by Christopher Renz, OP (originally printed in the Arch & Vine)
Many of you are already aware that the Roman curia is conducting formal visitations this year of seminaries and houses of religious formation in the U.S. So, we thought a few particulars would be helpful to bring you up to date on what’s happening here at the DSPT.
The visitation is scheduled for April 23-28, 2006. Headed by Bishop Walter Edyvean, auxiliary bishop of Boston, each of six priests will conduct twenty-minute, one-on-one interviews with all regular faculty and clerical candidates.
In addition to visiting the DSPT, the team will also visit the FST, St. Albert Priory, Don Bosco Hall (and the Institute of Salesian Studies), the Dominican Missionaries for the Deaf (San Francisco), Holy Family Friary (Castro Valley), and St. Elizabeth Friary (Oakland).
The substance for the interview is taken from the published Instrumentum Laboris, a series of questions which focus on various aspects of priestly formation, but particularly on intellectual formation, especially in the field of moral theology. While no formal preparation for the interview is needed, interested folk may wish to review the Instrumentum (available online at the Vatican website).
Faculty and involved students will be asked to sign up for a meeting time, and will be given instructions about the meeting place. Those not directly involved in the interview process can participate through prayer, and the offer of welcome to the team members.
Please feel free to send me any questions you may have at crenz@dspt.edu. For more information on the apostolic visitation see www.usccb.org/vocations/asv.shtml.
