At an age when most of their peers are volleying between majors at a breakneck speed, the students of the Cardinal Glennon College Seminary are answering a life-long call to serve the Catholic Church.

Seminarians from the Archdiocese of St. Louis have studied alongside the undergraduate population of Saint Louis University since 1987. Unlike the Jesuit scholastics who study at SLU, seminarians are usually between ages 18 and 22.

While the Jesuit scholastics studying at SLU will eventually spread throughout the world to work for the Society of Jesus through education or service, seminarians at SLU are tied to the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

The Rev. Nicholas Smith, a campus minister who said he is one of three archdiocesan priests at SLU, explained that Jesuits typically deal with education while priests from the archdiocese work within the parish system.

“Diocesan priests are parish priests, primarily,” Smith said.

The 28 archdiocesan seminarians, who study on SLU’s campus through the College of Philosophy and Letters, might be recognizable to the bulk of the undergraduate community by their white polo shirts and their tendency to travel in packs.

Smith said that he thinks studying alongside traditional students is a valid aspect of the seminarian’s preparation for the priesthood.

“They’re being exposed to different points of view,” he said. “It’s giving them an understanding of what the world’s like.”

Brian Fallon, one of three senior seminarians who have been studying at SLU for four years in addition to his studies at the Seminary College, said that his interest in the priesthood began in grade school.

“After praying and going on a few retreats, I figured I might as well give [the seminary] a shot,” Fallon said. “[Through] the years, that call has been affirmed.”

Fallon said he is not concerned by the fact that he is making a commitment to the priesthood when the greatest commitment faced by many of his peers is an 8 a.m. class.

“It’s all a part of taking risks in life,” said Fallon. “There’s really nothing to lose.”

The Rev. Timothy Cronin, rector of the College Seminary, said five people usually leave the seminary each year, while 10 to 15 typically enter the program. Last year, however, two seminarians left the program last year, while 16 entered, Cronin said.

“At first I was a little apprehensive,” Fallon said of his first days as a seminarian and an undergraduate at SLU. “I didn’t know if I was supposed to act a certain way.”

However, Fallon said that his experience studying at SLU and the seminary has eased his early uncertainty.

“I’ve realized that I can be myself and follow God’s call at the same time,” Fallon said.?

Fallon’s class of seminarians is the last one that will study at SLU for a full four years. Starting next year, a new arrangement will bring seminarians to SLU for their first two years as undergraduates to study elements of the humanities. After that, they will transfer into the seminary to focus on philosophy and theology courses specifically tailored to the priesthood.

Should they choose to do so, juniors and seniors will be able to take select electives at SLU.

Cronin said that, while this new arrangement will offer the seminarians “a more systematic approach to philosophy,” there are no plans to completely remove the seminarians from the University.

“That’s not been our intention, nor has it been our desire,” Cronin said. ?

Fallon said that, on the whole, his experience at SLU “has been a positive one . I’ve gotten to know quite a few people [outside of the seminary].”
People are sometimes surprised by the fact that the seminarians are “ordinary people,” Fallon said. “We’re not imposing anything.”

Fallon intends to complete his studies and be ordained in 2012.

“There’s a desire to see what God has in store,” he said. “It’s been a wild ride already.”