Initial Steps
Each person’s case may be different depending on past education, process of discernment, present relationships or even personal financial status. However, here are some general steps along the way to becoming a seminarian and eventually a priest:
- Speak with a priest from your parish and then contact the Office of Vocations (see below).
- Begin spiritual direction to discern your call with someone approved by the Director of the Office of Vocations.
- Apply for sponsorship to the Diocese of Fort Worth. This process involves a formal written application, an autobiography, transcripts and sacramental papers, a series of interviews with the Office of Vocations staff and psychological testing.
- Once the candidate has received sponsorship from the Diocese, he then applies to the seminary designated by the Diocese.
Entering the Seminary
After the completion of this entry process a young man enters the seminary to begin his intellectual, spiritual, ministerial and personal training in order to become a priest. The next six to nine years of training will produce a young man who has:
- Completed four years of graduate studies in theology
- Spent a year on pastoral assignment at a parish placement in the diocese
- Participated in a continual evaluation process that involves the seminarian, the faculty of the seminary and the Director of the Office for Seminarians
- Maintained a positive relationship with the diocese
More...
Contacts
Rev. Kyle Walterscheid
Director of Vocations
(817) 560-2452, Ext. 105
kwalterscheid@fwdioc.org
Barbara Chapman
Vocations Assistant
(817) 560-2452, Ext. 105
bchapman@fwdioc.org