The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Seminarians on the move in the Diocese of Bridgeport
STAMFORD — Men in the Diocese of Bridgeport who aspire to be priests will now complete their studies in Pennsylvania, not at the Stamford-based St. John Fisher House of Discernment.
But the 31-year-old Newfield Avenue house will still be used for a group of missionary seminarians, and a popular adoration chapel on the premises will remain open. Remaining open, too, will be some some vocation offices and a small residence for Bishop Frank J. Caggiano, diocesan spokesman Brian Wallace said.
The men who had been in Stamford are now studying at the larger St. Charles Borromeo Seminary near Philadelphia. The move was made because of the high costs and increasingly smaller numbers of students, among other reasons, facing Roman Catholic dioceses across the country, Wallace said.
“Given that fostering vocations and supporting our seminarians is a unique obligation that I possess as bishop and a successor of the apostles, I have made this decision because I am convinced that it will be to the great benefit of our seminarians and their future priesthood,” Caggiano said in a fall letter to diocesan priests to announce the change.
Founded in 1989 by the Most Rev. Edward M. Egan, the St. John Fisher House was created to provide young men with a place to study and decide whether they were called to a vocation in the priesthood.
The program was once located in Trumbull,, and nearly 100 men who have spent time there have gone
on to be ordained as priests, Wallace said.
The Rev. Chris Ford is one of the priests, spending two years after graduate school studying philosophy at Fisher House before he was ordained.
“It was really a great experience,” said Ford, who is now coordinator of the diocesan vocations team and parochial vicar of St. Gregory the Great Parish in Danbury. “We had 10 guys back then and you grew in friendship and fraternity.”
But the current group numbers were down to about three to five each year, he said.
The smaller number of seminarians in recent years is one reason for the shift to Philadelphia. Communal living and charitable work are vital parts of a priest’s formation — and the larger seminary will provide that, Wallace said.
A larger group often includes those just out of high school, some of whom have
finished college and graduate school and others who are in their 30s, Ford said. And while some of the men do continue on to ordination, others complete their training and “leave as really good Christian gentlemen,” he said.
In his letter to parish priests, the bishop noted the difficulties of maintaining a philosophy faculty for the seminary.
“Finally, the escalating cost of training our men in our own collegiate formation program cannot be discounted in the current financially challenged situation that we face as a church,” Caggiano said in his letter.
The bishop made his decision after an in-depth analysis of the long-term viability of the facility, Wallace said. A study team examined all programs east of the Mississippi River: St. Charles Borromeo was chosen for its academic and formation program, which serves 65 seminarians from 14 dioceses in the U.S. and six religions congregations.
The bishop also said the Philadelphia seminary is culturally and racially diverse.
That said, Fisher House is not shutting its doors, Wallace said.
The missionary seminary, Redemptoris Mater, which prepares priests for service around the globe, and the vocation offices will be open for administrative support.
The site, which is close to the former Trinity Catholic High School, also includes a chapel popular with the Stamford community that will remain accessible, Wallace said.
In a letter to donors, the bishop said any funds raised at St. John Fisher events, such as a Rector’s Dinner, will continue to support the seminarians.
“We want people to know that the building is very much a part of the diocese,” he said.