New Harvest Campaign

This is the place where we form tomorrow's priests and prepare men of all ages and backgrounds to shepherd God's people.

"A seminary should be a spiritual place, a way of life, an atmosphere that fosters and ensures a process of formation so that the person who is called to the priesthood by God may become, with the sacrament of orders, a living image of Jesus Christ, head and shepherd of the church."   Pope John Paul II, Pastores Dabo Vobis, #42

Under the guidance of the Archbishop of Denver, two seminaries prepare men for the priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church: St. John Vianney Theological Seminary and Redemptoris Mater Missionary Seminary.  Housed on the same campus with the Archdiocese's chancery offices at the John Paul II Center in Denver, the two seminaries form diocesan priests through integrated and personal formation programs.

Led by Most Reverend James Conley, Apostolic Administrator of Denver and Reverend Monsignor Michael Glenn, Rector, the seminaries are committed to high-quality priestly formation.  Our seminaries have claimed a place among the top 10 U.S. seminaries, as measured by the number of seminarians and ordinations.

The seminaries have exceeded expectations in the first 11 years of operations and the Archdiocese is committed to building upon this success.  As the Archdiocese prepares to meet the seminaries' growing needs, there is an opportunity and obligation to strengthen and preserve their future as beacons of priestly formation in the United States.  In 2006, the Archdiocese undertook a silent campaign entitled A New Harvest to secure lead support.  Through the generosity of these cornerstone donors, the Seminary has been able to move forward with the completion of a Spirituality Year House (dedicated in May 2010).  The Spirituality Year is a unique aspect of formation which was encouraged by Pope John Paul II.  It provides young men an opportunity to spend a year with a more focused life centered on study, prayer and discernment before entering the rigors of theological education.  The newly constructed residential building has a beautiful chapel and is able to accommodate up to 25 men in this important year of formation.

The Archdiocese has embarked upon a broad capital campaign to provide for the future of the seminaries and strengthen the ability to provide the best possible formation of priests.  The Archdiocese and the Seminaries have outlined current and future endowment and capital needs that will ensure the ability to build on a rapidly growing tradition of excellence.

Endowment

Increasing the operating endowment would reduce reliance on archdiocesan financial support and enable the Seminaries to better sustain their ongoing operations.  Gifts to this endowment would provide long-term operational stability.  Thankfully, many men have responded to God's call to serve, and we currently have more than 75 seminarians in formation for the Archdiocese of Denver.  It is a great blessing to have so many men preparing for the priesthood, yet the cost to educate them comes at a great expense.  We have reached a crossroads where the seminary education costs are exceeding our ability to fund them.  We must act now to ensure we can continue full educational support of our seminarians.

A Rich and Deep History

The facilities at 1300 South Steele Street in Denver have served as the focus for priestly formation for the Archdiocese and other regional dioceses since 1907.

In 1996 former Archbishop J. Francis Stafford established the Redemptoris Mater Seminary.  Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M.  Cap. expanded the efforts of preparing men for the priesthood by opening St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in March 1999.  Currently, more than 125 men are in formation; many of those men are in formation to serve as priests for the Archdiocese of Denver with the remainder in formation to serve other dioceses.