General
Jubilee of Seminarians USCCB Resource Packet (English)
Pilgrims on the Way of Hope: A Resource for the Jubilee of Seminarians
Jubilee 2025: Pilgrims of Hope
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Jubilee of Seminarians: Resource Packet
June 23-24, 2025
INTRODUCTION & OVERVIEW
The Holy See has designated a number of Jubilee Days throughout 2025 to recognize and celebrate different groups of people and various ministries in the Church. The Jubilee of Seminarians will be held from Monday, June 23, to Tuesday, June 24, 2025; however, these resources can be used for engaging and celebrating seminarians at any time throughout the Jubilee Year.
In the Catholic Church, seminarians are men in formation to become priests in their diocese, eparchy or religious institute or society of apostolic life. A seminarian's formation takes place in community where he receives not only intellectual formation, but also human, spiritual, and pastoral formation. Seminarians, through cooperating with God’s grace, are prepared to serve the Church as priests upon ordination through their formation in imitating Christ as the Good Shepherd (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Program of Priestly Formation, Sixth ed. U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2022, no. 14).
Baptism, where life devoted to imitating Christ first begins, serves as the foundation for the call to the priesthood. In preparation for this vocation, seminarians strengthen their Baptismal identity through their participation in the life of the Church (Ibid., no. 10). By communing with Christ in the sacraments and engaging with the intellectual tradition of the Church, seminarians begin to slowly ground themselves in the mysteries of the Trinity (Ibid., no. 24). Seminarians engage with these mysteries not in isolation, but rather in union with their brothers in seminary, religious institute or society of apostolic life and with the wider Church community as a whole (Second Vatican Council, Decree on Priestly Training (Optatam Totius), no. 8). By meeting Christ in prayer and in the people they meet, seminarians become another Christ: assuming Jesus’ mission of serving the Father and healing his creation (Program of Priestly Formation, 6th ed., no. 14).
This resource packet is for anyone who finds it useful. It can be used and/or adapted by dioceses, eparchies, religious institutes or societies of apostolic life, parishes, schools, campuses, apostolates, movements, organizations, or individuals to plan their celebration of the Jubilee of Seminarians. It might also serve as a catalyst or inspiration for the creation and development of local or year-round resources for those active in these associations.
For seminarians who are making a Jubilee pilgrimage to Rome or to a particular Jubilee celebration in a diocese or eparchy within the United States during 2025, this packet can also serve as an aid in the preparation or experience of that trip.
Additional resources for the Jubilee of Seminarians and other celebrations can be found online at the USCCB Jubilee Year web pages: available in English at https:// www.usccb.org/committees/jubilee-2025 and available in Spanish at https://www.usccb.org/ es/committees/jubileo-2025.
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