A new house of priestly formation opens where Blessed Michael McGivney completed his studies
In June 1873, Michael J. McGivney returned home to Waterbury, Connecticut, following the sudden death of his father. His seminary studies at Collège Sainte-Marie in Montréal were abruptly cut short, and he could not afford to continue. Later that summer, however, Bishop Francis McFarland of Hartford secured funding for 21-year-old McGivney to resume his education at St. Mary’s Seminary in downtown Baltimore. For the next four years, until his ordination in 1877, McGivney’s spiritual life and intellectual and pastoral formation were nourished by daily prayer and Mass in the seminary’s Chapel of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, where he also served as sacristan.
Some 150 years later, in the same historic chapel, a new house of priestly formation named in honor of this humble Connecticut priest and founder of the Knights of Columbus was formally dedicated Jan. 23 by Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore. The Blessed Michael J. McGivney Propaedeutic House of Formation, located adjacent to the chapel, serves first-year seminarians in a new propaedeutic, or preparatory, stage of formation required in all Catholic seminaries.
“How appropriate that this house was named for Blessed Michael McGivney,” Archbishop Lori said in his remarks, “because in the propaedeutic year we are helping seminarians … to develop a life of prayer, to develop their humanity, to develop their own unique version of God’s individual likeness.”
Among those present at the dedication ceremony were Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly; Sulpician Provincial Superior Father Daniel Moore; Sulpician Father Shawn Gould, director of the McGivney House; Oblate Father James Yeakel, house coordinator; and the seven seminarians living at the house.
In his remarks, Supreme Knight Kelly observed that Father McGivney fulfilled his priestly duties daily with humility and simplicity.
“He always sought to work for the good of his people,” the supreme knight said. “I think he is the perfect model for young men discerning [a priestly vocation], and for young men who have committed to the seminary.”
Father McGivney’s presence can be felt throughout the grounds, according to Father Gould.
“To have him interceding for us is a great blessing,” said Father Gould, as he and the seven seminarians are learning the idiosyncrasies of the newly renovated building they now call home. “It is a beautiful thing to have this first stage of formation on the site of the original seminary.”
‘ALL IN IT TOGETHER’
St. Mary’s Seminary was founded in 1791 by the Society of St. Sulpice — a French community of diocesan priests dedicated to priestly formation — at the invitation of Bishop John Carroll, the first bishop of Baltimore, the United States’ first diocese. The first class consisted of only five seminarians, but by the time Michael McGivney arrived 82 years later, the nation’s first seminary had formed and ordained hundreds of priests.
Father McGivney was grateful for the outstanding formation he received at St. Mary’s, in particular from Sulpician Father Alphonse Magnien, with whom he maintained a warm correspondence.
In a letter to Father Magnien on Oct. 21, 1878, written during his first year as a priest at St. Mary’s Church in New Haven, Connecticut, he concludes: “Wishing you and the dear fathers of St. Mary’s all manner of blessings, I remain as ever a fond and loving son of my Alma Mater.”
By 1929, the seminary had expanded to include its current Roland Park campus 5 miles north; in 1974, the seminary was consolidated and renamed St. Mary’s Seminary & University. The old seminary building on Paca Street was demolished, but its chapel, dedicated in 1808 by then-Archbishop Carroll, remains on the historic site, as does the original Mother Seton House, where St. Elizabeth Ann Seton started her first boarding school for girls in 1809.
A former convent on the historic site that was once used as a retreat center was completely renovated and expanded to create the McGivney House, which consists of 12 individual rooms for seminarians, two suites for the director and coordinator, open spaces and an adoration chapel. The project took two years to complete.
“They were able to create a space really designed for a small community,” Father Gould, 48, explained. “It is always going to be a small program, so the seminarians get to know each other better. We’re all in it together.”
Like its new living quarters, the propaedeutic stage of formation is a new program called for by Pope Francis in 2016 and mandated in the Program of Priestly Formation (6th edition), promulgated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2023.
Its roots lie in the documents of the Second Vatican Council and Pope John Paul II’s 1992 apostolic exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis (I Will Give You Shepherds), which expressed the need for a preparatory year for seminarians due to rapidly changing cultural landscapes. The Program of Priestly Formation thus emphasizes the human and spiritual grounding needed to engage in priestly formation today: “There are many generous young men open to a priestly call who nevertheless need more intensive preparation before they are ready to enter into the discipleship stage of formation; thus, a propaedeutic stage prior to the discipleship stage is essential” (PPF § 119).
Father Gould explained that the propaedeutic stage provides formation in four key dimensions: human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral.
“Through this program,” he explained, “the men become more self-aware, more self-possessed to give more of themselves.”
