THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. MARY OF THE LAKE /MUNDELEIN SEMINARY

The University of Saint Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary prepares candidates for the diocesan priesthood and provides initial, post-graduate or ongoing formation for priests and those who collaborate with them in ministry.

VISION STATEMENTS

The Lord founded the Church with a sacred ministry of bishops, presbyters and deacons.  At the core of its mission, Mundelein Seminary prepares men to be priests of Jesus Christ, priest, teacher and shepherd.  It educates men for parish pastoral ministry as co-workers with their bishops in the service of the Catholic Church.

The Holy Spirit calls forth diverse gifts and ministries within the Church; Mundelein Seminary also educates leaders for pastoral ministry as co-workers with the bishop and his priests in service to the people of Christ.  It does this through distinct programs of formation for each ecclesial role.

The people of Christ deserve ministers committed to life-long learning and growth in holiness.  Mundelein Seminary provides post-graduate and advanced ministerial degree programs, as well as ongoing formation for all engaged in ministry.

GOALS

The goals of the University of St. Mary of the Lake / Mundelein Seminary are:

1. To provide a comprehensive program of theological studies that: (a) supports students in the conscious appropriation of the Catholic faith and prepares them to proclaim and to teach God's Word; (b) imparts a way of understanding, reflecting upon, interpreting and proclaiming the Catholic faith in parish ministry.

2. To provide a spiritual and human formation program that: (a) helps students grow in liturgical and personal prayer, celibate chastity and readiness for diocesan priestly life; (b) promotes self-awareness,          competence, confidence, psychological integration, healthy sexual maturity and the capacity to relate to others; (c) fosters simplicity of life, obedience and pastoral service.

3. To provide a pastoral formation program that: (a) prepares students for the ministry of priestly leadership with and for others in the Church; (b) fosters the pastoral integration of theological and spiritual formation; (c) promotes habits of prayer, study and reflection in ministry; (d) develops pastoral skills and attitudes to meet the needs of the Church in evolving, complex and multicultural settings.

MASTER OF DIVINITY

MISSION STATEMENT

  The Master of Divinity program at Mundelein Seminary has as its goals: the intellectual, human, spiritual and pastoral formation of priests who are solidly grounded in the wisdom of the Church.  The students prepared in the program have, as their main focus, parish ministry.  The theological education is comprehensive and extensive.  It gives witness to the unity of faith, according to the tradition of the Church and the Magisterium, and to the authentic diversity of theological expression.  It is pastorally oriented, ecumenically sensitive and relevant for the multi-cultural realities of the Church in the United States.  Education in the Master of Divinity program is a dynamic process in which  students personally appropriate what is taught and bring it into dialogue with the people and setting of their parish ministry.

GOALS

  The sequence of courses in the first five quarters of the curriculum: 1) seeks to move the student to a conscious appropriation of his Christian Faith commitment; and 2) provides the formation in theology, acquaintance with pastoral skills, and working knowledge of Church life which will enable the student to function effectively in the Pastoral Intensive.

  After the Pastoral Intensive, the general goal of the second half of the program is to provide a more  speculative and specialized understanding of the theological rationale for practical ministries. Such theological formation includes continued training and pastoral practice. Because of the experience of the Pastoral Quarter, education in both skills and understanding takes place against the backdrop of the seminarian's knowledge of the ministerial needs of the Church and his developing ministerial identity.

  The Formation Program complements the Academic Program with a two-part focus on: "Discipleship" in the first two years and "Priestly Ministry" in the second two years.

  The School of Theology, operating under a charter granted by the State of Illinois in 1844, with accreditation by the Association of Theological Schools, confers three professional degrees and one research degree:  (1) Master of Divinity (M.Div.) to those who have successfully completed the four-year academic program;  (2) Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) to those who have had at least three years of ministry and have successfully completed an additional two-year, academic program; (3) The M.A.L. a professional degree in Liturgy and (4) The M.A. (Liturgical Studies) an intermediate academic degree in liturgical theology.

ECCLESIASTICAL PROGRAM

MISSION STATEMENT

  The mission of the Ecclesiastical degree program  (S.T.L.) at the University of St. Mary of the Lake / Mundelein Seminary is to foster teaching and research concerning Christian revelation, especially as understood in the Catholic dogmatic and theological tradition.

GOALS

  As expressed in the Statuta of the Ecclesiastical Faculty of Theology, the objectives of the Ecclesiastical Faculty are:

1. to study Christian revelation scientifically and in depth, to relate harmoniously to more recent advances of the human sciences, and to present Christian revelation in a suitable way to contemporary people (Sapientia      Christiana 2);

2. to illustrate Catholic doctrine from divine revelation in such a way that students may understand it clearly, see its relevance to their own lives, and learn to communicate it effectively to others (Sapientia Christiana  66);

3. to make available to candidates for the priesthood and also to other qualified persons a graduate course of studies in the sacred sciences (Sapientia      Christiana 2);

4. to provide scholarly collaboration with the local and the universal church, in conjunction with the hierarchy, in the whole task of evangelization (Sapientia Christiana 2);

5. to promote, in accordance with the norms of the directory for ecumenism, dialogue with Christians of other traditions, as well as with non-Christians and with non-believers, in order to seek a clearer understanding of the spiritual values of other faiths and to promote a  greater degree of Christian unity.