The Institute for Continuing Theological Education

Christ Renews His Priests
Sabbatical in Rome
“I remind you to rekindle the gift of faith that is within you.”
(2 Tim 1:6)

More than 2,300 priests have been enriched by - and have enriched - the Institute for Continuing Theological Education of the Pontifical North American College since its inauguration in 1970. Currently, the Institute offers two twelve-week theological renewal programs for priests each year.

The Class of Spring 2008

Purpose: The Institute was founded in 1970 in response to the call of the Second Vatican Council for the spiritual and intellectual renewal of priests. Fourteen of the sixteen documents of the council indicate that such renewal is necessary for the good of the Church. Our program has sought to keep pace with the developments in the ongoing formation of priests which are found in the documents of the Magisterium, most notably I Will Give You Shepherds (Pastores Dabo Vobis) of His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, and in The Directory on the Ministry and Life of Priests developed by the Congregation for the Clergy. The Bishop’s of the United States of America have contributed to this development through the Program of Priestly Formation and the Basic Plan for the Ongoing Formation of Priests.

The Institute seeks to assist bishops and religious superiors, in part, in the fulfillment of their responsibility for providing programs for the ongoing formation of their priests. The Institute assists priests in fulfilling their own responsibility for their continuing formation. Over the years our sabbatical program has proven effective as one means of renewing priests, revitalizing them and equipping them for more effective pastoral ministry. Living in Rome close to our Holy Father gives priests a deeper appreciation for the communion and unity of the Church, and challenges them to be more effective collaborators in the local church under the guidance of their bishops and in their religious communities.

Goals:

Ongoing Spiritual Formation: Through their common life lived in the context of a vibrant seminary community, availability of in-house spiritual directors, concelebrated daily Mass and the liturgy of the hours, five-day directed retreat in Assisi, and the availability of sacrament of penance, the heart of our common sabbatical journey is experienced.

Ongoing Theological Formation: Presenters for the Institute are Roman-based university professors whose expertise has brought them to the “universal classroom” of Rome. Offering more than one hundred hours of presentations, the professors especially enjoy working with Institute priests because of the give-and-take with pastors and those active in the various ministries of the Church.

Among the subject-areas covered:
• Normative ethics and bio-medical ethics
• Liturgy and preaching the lectionary
• Fundamental and moral theology
• Women Doctors of the Church
• Eucharist and Sacred Orders
• Christology and Ecclesiology
• Culture and Unbelief
• Canon Law
• Ecumenism

Good theological understanding forms the basis of sound catechesis, preaching, teaching, adult education, liturgy, and all other pastoral activities.

Ongoing Human Formation: The Institute seeks to cultivate mutual communication through the dialogue that occurs between brother priests in a conducive environment affording the opportunities to explore and study the cultural and artistic heritage of the Church and Rome. The time for rest and some travel afforded by the Institute contributes to cultivating one's capacity for communion. The study of the sacred sciences contribute to this ongoing human formation as well.

Ongoing Pastoral Formation: Experiencing the Roman church and the tremendous renewal that is taking place here among the faithful, priests and religious gives one an experience of living in a hope filled community of faith. Living within the context of a seminary faithful to the teaching and discipline of the Church contributes to the pastoral zeal of those that experience it. The priests of the Institute, diocesan and religious come from various English-speaking countries and they afford participants the opportunity to interrelate with other gifted men who share the priesthood of Jesus Christ. Most nights and weekends are free and a nine-day semester break permits personal travel, including visits to the Holy Land. Furthermore the experience of Rome enables participants to not merely visit as a tourist but to personally walk the soil moistened by the blood of martyrs, to worship in the shrines and monuments of faith which are the great and small churches of the city, and to experience the Church universal in all its variety, and to draw near the Chief Shepherd of the Church, Pope Benedict.

Context of Sabbatical: The experience of Rome for Catholic priests is without parallel. The participants enjoy the privilege of concelebrating liturgies at the Altar of the Tomb of Saint Peter and in one of the Roman catacombs. In addition to guided tours of Saint Peter’s Basilica and the scavi (necropolis beneath the Basilica), visits are made to he Vatican Museums and the Museum of the Villa Borghese, to drink in both the religious and secular art that makes Rome, the city of the Caesars and the Popes, a universal center of pilgrimage. Attendance at Papal audiences and participation in Papal liturgies are among the highlights of the sabbatical program. Participants have each evening and weekend free to explore the inexhaustible riches of the city of Rome. A nine-day mid-term break provides the opportunity for European travel, a visit to the Holy Land or additional time to see Rome.

Invitation: The Institute is an extraordinary opportunity for priests to study, to pray, to become an enlivened disciple of the Lord...again.

“Come and see” (Jn 1:39). These words of Our Lord to Andrew and John were addressed to--and answered by--each and every Catholic priest. Yet there awaits another invitation from Our Lord…

“Come away by yourselves…and rest for a while” (Mk 6:31). An invitation extended to those who had labored in the vineyard, who “gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught” (Mk 6 30).

For more information about the program, click here.

Program Director, Rev. J. Scott Duarte, JCD