Last Updated: Friday - 09/24/2010
Week of November 10, 2008
Happy days are here again at St. Joseph Seminary
By RAMON GONZALEZ
Western Catholic Reporter
Edmonton
St. Joseph’s Seminary is a busy place these days and expectations are that the number of seminarians will increase further in the future.
The seminary this year has 39 seminarians from 15 dioceses, including two who are doing their pastoral internship.
“It’s the largest number in house we have had for a long time,” said a smiling Sulpician Father Shayne Craig, the seminary’s rector. “I am very happy about it. I think God is continuing to call young men to serve the Church.”
Of the 39 seminarians, 10 are preparing for the Edmonton Archdiocese. Four are from Eastern Canada. The others come from several dioceses in Western Canada.
This is the largest number of seminarians St. Joseph’s has had since 2002, when it had 41.
Currently there is a large increase in vocations in some parts of the United States and Craig said Archbishop Richard Smith believes the Edmonton Archdiocese will see a similar trend.
“We are a little bit behind the U.S. but he is of the firm conviction that the same rebound in vocations is going to happen here and I trust his discernment.”
A new seminary is being built on the grounds of the Catholic Pastoral Centre with room for 60 seminarians.
Craig believes that is enough room for now. “Sixty is a good number of rooms but if we need, the infrastructure would allow us to expand in the future,” he said.
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