School of Theology Catalog 2021

Sulpician Tradition at St. Mary’s
St. Mary's Seminary & University follows
the norms for the formation of
Catholic priests contained in the Code
of Canon Law, Pope John Paul II's
1992 Apostolic Exhortation Pastores
Dabo Vobis, Ratio Fundamentalis
(2016), the current edition of the
Program of Priestly Formation (PPF)
of the United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops, and all other applicable
norms of ecclesiastical authority.
The Ecclesiastical Theological Faculty
is bound by and follows the norms of
the Apostolic Constitution Veritatis
Gaudium (2018).
St. Mary’s is a Sulpician seminary
under the governance of the American
Province of the Society of St. Sulpice.
The Society was founded by Fr. Jean-
Jacques Olier at the Church of St.
Sulpice in Paris in 1641. Today the
Sulpicians direct major seminaries in
the United States, France, Canada,
Colombia, Vietnam, Japan, and
Zambia. St. Mary’s Seminary is governed
by and forms seminarians
according to the values and principles
of priestly formation contained in the
Constitutions of the Society of St.
Sulpice.
St. Mary’s is committed to and carries out its
program in accordance with the almost 400-
year-old Sulpician tradition of priestly formation,
which includes:
Commitment to Ministerial
Priesthood:
Sulpicians are known for their recognition of
the indispensable importance of the ministerial
priesthood and their clear focus on priestly
formation. St. Mary’s recognizes this traditional
emphasis as critical both for the future
of the Church and for the future of society.
Rev. Phillip J. Brown, P.S.S., J.C.L., J.C.D., President-Rector
Emphasis upon Spiritual Formation:
The first generation of Sulpicians stressed the
progressive initiation of each seminarian into
the spiritual life through personal prayer and
spiritual direction. St. Mary’s recognizes that
mere professionalism does not substitute for
personal commitment to Christ and a strong
prayer life.
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