parish settings and in charitable works.”
Patrick Barr just completed his propaedeutic year at St. John’s Seminary in Boston and began his first year of philosophy studies there this fall. Originally from Delaware, he came to the Diocese of Providence in part because his parents own a home on Block Island. He professes a great love for Little Rhody and considers his home parish to be St. Philip in Greenville.
At 37 years old, Barr joked that he was the oldest man at St. John’s, as his path to the seminary took a circuitous route. After college, he joined the Navy – never saw the inside of a ship – and fell away from the faith for a time. Eventually, he made his way back and was accepted as a seminarian. He called it “an adjustment, living in communal life,” but stated that this year had been “incredible.”
Each seminary approaches the propaedeutic year differently, but Barr explained that at St. John’s, the focus was primarily on discipline and prayer, fostering the spiritual life of future priests. One of the hardest aspects was the “technology fast,” a limit on the use of cell phones and computers and a moratorium on social media.
“The Church recognizes that guys today grow up in a noisy culture,” Barr said, and the propaedeutic year allows these men to move away from that.
The year also helped fill potential gaps in the seminarians’ education, shoring up firm foundations in the faith through reading the Bible and catechism. Additionally, it gave him the opportunity to grow closer to the other men in formation and benefit from the “phenomenal priests” guiding them.
Barr’s biggest takeaway from the propaedeutic stage was “the opportunity to detach for a year. It was almost like a retreat year.”
On the other end of priestly formation is Mateusz Puzanowski, in his sixth year of studies, now at the Pontifical North American College in Rome. He will be ordained to the diaconate on October 2 at St. Peter’s Basilica and to the priesthood this spring in Providence, part of the first group to be ordained by Bishop Lewandowski.
He hails from the predominantly Polish parish of St. Joseph in Central Falls. That he was “born in the age of a Polish pope was surreal to me,” he said, and he has always felt a connection with Pope John Paul II.
“He definitely had a big impact on me, not just because he was Polish, but his whole personage” inspired Puzanowski’s vocation. The prayers and sacrificial support of parishioners at St. Joseph impacted him as well.
Looking back on his time in the seminary, Puzanowski professed himself surprised that the years, once so daunting at the start, have now gone by so quickly. He is excited for ordination and the opportunity to serve others in a new way. After ordination, he will be able to serve at the altar and become a role model to other young men beginning their studies at the PNAC.
“It’s a big step,” he said. “It’s a blessed place to be.”
Studying in Rome has been a prime experience for him, as he witnessed the heart of the Church, calling it “a beautiful mosaic” in which all the pieces from around the world fit together into an amazing image of universality.
Though there were no new seminarians from the Diocese of Providence entering formation this year, prayers for a new crop of future priests are always encouraged.
The Church needs good and faithful priests to continue her mission of bringing the gospel to all the nations, and the Diocese of Providence supports its seminarians at all levels of formation.
“The good news is that the men God is calling to the seminary are convinced Christians,” Father Connors concluded. “They are serious about formation and at the same time are aware of human weakness. They desire to be merciful shepherds to God’s people.”
