The Calling >> The Steps

The Steps

Testing the call requires discernment from both you and the Church. If you think you are being called to the priesthood, you should contact the Vocation Director of your diocese. The Vocation Director will assist in determining if and how you should fit into the process of priestly formation. In the Archdiocese of New York, there are a number of avenues for this formation: the Cathedral Prep Program, Saint John Neumann Residence and Hall and Saint Joseph’s Seminary. Note that these routes prepare a man for a vocation as a diocesan priest:

Discerning a Vocation

To come to a clearer understanding of signs God may be placing in your life, a program of prayer is of great value. This consists of the following:

• Listening to the voice of God through daily mental prayer in the morning and the evening
• Frequent participation at Mass and reception of Holy Communion in addition to Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation; this gives you the grace and strength to respond to God’s call.
• Regular confession in the Sacrament of Reconciliation; this enables you to stay on track and not to be overcome by despair in the Christian life.
• Monthly direction from a priest spiritual director; this helps you see the movement of the Holy Spirit in the depths of the soul.
• Short daily spiritual reading to nourish faith and inspire you to live a life committed to Christ
• Developing a relationship with Our Lady through the rosary and entrusting your vocation to her maternal care

Cathedral Prep Program

For those in high school, there is the Cathedral Prep Program of monthly weekend retreats. Whether the young man attends a Catholic high school, a public or private high school or is home schooled, Cathedral Prep affords him the chance each month to meet other Catholic young men interested in the priesthood. This fraternity is lived out through:

Prayers before Christ in the Blessed Sacrament Sports & Recreation Catechesis Mass & Confession Meals in common

Five priests from the seminary are actively present and involved in the program and a different parish priest is brought in to lead each weekend and share his priestly experience.

Saint John Neumann Residence and Hall

For those attending college or those who need the necessary philosophy before theological studies the Saint John Neumann Residence and Hall is offered.  Here a young man begins full-time preparation for the priesthood. Full-time formation in the following areas is the hallmark of the Neumann Program:

• Spiritual
• Human
• Intellectual
• Pastoral

Associates Program

For those college men outside of the local area and who are not at Neumann, there is opportunity to be connected to the seminary while they discern a vocation. This is done through the Associates Program.

Highlights of the Program include:

• Annual, week-long retreat in January
• Priesthood Ordination at the Cathedral of St. Patrick
• Other Archdiocesan Masses and events
• A room at Neumann for those occasions
• Get-togethers throughout the year

St. Joseph's Seminary

Saint Joseph’s Seminary is the final step before Priestly Ordination. Here a candidate masters the necessary theology while continuing to grow and mature spiritually, humanly, intellectually and pastorally. The seminary program lasts 4 years.

Many people think that once a man enters the seminary, that decision is final. But that is not the case. Seminary life offers opportunities for continued discernment, particularly in the first years. It is normal for knowledge of ‘the ways of the Lord’ to increase as preparations for the priesthood are undertaken.


Next: The Life

Photo courtesy of Chris Sheridan