GROWING IN COMMUNITY
The seven seminarians in the program’s first year range in age from early 20s to 50s. They hail from the Archdiocese of Baltimore and the dioceses of Buffalo, Erie, Scranton and Wilmington.
“The culture I grew up in was so different,” said Father Yeakel, 75, the coordinator for McGivney House. “I had [the new seminarians] say what generation they were — Generation Z, Millennial, Gen X — and how they were perceived by others. For me, it was an eye-opener.”
As coordinator, Father Yeakel said his role is to aid the seminarians with both their spiritual and human development — helping them learn, for example, how to manage their feelings and to properly take care of their physical and mental health.
“In addition to some coursework, the residents devote much of their time to prayer, Scripture and spirituality,” said Father Yeakel, who is a member of Blessed Michael McGivney at St. Mary’s Council 17759, which was chartered at the seminary in 2022.
The program is longer than a normal school year, starting Aug. 1 and running until mid-June, with a break during the Christmas holiday. Days begin at 7 a.m. in the chapel for meditation, followed by morning prayers and breakfast; the residents also attend daily Mass. The rest of the day is spent in courses in formation, counseling and recreation time. Night prayer is at 9 p.m., followed by a “grand silence” from 9:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.
“Because of my experience in the Army, this lifestyle feels comfortable,” said Kaya Manizade, 28, a seminarian from the Diocese of Wilmington. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, who went on to serve five years as a military intelligence officer, Manizade entered the Church after meeting devout Catholics at West Point.
“I feel like I am where I am supposed to be,” said Manizade, a member of St. Francis de Sales Council 3489 in Salisbury, Maryland. “This environment is all about camaraderie.”
Each of the men has house chores. While their dinners are prepared for them during the week, they are responsible for their own breakfast and lunch, as well as doing their laundry and cleaning their rooms and bathrooms.
“They keep us busy,” said Tyler Smart, a seminarian from the Diocese of Erie. A physical therapist assistant for six years, he is glad he finally said yes to the Lord and applied to the seminary, though he admitted it can be challenging.
“I always remind myself to ask God to give me grace,” said Smart, 26, who is a member of Joseph J. Fitzmartin Council 1446 in Greenville, Pennsylvania. “Everything we have in life is a gift. When you surrender everything to him, it makes everything go so much more smoothly.”
The men also do mission work in Baltimore as part of the pastoral dimension of their formation. For his part, Smart volunteers at the Franciscan Center, a nonprofit that serves free meals and offers various services to its clients.
“You build relationships with them as they become comfortable talking and opening up about their struggles,” Smart said. “Being in the city, there is so much lack of community. I think Father McGivney’s example of unity and charity really applies to us as we reach out to those in need.”
PILGRIMS WITH A MISSION
Short pilgrimages have also played an important part in the McGivney House residents’ formation. This past November, the group made a two-day trip to Connecticut, visiting places related to Father McGivney’s life and ministry, including his birthplace in Waterbury; St. Mary’s Church in New Haven — the birthplace of the Order — and other churches where he served; and the Blessed Michael McGivney Pilgrimage Center.
“Pilgrimages offer a very tangible experience,” explained Father Gould, who is a member of St. Bede-Pius X Council 3788 in Ingleside, Illinois. “Part of it is learning more about the lives of saints. Everybody had heard about Father McGivney, for example, but didn’t know much about his life.”
In addition to Connecticut, the group has visited the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Maryland, and the Saint John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, D.C. At the end of the school year, the group will make a Marian pilgrimage to France to visit numerous shrines, including Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, Notre-Dame-de-Chartres Cathedral and the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes.
“Going to Connecticut really helped educate us about Father McGivney,” Manizade affirmed. “I joined the Knights in Georgia while in the Army, and I enjoyed the fraternity. But I didn’t appreciate the scale of the organization. It only dawned on me after visiting the headquarters.”
Mark Boegner, a seminarian of the Archdiocese of Baltimore and a member of Sedes Sapientiae Council 13295 in College Park, Maryland, was likewise moved while on the pilgrimage to Connecticut.
“Now, to be in the McGivney House and pray in the original chapel he prayed in carries even more meaning,” said Boegner, 23.
Supreme Knight Kelly, in his remarks at the Jan. 23 dedication, shared an anecdote from a pilgrimage to Rome.
“Several years ago, Archbishop Lori and I were meeting with Pope Francis, and we told him about Father McGivney and about his character. Pope Francis said, ‘We need priests like this.’”
The supreme knight continued: “It is our hope on behalf of the 2.1 million members of the Knights of Columbus that you will have priests like Father McGivney. And I think this propaedeutic house is such an important building block in that formation. One priest can make an enormous difference.”