The formation of future priests is the fundamental and core purpose of Ushaw. Governors and staff are deeply aware of the need to ensure that future priests fully appreciate the fact that ordination ‘configures the priest to Jesus Christ the Head of the Church’ (Pastores dabo vobis, paragraph 29). Ordained ministry is not simply one ministry among others in the Church. A priest’s responsibility means that he is responsible, with his diocesan bishop, for the sacramental life, unity and development of a truly Christian community in parishes and dioceses.
Amidst all the discussion about ‘what priests are and what they are for’, it is clear that the world we live in needs people who are able to ponder, reflect, stand back from the noise and speed and see ‘where we are going’. If we were to use the three phrases of Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini of Milan, then we would begin to explore the role of the Church as that community which exists in order to ensure that ‘the needs of people are met’, ‘the truth is spoken’ and ‘God is worshipped’. Part of the role of the Church is to provide a witness to prayer, prophecy and care in the world.
Within the Church, the ministerial priest has a key role in ensuring that the community we call Church is true to its calling as the leaven in the world. It is the mustard seed, the place of welcome, the place of forgiveness for sinners and the witness to the presence of the Spirit of God in the world. It is to be a sign of the Kingdom of God at work in the world.
The Seminary is the place in which an intensive part of the formation for ministerial priesthood takes place. Pope John Paul II says in Pastores dabo vobis (paragraph 42) that he is looking ‘at the different areas of formation - the human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral’, and it is in these areas that each one of us in this community must play his or her part in helping one another to realise more of our potential.
The College is entrusted by the Bishops with much of the task of preparing those who are to be ordained priests. While it does not at present have a similar explicit mandate for the overall formation of lay students, and only requires from them the standards usual in any Catholic College, it is committed to offering to lay students an integrated formation which brings together their human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral gifts.
© 2008 Trustees of Ushaw College
