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PRE-THEOLOGY ACADEMIC PROGRAM

Mundelein Seminary offers a two-year Pre-Theology program.  It is designed for those college graduates who need to make the transition into seminary life and to acquire the necessary academic courses in philosophy and religious studies.

Students in the Pre-Theology program are full-time members of the Mundelein Seminary community.  They have separate academic and formation programs to help them get ready for the study of theology and the immediate preparation for ordained ministry.  Individual rooms provide space for study, reflection and prayer.  Their group living provides the base for mutual support and interaction.  Gradually, they will become accustomed to the elements of seminary life and priestly formation.

THE PRE-THEOLOGY ACADEMIC PROGRAM

The study of Philosophy is important not only as a preparation for Theology but also as a needed element in the life of those who would  accept leadership in the Church of the twenty-first century.  Critical reflection helps focus the issues of a complex world and sharpen the wisdom of the preceding ages.  An understanding of the culture and ideas of the world today strengthen the priest’s ability to preach the gospel and to clear the path for God’s invitation to faith.

The Pre-Theology program provides forty-three quarter hours of philosophy and twenty-six quarter hours in religious studies.  In addition, the Pre-Theologians will study Latin and Greek (two quarters each) as well as offerings in the humanities (two courses).  There will also be opportunities for the study of Spanish, both language and cultural.  Some limited selection of electives, depending on the student’s interest and available time, is available.

THE PRE-THEOLOGY FORMATION PROGRAM

Equally important is the Pre-Theology formation program.  The future priests must “make his own” the gospel values he preaches.  He must be committed to the mission of the Church, and he must be a man of spiritual insight and prayerful faith.  To achieve this, the student will be in regular spiritual direction; he will also have a formation advisor.  He will join the whole community for daily Mass, daily prayer (especially the Liturgy of the Hours), for retreats, evenings of prayer, class formation sessions, devotions and Eucharistic adoration.  The first and fifth quarters of the program will spend more concentrated time on human and spiritual formation.  He will also have a weekly pastoral experience along with time for reflection on his ministry.  All these create the atmosphere in which the students can develop as men of faith and hear more clearly the call to ministry.

THE PRE-THEOLOGY MISSION TRIP

Pre-Theology II Field Education focuses on social justice. Provisions are made to ensure prolonged and meaningful contact with the poor, the marginalized, the sick, and the suffering so as to better understand not only their immediate needs but also the social contexts and cultural structures that contribute to injustice in our world. The weekly field education experiences of the first and second quarter prepare the students for work with the poor and marginalized. But participation in one of the two extended mission trips is essential to the realization of this goal for the individual students. Students will choose to participate in one of two mission trip options: an international Catholic Relief Services Global Fellows Trip or a mission trip within the U.S. Both trips occur at the beginning of the final week of the winter quarter and last for 10-14 days. The trips are designed to provide effective mission experiences for the men that will illuminate for them the Church’s call to justice and their own responsibilities to others based on the dignity of the human person and the role of servants to Christ and His Church. From within the experiences shared with poor and marginalized, the men will be called to live the love of Christ expressed in their prayer and theology..

THE GOALS OF THE PRE-THEOLOGY PROGRAM

The goals of the 2 year Pre-Theology program are to introduce the students into seminary life and to provide the foundations for their development in priestly formation.

Specifically:

  1. To assist the students to enter into seminary life and to adjust themselves to a new lifestyle;

  2. To take the required academic courses that will prepare them to start theological study;

  3. To encourage a realistic appreciation of the mission of the Church today and to help them understand the role of “priest and pastor”;

  4. To teach them methods of prayer and devotion, meditation and spiritual reading as well as opportunities to engage in faith sharing;

  5. To provide an opportunity for further vocational discernment;

  6. To set the groundwork for ongoing human, academic, spiritual and priestly formation in the years ahead.