What Seminary Life is Really Like

Thinking about the priesthood and nervous about the next steps? Three priests dispel myths about what it's really like in seminary

(0:05) Fr. Jeremy Schupbach, 27, a newly ordained priest of the Archdiocese of Detroit serving at the Church of the Divine Child in Dearborn, talks about the moment he first heard the call to the priesthood from an early age. The narrator introduces the topic of the episode.

(3:35) Fr. Schupbach talks about his first experience of life as a seminarian — a very human moment in which he found himself three hours late for orientation.

(8:30) Fr. Schupbach talks about some of the misconceptions he had about seminary life, and how they were quickly dispelled when he moved into the dormitories of Sacred Heart Major Seminary.

(10:45) Fr. Clint McDonnell, director of undergraduate seminarians at Sacred Heart, and Fr. Craig Giera, director of priestly vocations for the Archdiocese of Detroit, dispel the myth that seminary life is boring and monastic. Fr. Schupbach emphasizes the fun elements of life in communion with other seminarians, including Sacred Heart’s best-kept secret: a bar called O’Berg’s.

(16:09) Fr. Schupbach addresses the sacrifices priests make when they’re ordained — particularly the sacrifice of marriage and children. He talks about how the seminary encourages seminarians to pray about and wrestle with these sacrifices, and how the life of priesthood is a gift unto itself.

(19:12) Fr. Giera and Fr. McDonnell talk about the process of discernment that happens inside the seminary walls. Both priests emphasize that the seminary isn’t a place where men go only once they’re 100% sure they want to become priests, but a place to ask questions and receive answers. And sometimes the answer is that God isn’t calling a man.

(25:12) All three men talk about how much they love the priesthood, and how seminary life prepared them to fulfill the calling they felt from God. They offer advice for listeners — particularly young men who think they might also be called to the seminary.

Reporting and narration by Michael Stechschulte; script by Casey McCorry; production by Ron Pangborn

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