byFather Robert M. O'Grady Pilot Staff
Pilot photo/Gregory L. Tracy
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Each fall and spring, thanks to the cooperation of the Vocations Office of the archdiocese and to the seminaries where our seminarians are preparing for ordination, I can write an article about who they are, where they are in formation, and the numbers.
This year, we have seminarians at our own seminaries -- Redemptoris Mater Archdiocesan Missionary Seminary, Brookline; Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary, Weston; and St. John Seminary, Brighton. There are also Boston men preparing for the priesthood at Holy Trinity, Dallas, Texas; Our Lady of Providence, Providence, R.I.; and St. Augustine, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The format that seminaries must use has changed in the past few years, especially with the introduction of what is called "propaedeutic stage" -- this must be at least one full year immersing the candidates in the fundamentals of the Catholic faith and practice; in the prayer life -- private and public, personal and communal, devotional and liturgical -- of the Church; and into Catholic culture in general.
There is a move toward referring to seminary formation in stages, rather than, as we often did in the past, by ordination year or by class groups. Keeping all this in mind, the report does refer to "ordination year" but that is always understood to be "probable" or "most likely." Variables can enter regarding a particular candidate's decision to take more time in formation, or the recommendation of the faculty of a seminary that the candidate should take extra time in formation.
All the data provided here is courtesy of the Vocations Office and the seminaries, and was provided to The Pilot in September 2024.
Boston seminarians at each seminary
Holy Trinity Seminary 1
Our Lady of Providence Seminary 3
Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary 9
Redemptoris Mater Archdiocesan Missionary Seminary 26
St. Augustine Seminary 1
St. John Seminary 22
Total Boston seminarians at above seminaries 62
Boston seminarians by Year of Ordination
2025 6
2026 8
2027 7
2028 9
2029 2
2030 5
2031 15
2032 3
2033 3
2034 4
Total 62
Seminary enrollment of Boston seminaries
(This is the total enrollment in the three seminaries of all candidates from all sponsoring dioceses and religious orders; also included is the number of faculty, both full-time and part-time, at each seminary.)
Redemptoris Mater
All candidates in all phases of formation
Resident -- Boston 26
Resident -- USCCB 0
Resident -- Religious 0
Commuter -- All 0
Total 26
Capacity 26
Faculty
Full Time 3
Part time 0
Pope St. John XXIII National
All candidates in all phases of formation
Resident -- Boston 9
Resident -- USCCB 28
Resident -- Religious 4
Commuter -- All 0
Total 41
Capacity 80
Faculty
Full Time 10
Part time 16
St. John
All candidates in all phases of formation
Resident -- Boston 22
Resident -- USCCB 13
Resident -- Religious 5
Commuter -- All 11
Total 51
Capacity 85
Faculty
Full Time 18
Part time 15
These numbers represent candidates and faculty. Many more are involved in the formation programs. At each of the seminaries, there are support staff, including administrative and secretarial support, alumni, development and communications, dining, custodial, and managerial staff. Apart from the seminaries are parishes whose pastors, parochial vicars, deacons, schools, and other staff members help form the seminarians in their various pastoral assignments. Those pastoral formation assignments might also be at other than parishes; for example, to hospitals, long-term care facilities, and educational apostolates, all of which have personnel assisting the seminarians.
Fritz Anacreon, 2027, St. Augustine
Diego Arellano, 2034, Redemptoris Mater
Giris Azizie, 2026, Pope St. John XXIII
Luca Azzani, 2031, Redemptoris Mater
John Vincent Barcinas, 2031, St. John
Stephen Baruffi, 2026, Pope St. John XXIII
Alden M. Bronson, 2027, St. John
Joshua Campbell, 2031, Our Lady of Providence
Juan Christian Cano Alarcon, 2034, Redemptoris Mater
Vincenzo Caruso, 2025, Redemptoris Mater
Paulo Sergio Carvalho, 2028, St. John
Michael Rene Castellon Rios, 2029, Redemptoris Mater
Nicholas C. Colon, 2028, St. John
Luca Contini, 2033, Redemptoris Mater
Brian R. Daley, 2025, St. John
Alexander De Tirado, 2031, Redemptoris Mater
Brian Delaney, 2025, Pope St. John XXIII
Ulises Diaz Montano, 2028, Redemptoris Mater
Patrick Earley, 2031, St. John
Kyle Ellis, 2030, Our Lady of Providence
Gerson Garcia, 2030, Redemptoris Mater
Ryan P. Henderson, 2028, St. John
Joseph P. Jasinski, 2027, St. John
Peter Jimenez, 2026, Pope St. John XXIII
Samuel Kalu, 2031, St. John
Jake V. Livingstone, 2028, St. John
John Lynch, 2028, Pope St. John XXIII
John Vincent Manning, 2031, St. John
Sean McKeown, 2030, St. John
Diego Mendoza Castillo, 2031, Redemptoris Mater
Thiago Mesquita de Sousa, 2027, St. John
Rafael Milla, 2030, Redemptoris Mater
Maximillian Muenke, 2027, Pope St. John XXIII
Louis Namugera, 2026, Pope St. John XXIII
Gustavo Neitzke, 2028, Redemptoris Mater
Samuel Neumann, 2031, St. John
Joseph Thuy V. Nguyen, 2025, St. John
Kennedy Ogujiuba, 2031, St. John
Mateus Oliveira Martin, 2025, Redemptoris Mater
Juan Ortega, 2031, St. John
Christian Ortez, 2032, Redemptoris Mater
Rafael Ortiz, 2034, Redemptoris Mater
Javier A. Padilla, 2027, Redemptoris Mater
Diego Alejandro Pena, 2026, Redemptoris Mater
Dong Huy Pham, 2025, St. John
Tomas Placensia, 2031, Our Lady of Providence
Thomas Rishad, 2026, Pope St. John XXIII
Edward Rodriguez, 2029, Redemptoris Mater
Connor Roukey, 2030, St. John
Jonathan Saniuk, 2026, St. John
Aaron C. Sanz, 2028, Redemptoris Mater
Henry Seuffert, 2031, Redemptoris Mater
Christopher Silebi, 2031, Redemptoris Mater
Paul Simko, 2031, Holy Trinity
Rafael Stefano Rubio, 2033, Redemptoris Mater
Matthew Thoni, 2033, Redemptoris Mater
Giovanni Michael Trimboli, 2032, Redemptoris Mater
Angel Velasquez, 2034, Redemptoris Mater
Isaac Velasquez, 2032, Redemptoris Mater
Daniel Waldron, 2026, Pope St. John XXIII
Timothy J. Walsh, 2027, St. John
Liam M. Warner, 2028, St. John