What is a seminarian?

- A seminarian is a man who is discerning the Lord's call to the Roman Catholic priesthood. By virtue of his baptism, he is a member of the priesthood of all believers. The seminarian hears the Lord speaking to him and calling him to a fuller participation in the priesthood by becoming a priest of Jesus Christ. While the priesthood has many elements that make it like a job, it is primarily a vocation: a calling from the Lord. The seminarian then needs to be open to hearing the Lord's call in his life and be eager to respond to it.
- The seminary is an environment that strives to form Christian men characterized by a life of holiness, human virtue, and generous service. Such a life is nurtured by a deep interior life of prayer and sound piety, filial devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and a profound love for the universal and local Church. It is further nourished through a rigorous intellectual formation in a faithful and loving obedience to the Magisterium and the sacred truths entrusted to the Church. The seminary provides an environment that forms men to be committed disciples of Christ who are free to respond to God’s call to the priesthood, including the call to the celibate life.
- A man who enters the seminary does not possess all the answers. In fact, many more questions will arise during time spent in seminary formation! Seminarians come from all walks of life, previous educational experiences, family backgrounds, and parishes. They bring different talents, insights, and experiences to their time in formation. In the Program for Priestly Formation, the bishops write that:
"All applicants should give witness to their conviction that God has brought them to the seminary to discern whether or not they are really called to the priesthood, and they should commit themselves wholeheartedly to carrying out that discernment." (PPF 45)
- Seminarians live in a community. This means they pray together, work together, take their meals together, and study together. While the seminary is a place where individual men go to discern what the Lord is asking of them, ultimately as priests they will belong to a fraternity. The seeds of this brotherhood and fraternity are sown during their time in seminary formation.
What are the Requirements to become a seminarian?
- Candidates for the seminary come from a great variety of backgrounds. Some enter the seminary right out of high school, others enter after pursuing a professional career, and many enter after college after a few years in the workforce. Those experiences all contribute to the unique make-up of the priesthood and to the individual ministry of each priest.
  
  In the Archdiocese of Washington and other sending dioceses, there are several requirements to be considered for admission to the priest formation program. In addition to a strong faith, fidelity to the Church, and a life of virtue, these requirements include:
- Age
  A young man may apply for the seminary after completing high school. The upper age limit is normally fifty years because of the length of time required for seminary training and the reality that illnesses often increase and energy decreases with age. Candidates after high school, or in their early twenties to early thirties, are common.
- Education
  A high school diploma or G.E.D. is required to enter college seminary. Ordinarily a college degree is required to enter theology.
- Health
  Good physical and mental health are required and must be certified by health care professionals because of the life-long demands of the priesthood for physical stamina and emotional stability.