Priests trained for Latino ministry
Posted on Saturday, January 13, 2007
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/bcdr/News/44235/
SAN ANTONIO — John Nolan has experienced life on his own in the secular world, tasting both success and failure. Now he wants to serve others as a Catholic priest.
But first, he’ll have to learn enough Spanish and become comfortable enough in Latino culture to minister to the Latinos who will make up the majority of his future parishioners.
Last fall, at age 42, he enrolled at San Antonio’s Assumption Seminary, the nation’s premier Catholic training center for bilingual, bicultural ministry with a Mexican-American flavor. Nolan is one of 26 men who came to Assumption for the first time this year — its largest entering class in 36 years.
While nationwide graduate-level seminary enrollment statistics are basically flat, the San Antonio school has a bumper crop of seminarians. Enrollment jumped from 51 in 2005-06 to 76 this academic year, also a 36-year high.
Seminary officials say eight more young men are arriving this month, and others are expected next fall.
Those statistics have Archbishop Jose Gomez brimming with excitement and full of optimism about the school’s future.
“ The Catholic community simply cannot do without priests. That would be like a major corporation trying to survive without managers. We need seminarians so we can have priests to keep the Catholic faith alive, ” Gomez said.
And many of the people tomorrow’s priests will serve are Latinos, both native-born and immigrants from all over Latin America — but especially Mexico.
Assumption is considered the nation’s premier Catholic seminary for training bilingual, bicultural priests for ministry in a predominantly Mexican-American environment, said Father Larry Christian, its rector.
For decades, most bishops in other parts of the country have ignored Assumption as a “ niche” seminary for Latino ministry, since their flocks included few Hispanics.
But today, they urgently need priests trained in Latino ministry, and some are realizing that Assumption is well-equipped to help them face that challenge.
Assumption has accepted eight more seminarians for this spring semester — bringing enrollment to 84 — and more dioceses want to enroll men here next year.
Six dioceses are asking about Assumption for the first time ever, Christian said.
That’s not all. For the second year in a row, 11 Assumption men will be ordained for service in various dioceses. Few of its past ordination classes have had 10 or more.
The seminarians come from 16 dioceses — nine in Texas, three in California and one each in Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and North Carolina.
“ There’s nothing like this going on at any other U. S. seminary, ” said Catholic University of America sociologist Dean Hoge, a national expert on Catholic clergy data.
He said seminary enrollment typically fluctuates slightly from year to year.
Assumption’s did for a long time, averaging 44 from 1973 until 2006. It passed 55 a few times but dipped to 20 in 1982. Only five years ago, it was just 36.
Everything Assumption does — celebrating Mass, praying the Rosary, reciting daily prayers and conducting Eucharistic adoration, celebrating religious holidays and even meeting with formation advisors and academic counselors — reflects a thoroughly bilingual, Mexican-American culture.
Its Masses, prayers and devotions are conducted in Spanish each Wednesday and Thursday. There’s almost constant practice for Spanish speakers to learn English and English speakers to learn Spanish.
“ When the liturgy is in English, some of the guys from Latin America don’t understand it, ” Nolan said. “ When it’s in Spanish, I get put in the same position. ”