Kenrick-Glennon Seminary

The renovations of the Seminary's campus in Shrewsbury are under budget and ahead of schedule. Progress is evident as the shell of the eastern expansion has taken form and interior demolition has given way to new construction.  New metal stud partitions create the rooms and spaces which will serve the seminary community. 

The project has allowed the Seminary to fix previous problems such as leaky plumbing, outdated electrical systems, and insufficient heating and cooling systems. There have also been significant improvements to the exterior of the buildings and the campus grounds.  New underground utilities and site lighting have been installed, exterior masonry is being repaired, and the soccer field has been regraded and sodded after a new irrigation system was installed.

Click here to read the St. Louis Review's recent article about the renovations.

Click here to view more photos of the renovations.

Posted 1/31/12 

Many members of the Seminary community will be traveling to Washington D.C. this weekend to walk in the annual March for Life and to give witness to Jesus Christ's desires for healing and a new culture of life.  We invite you to join our community in reading and praying with these words from Blessed Mother Teresa:

And today, we look to the world to see that little one, that unborn child, has become the target of death, the target of destruction, of destroying of killing. And to think that God says, even if a mother could forget --- but it is impossible for the a mother to forget. But even if a mother could forget, I will not forget you. And yet today, the mother forgets her child. Not only forgets it, but destroys it. And for what? The mother is afraid of the child, of that little unborn child...the most beautiful creation of God's love...the gift of God. And so today, let us thank God that our parents loved us. Thank God. Let us pray today that every mother will want her child. That no mother will use means to destroy it. The no mother will have the feeling of not wanting the unborn child. That no mother will be afraid to feed one more child, to educate one more child, to take care of one more child. 

Posted 1/20/2012.  Photo added 1/25/2012 courtesy of Jonathan Dizon, Theology I.

Father Patrick Driscoll, Class of 2008

Father Patrick Driscoll's vocation journey took a number of twists and turns -- he was ordained at age 48 -- but one of the key points occurred when a fellow parishioner asked him if he'd consider the priesthood.

Having an older vocation is "a two-edge sword," Father Driscoll said jokingly. "You have experience, and then you have baggage." Not emotional baggage but an accumulation of items and experiences.

Being ordained at a younger age has some advantages, and becoming a priest at an older age does too, with people having an appreciation of "talking to someone who's been around the block," said the priest who is an associate pastor at Assumption Parish in south St. Louis County. "All things being equal, as long as a priest is a good listener, that's what counts." 

Click here to continue reading about Father Driscoll.

 John Stearns, Theology II

When John Stearns talks about vocations he makes sure to remind people to ask others -- even single professional men who may seem settled in their career -- if they would consider a vocation.

No one had brought the topic up to Stearns, a seminarian at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in Shrewsbury, but the thought of the priesthood kept returning to him before he finally acted on it.

As an altar boy, the idea of being a priest came to him and then went away. "It would come and go at points of my life when there was a major decision -- when I entered the military and when I left the military. It always went away until the last time. It kept bugging me a good two or three months until I went and chatted with my pastor," Stearns said.

Born in Arizona, Stearns was always a good student and attended a community college before moving to Los Angeles and attending the University of California with a double major in international relations and international law. He worked for an ambulance company while in school.

Click here to continue reading about John Stearns.

* Read more about National Vocations Awareness Week

*Contact the Archdiocese of St. Louis’ Office of Vocations at 314-792-6460 or visit their website.