ABOUT ST. PETER'S
St. Peter’s Major Seminary, located in Zomba, Malawi, Central Africa, is an inter-diocesan seminary of the Roman Catholic Church offering a five year formation program for candidates to the priesthood from all dioceses of Malawi. The seminary was founded by the Episcopal Conference of Malawi and was opened in January 1977. OBJECTIVE The overall objective of the seminary is to provide thorough human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral formation to seminarians in order that they become zealous pastors in the service of Christ, his church and its mission in the world of today. In particular, the seminary trains seminarians to prepare themselves to become effective priests in the Church of Africa and in its evangelizing mission. HUMAN FORMATION Much of the seminarian’s human development takes place before and outside his seminary experience. In view of this fact, St. Peter’s Human Formation Program is designed to support and encourage the continued personal growth of each student. Ongoing human formation is essential for effective priestly ministry. The Program of Priestly Formation (#75) spells out clearly that the human character of the priest should be a bridge, not an obstacle, for others in meeting Jesus Christ. The seminarian’s human formation is, therefore, the “necessary foundation” of his priestly formation. Our program thus seeks to assist seminarians to continue growing into healthy, well-integrated and fully human persons. The People of God need priests who are mature and compassionate, with well-formed consciences and strong character. To ensure integral human development of the seminarians, the seminary annually organises various workshops. Some of these workshops treat such personal and human development issues as human sexuality and celibate chastity, the public role of the priest, multiculturalism, human health, economics, politics, environmental care and addictions. SPIRITUAL FORMATION The basic principle of spiritual formation is “to live in intimate and unceasing union with God the Father through his Son, Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit”. The spirituality of the priestly way of life is characterized by prayer, celibate chastity, mature obedience, simplicity of life and social justice in imitation of Jesus Christ. “For every priest, his spiritual formation is the core which unifies and gives life to his being priest and his acting as a priest” (PDV, no. 45). a. Prayer A priest is first called to be a man of prayer. “A life of steady prayer is first and foremost centered in the sacraments, especially the Eucharist. Besides the sacraments, prayer life of a priest is also nurtured by the Liturgy of the Hours, personal prayer as well as devotional prayers. These prayers are necessary for true spiritual formation. In order to nurture the prayer lives of the seminarians, St. Peter’s Major Seminary asks seminarians to actively observe the following prayer and spiritual exercises:
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b. Celibate Chastity
A priestly way of life is also characterized by celibate chastity. “Spiritual formation in celibacy cultivates the evangelical motivations for embracing this commitment and way of life: the undivided love of the Lord, the spousal love for the Church, apostolic availability, and the witness to God’s promises and kingdom.” (PDV no. 50). In order to prepare himself for a mature commitment to celibacy in imitation of Christ, St. Peter’s Major Seminary expects each seminarian to observe the following:
c. Obedience Priesthood is a form of service to the Church which is characterized by trust, dialogue, participation in decision making, and a spirit of obedience. The obedience of those in spiritual formation for the priesthood is characterized by the willingness to hear God who speaks through his Word and through his Church. It is also the surrender of one’s own will for the sake of the larger mission. To prepare himself to fulfil his promise of obedience, St. Peter’s Major Seminary requires each seminarian to:
INTELLECTUAL FORMATION St. Peter’s Major Seminary offers Bachelor’s Degree in Theological Studies. Currently, it is affiliated to the University of Malawi. The seminary offers various theological disciplines to seminarians in order equip them with a solid theological underpinning to their future priestly ministry. The admission page explains more on the academic aspect of the seminary. PASTORAL FORMATION Our program is designed to prepare seminarians to become faith-filled and inspiring pastors for the parishes and institutions of today and tomorrow. Our goal is to help seminarians to translate their solid theological education and their personal spirituality into dynamic pastoral leadership. St. Peter’s pastoral program consists of ministerial service, academic courses, workshops and theological reflections. To accomplish its goal of forming priests the program is focused on the pastoral and organizational dynamics of today’s parishes and institutions. During this formation period, seminarians serve in the parishes and institutions in their respective dioceses. In these settings, students learn the fundamentals of parish ministry and become familiar with the basics of parish administration and leadership. Under the supervision of the authorities wherever they go for pastoral experience, seminarians join pastoral learning teams to reflect theologically and pastorally on the needs and challenges of priestly life today. The parish is the learning laboratory for pastoral formation. |