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Mission

   The University of St. Mary of the Lake / Mundelein Seminary is the major theological seminary of the Archdiocese of Chicago with a national and international outreach.

  The primary mission of the University of St. Mary of the Lake / Mundelein Seminary is to prepare candidates to be priests of Jesus Christ, priest, teacher and shepherd.  It educates men for pastoral ministry as diocesan priests to be co-workers with their bishops in the service of the Catholic Church.

  As part of its mission to educate future leaders for pastoral ministry, the University of St. Mary of the Lake / Mundelein Seminary administers additional, distinct programs of training for lay ecclesial ministers and permanent deacons.  It also offers a Doctor of Ministry Program for qualified candidates who are actively engaged in pastoral ministry.

  Also at the University of St. Mary of the Lake / Mundelein Seminary there is an Ecclesiastical Faculty of Theology, which is chartered by the Holy See to grant teaching and research degrees, and a Liturgical Institute, which promotes and advances the theology and practice of the Church's liturgical life. 

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.