St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary is a

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Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

located in Boynton Beach,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

for the education and formation of

seminarians A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

to the Roman Catholic priesthood. St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary was established to form men for the diocesan and religious priesthood for the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

in North America, Central and South America, and the Caribbean.

Laity In religious organizations, the laity () consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non- ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother. In both religious and wider secular usage, a lay ...

are accepted into the program as well. It serves as the only Roman Catholic theologate in the

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical List of regions in the United States, region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the south ...

(located 1000 miles from the nearest seminary to the north, and 800 miles from the nearest seminary to the west), and serves as only one of two bilingual seminaries in the United States.

History

Bishop Coleman F. Carroll, the first bishop of the Archdiocese of Miami, purchased 100 acres of land near Boynton Beach to build a new seminary. In 1963, he invited the

Vincentian Fathers , logo = , image = Vincentians.png , abbreviation = CM , nickname = Vincentians, Paules, Lazarites, Lazarists, Lazarians , established = , founder = Vincent de Paul , fou ...

to operate the seminary in 1963. The Vincentian Fathers withdrew from St. Vincent on July 1, 1971, and the archdiocese took over the facility. Over time, the seven Florida dioceses joined the corporation that owns St. Vincent, sending their seminarian candidates there for priestly formation. In 2013, St. Vincent constructed two new residence halls and renovated its other facilities. In the 2018-2019, academic year, 110 seminarians were enrolled for the fall semester at St. Vincent, a record number. As of 2015, there are over 460 alumni from St. Vincent, many of them serving in Florida.

Master of Divinity program

In accordance with the Program of Priestly Formation established by the

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Conference (US ...

, St. Vincent seeks to prepare young men for the priesthood according to four pillars of formation: human, spiritual, academic, and pastoral. All seminarians are expected to be able to preach competently in their pastoral language before graduation, as well as celebrate the

eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was institu ...

and two other

sacraments A sacrament is a Christian rite that is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol of the rea ...

. They should also be able to participate in bilingual

liturgies Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

and events, stressing Spanish and English). Seminarians who meet the program requirements and receive approval from the formation team and their bishop will earn a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and di ...

degree. The time table for matriculation is usually five years.http://www.svdp.edu/_files/pdf/St_Vincent_Catalog-2011_web.pdf

Notable alumni

* Felipe J. Estévez, bishop of the

Diocese of St. Augustine The Diocese of St. Augustine is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory of the Catholic Church, located in the U.S. state of Florida. It is a suffragan diocese in the Ecclesiastical Province of Miami, covering much of North Florida, including t ...

Martin Holley Martin David Holley (born December 31, 1954) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Memphis in Tennessee, from 2016 to 2018, when he was removed by Pope Francis for financial mismanagement of the dio ...

, bishop of the

Diocese of Memphis In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

* Daniel T. K. Hurley, judge (

United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida (in case citations, S.D. Fla. or S.D. Fl.) is the federal United States district court with territorial jurisdiction over the southern part of the state of Florida.. Appeal ...

) * John G. Noonan, bishop of the

Diocese of Orlando The Diocese of Orlando ( la, Dioecesis Orlandensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Florida. It encompasses about spanning Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Marion, Lake, Volusia, Brevard, Polk, and S ...

* Thomas G. Wenski, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Miami

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary Catholic seminaries in the United States Catholic universities and colleges in Florida Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Educational institutions established in 1963 Boynton Beach, Florida 1963 establishments in Florida Universities and colleges in Palm Beach County, Florida Roman Catholic Diocese of Palm Beach