Rector, vice president of St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity explains priestly formation

When Father Joseph Taphorn was in seminary about 25 years ago, and a bit prior to that time, people viewed formation as largely academic, he said. “You know, we’re graduate students and you’re going to school, or we might say ‘I’m going to seminary classes,’” he said. “We use a lot of that language in the academic realm.”

Father Taphorn, rector and vice president of The St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul, broached the subject of priestly formation with “Practicing Catholic” host Patrick Conley for an episode that aired May 21-23 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM and is available online.

Father Taphorn described St. Pope John Paul II’s apostolic exhortation in 1992 as “a kind of seminal document on priestly formation” in the modern era. And there have been developments since then, he said. “But John Paul articulated four dimensions of priestly formation and not just one (academic),” he said.

Pope John Paul laid out a new vision, a process that’s now called integrated formation, Father Taphorn said — four basic dimensions that best work in harmony.

The first is human formation, “kind of recognizing that grace builds on nature and that all of this sort of subsists in the humanity of the individual,” he said.

The second is spiritual formation, perhaps “even above the others that, above all, we want a holy priest,” Father Taphorn said. “We want a man who has a deep relationship with God, who has given himself over to configuration in Christ.”

The third is academic or intellectual formation, considered more broadly than classwork to include the life of the intellect, Father Taphorn said.

The fourth is pastoral. “What are the skills that this individual needs, this man needs, to relate pastorally to people,” Father Taphorn said, “so certainly liturgical things — how to celebrate the Mass, how to preach, how to celebrate the sacraments — but also things like pastoral counseling or how to run a parish council meeting, or how to form a leadership team in a parish.”

Seen in this broader vision, Father Taphorn said, the four dimensions must come together. “It’s much, much more than just going to class,” he said. “It’s really an amazing enterprise that these men sign up for and submit to. And it’s really impressive to watch their growth as human beings, as men, ultimately, of course, as those prepared to be ordained a priest of Jesus Christ.”

Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes interviews with four deacons who are preparing to be ordained priests: Deacons William Duffert and Josh Salonek for one episode, and Deacons James Bernard and Michael Reinhardt for a second episode.