St. Joseph Seminary is a Roman Catholic diocesan college seminary in

Belmont, NC Belmont is a small suburban city in Gaston County, North Carolina, United States, located about west of uptown Charlotte and east of Gastonia. The population was 10,076 at the 2010 census. Once known as Garibaldi Station, it was named for th ...

under the jurisdiction of the

Diocese of Charlotte The Diocese of Charlotte (''Dioecesis Carolinana'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in the Southern United States. It consists of 46 counties in western North Carolina, divided into ten vicariates. ...

. The seminary hosts men exclusively for the Diocese of Charlotte, and is run by

priests A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in p ...

of that same diocese.

History

The

St. Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers ...

Seminary was created as a result of a rise in vocations in the Diocese of Charlotte. These

vocations A vocation () is an occupation to which a person is especially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified. People can be given information about a new occupation through student orientation. Though now often used in non-religious co ...

are attributed primarily to the

Quo Vadis ''Quō vādis?'' (, ) is a Latin phrase meaning "Where are you marching?". It is also commonly translated as "Where are you going?" or, poetically, "Whither goest thou?" The phrase originates from the Christian tradition regarding Saint Pete ...

Days summer camp, which was instituted in the diocese in 2013. The camp hosts young men from rising high school freshmen to rising college seniors. Traditionally, the diocese has only accepted men with prior college experience, but due to the number of younger vocations coming from the summer camp, the diocese set the seminary in place to be a transition from secular college to seminary formation. On March 17, 2016, the diocese released a video through their diocesan newspaper, the Catholic News Herald, to explain further details about the proposed seminary, including costs and designs of the building. The Charlotte Diocese officially announced the creation of this seminary at a youth pilgrimage taking place at Belmont Abbey. This official announcement was formally delivered to at the Diocese's yearly youth pilgrimage by Bishop Peter Jugis, notably on the feast of St. Joseph. He noted in his address the location of the seminary being temporarily on the grounds of St. Ann's Church in Charlotte while a new location was looked into at a later date. In his speech, the bishop also announced the appointment of Rev. Matthew Kauth as the

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the seminary. The seminary was temporarily on the campus of St. Ann Catholic Church in the St. Joseph Monastery formerly used by the Poor Clares, while a more permanent seminary was built near the campus of Belmont Abbey College in 2020. With construction being completed, the Fall 2020 semester was the first spent in the new permanent seminary building.

Studies

While in-depth details about the studies the men participate in at this seminary have not been announced, on a general level they work towards a four-year degree in

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

, in accord with the dogmas of the Church regarding seminary formation. Meanwhile, they will study Latin and Music. This is known as intellectual formation.

References

External links

* *http://catholicnewsherald.com/features/42-news/rokstories/9469-diocese-announces-college-seminary-for-future-priests {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Joseph Catholic Seminary Seminaries and theological colleges in North Carolina