Detroit — Seminarian enrollment at Sacred Heart Major Seminary is at its highest level in nearly 40 years, Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron said Dec. 10 in a new letter to the faithful.
The seminary, which has 120 men studying for the priesthood, along with hundreds more lay and deaconate formation students, was the subject of the archbishop’s latest “Sharing the Light” letter, designed to offer more transparency into the Archdiocese of Detroit’s inner workings.
“The primary mission of our seminary is forming our future priests to share the Gospel message and administer the sacraments of salvation,” the archbishop said in the letter, which can be read on Page 6.
Of Sacred Heart’s 120 seminarians, 38 are in formation for the Archdiocese of Detroit, including 22 in graduate programs. Sacred Heart also forms seminarians for other Michigan dioceses, as well as a few from other states and Canada.
Seven candidates are projected to be ordained priests for the Detroit archdiocese in 2014.
In addition to its seminarians, who live in dorms at the seminary, Sacred Heart also has 394 lay commuter students in graduate or undergraduate programs. Since 2001, 105 permanent deacons have graduated from the seminary.
The archbishop’s letter also elaborated on the history and funding of the seminary at Linwood and Chicago Boulevard in Detroit.
The seminary, which opened in 1919, is owned by the Archdiocese of Detroit and operated at a cost of nearly $11.4 million in 2012-13, the archbishop said. That cost is offset in a number of ways, including student tuition, room and board, donor gifts and investments. Part of the ongoing Changing Lives Together capital stewardship campaign is also devoted to helping Sacred Heart Major Seminary in the future.
The archdiocese provided about $6.7 million in financial support for the seminary last year, more that two-thirds of which was for maintenance, insurance, utilities and other expenses. About $1.17 million was designated for program expenses, and the archdiocese gave $933,220 in tuition assistance for seminarians.
The seminary is the single largest recipient of archdiocesan financial aid, the letter said.
To read more about Sacred Heart Major Seminary, including its finances, financial aid, degree programs, building improvements and future plans, visit www.aod.org/sharingthelight/.
