Seminary Annual Appeal

Joseph Ganser, Seminarian
Second Theology

Each year during the first two weekends of November the seminarians at St. Charles get a rare treat: we get to leave campus for the weekends. However, these are not free weekends in the traditional sense instead every man, from the one who received his cassock no more than two weeks ago to the transitional deacon, is assigned to a parish for what is known as the seminary annual appeal.

As the name implies the seminarians go to the parishes of the archdiocese and ask the parishioners to support us and our ministry through a donation to the annual fund. However, there is so much more that happens during this weekend. Though everyone aggrees that the masses and other liturgies within the seminary are beautiful there are things which we simply cannot experience within the community and so these two weekends serve as an opportunity for the men to go out and for a brief time experience what a typical Sunday is like in a neighborhood parish.

Since it is a normal weekend for the parishes, there are plenty of things for the men to do. The weekend provides for the new men the first opportunity to be seen in their cassocks in public. For them this is a time to begin to grow in their identity as a seminarian and become more comfortable with their expanding role within the liturgy and parish communities. During the weekend the men have a chance to stay in the parish rectory and spend time with the Pastor and his assistants which gives them an understanding of the behind the scenes life of a priest. We have a chance to meet many great parishioners, to pray with them, to celebrate with them and thank them for all the types of support they offer for us throughout the years. But most of all the seminarians have a chance to speak, to tell our vocation stories and to practice skills that will be increasingly important as we approach the priesthood in the church.

Though most of us are slightly uncomfortable when we first go out after the initial awkwardness of asking for money passes away most of us have a great time. This weekend, though it is very tiring, allows us to get a brief foretaste of the life we hope to live some day as priests. It gives us a small chance to break out of the ordinary seminary schedule and experience the rich diversity of the church that is found in the Archdiocese.