Welcome to Dominicans in India    
 
  Friars
  Nuns
  Sisters
 




 
FORMATION PROGRAMME
  Text Box:  Missionary Orientation From the outset, St. Charles Seminary has been a missionary Seminary dedicated to the training of mission-minded pastors for the needs of the Hindi-speaking dioceses of the Church in North India. It seeks to train priests who will courageously stand up for truth and justice and who, being sensitive and attentive to the workings of the Holy Spirit in the lives and cultures of people, will be ready to inculturate themselves into new socio-cultural situations, engage in dialogue with people who belong to other faith-traditions and collaborate with people of good will in working for justice, peace and integrity of creation. This is the challenge that St. Charles Seminary has undertaken and in accordance with which it seeks to form its students. The basic formation course imparted in the Seminary integrates the different dimensions of priestly life into one holistic programme, namely, the human, spiritual, academic and apostolic/pastoral dimensions. The Seminary programme incorporates all that is of permanent value in the plans and charters of priestly formation that have been issued by the Holy See and the Catholic Bishops Conference of India. Many programmes and opportunities are offered by the different departments of St. Charles Seminary to help a seminarian develop his human virtues, spiritual resources, academic abilities and pastoral skills. Each student is invited to avail of these opportunities with freedom, generosity and responsibility, so that he can prepare himself in the best possible way for his ministry as a missionary priest. The Administration The Rector is the overall administrator of the Seminary. He is assisted in his administration by the Vice-Rector and the resident Staff members. The Rector and his council meet periodically to deliberate on urgent matters concerning the welfare of the Seminary. Also once a fortnight, the Rector and the resident Seminary Staff meet to discuss, evaluate and decide upon various matters pertaining to the good of the seminary and the students as a whole. The Students’ Council, under the leadership of its President, who is a resident Staff member, meets periodically to consider the academic needs of the seminarians as well as other matters pertaining to the well-being of the seminary. Each class is guided by a priest-animator who is a member of the resident Staff. He meets his students regularly and assists and guides them in their seminary life. Every seminarian is invited to follow Christ and to model his life on that of his Master. He is to imitate the virtues of Christ, the Good Shepherd. He is to integrate the human, spiritual, academic and pastoral dimensions of his life, so as to form himself into a man of God who has unshakeable faith, unswerving hope, unbounded love and undying courage. A man of intense prayer who has had a deep God-experience; a man of penetrating vision and keen intellect who can see farther and discern God’s plan in a given situation; a man of firm conviction and solid commitment who is willing to serve the varied needs of mission and evangelization; a man with the heart of Christ who is ready to risk himself for others in order to build up brotherhood and community. Each seminarian is primarily responsible for his own formation. But he is assisted and guided by his Rector, priest-animator, spiritual director, prefect and sub-prefect, and the other members of the Staff. The seminary has both resident and non-resident students. The diocesan students reside in the Seminary, while the students from the Institutes of Consecrated Life, namely, the Dominicans, P.S.D.P., Norbertines, Camillians reside in their respective formation houses. The General Formation Programme The formation programme of St. Charles Seminary provides ample opportunities for a seminarian to achieve an all-round development: physical, emotional, spiritual, academic and apostolic/pastoral. Physical health is given importance. Adequate facilities for physical exercise, both by outdoor as well as indoor games, along with nourishing food and timely medical attention, provide our seminarians with suitable conditions for physical development. All seminarians are to take part daily in outdoor games and exercise. Importance is also given to emotional growth and the building up of healthy human relations in community. To foster communication and community, the languages to be spoken in the seminary are Hindi, Marathi and English. Other languages are to be strictly avoided as their use can easily give rise to communalism and division, and become an obstacle to unity and harmony in the seminary community. The periodic cultural activities, the literary associations, other organizations, social service groups and other extra-curricular activities provide for the cultural development, the acquisition of skills and talents and the blossoming of the potentialities of our seminarians. Spiritual Formation Spiritual formation is accorded a central place in our seminary formation programme. A priest is called first of all to be a holy person who has met God and can share his God-experience with his brothers and sisters. Hence during his training period a seminarian is invited to lay a solid spiritual foundation on which he can build a vibrant spiritual life. Having answered God’s call to follow Christ more closely, he is to give himself ever more generously to the demands of the priestly life, so that he can be seen by people first of all as a man of God, a man of prayer, a holy man. St. Charles Seminary lays special emphasis on the spiritual life of our seminarians. Much stress is placed on silence without which prayer and study are impossible. Also special importance is given to the life of prayer, personal and communal, private and liturgical. The daily meditation, spiritual reading, visits to the Blessed Sacrament and the Eucharist, the weekly spiritual conference, benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and the use of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the monthly recollection, hour of adoration before the Blessed Sacrament and spiritual direction, the annual retreat, help a seminarian to grow in the life of the Spirit. He is to be and seen to be a holy man of God. Apostolic/Pastoral Formation Having a strong missionary orientation, St. Charles Seminary lays much stress on apostolic/pastoral formation. Priests, as men of God, are called to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others. They are called to be evangelical men. Hence our seminary places a strong emphasis on the apostolic and pastoral formation of its seminarians. A gradated programme of apostolate, beginning with the social, and progressively advancing to various forms of pastoral ministry, is made available to our seminarians from the first year of philosophy to the final year of theology. Social apostolate, such as concretization programmes, slum upliftment, building of houses, running free tuition classes for poor children, form part of the apostolic/pastoral formation programme of our seminary. Once a week the students of theology engage in pastoral ministry in parishes, schools, hospitals and other institutions, slums and villages in and around Nagpur. Once a year each theologian spends a month doing pastoral ministry in a diocese of North India. This gives him a firsthand knowledge and experience of real-life situations and pastoral needs of people. It also contributes to forming him into a courageous apostle, zealous evangelist and caring pastor. Academic Formation The academic programme in St. Charles Seminary spans a period of eight years. The first three years are spent in the seminary studying philosophy. Alongside philosophy, a seminarian completes the Bachelor of Arts Degree at the Diocesan University College of St. Francis de Sales on the same Seminary Hill campus. At least one year of pastoral experience (regency) follows. Then four years of theology. The students of theology who qualify are awarded the Bachelor of Theology Degree from the University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum), Rome. Others obtain the Diploma in Theology granted by St. Charles Seminary. The new, modern, computerized library is well equipped and well stocked for research in philosophy and theology. It is constantly updated. The Staff and students have access to the library. The credit system of courses, which is in place, operates as follows. A credit comprises fifteen lectures and is allotted 25 marks. A four credit course has sixty lectures and is allotted 100 marks. To pass in an examination, a student must obtain at least 40% marks. Some courses are evaluated according to a grading system which is as follows: A+ = 90-100, A = 80-89, B+ = 70-79, B = 60-69, C+ = 50-59, C = 40-49, D+ = 30-39, D = 20-29, and D— = 1-19. The mode of examination and evaluation of courses is left to the professor. Requirements, such as assignments, term papers, class presentations, research work, written examinations are included in and An Intensive Orientation Course is given to students of the first year of philosophy to initiate them into life in St. Charles Seminary. Also several skill courses are offered to our seminarians to help them develop their personality and talents. An Intensive Regular Course or Renewal Course of one year of theology is available to sisters, brothers and lay people. Those following this programme may choose the courses that they wish to attend. A student wishing to obtain a Diploma in Theology is to pursue theological studies for two years. During this period he/she may select theological courses of his/her choice after having obtained the approval of the Dean of the Department of Theology. During the summer months, St. Charles Seminary conducts an Intensive Basic Course in Philosophy for religious brothers, sisters and lay people who would like to pursue a seminary course in theology. To have successfully completed this course is a pre-requisite for doing the Bachelor of Theology course for those candidates who have not done the regular three-year course in philosophy in the Seminary. To be eligible for this course one should have a B.A. or an equivalent graduate degree.