Master of Divinity/Ordination Credential Program
More: Master of Divinity Curriculum | Ordination Curriculum |
Goals of the Ordination and Master of Divinity Credential Programs
At Kenrick School of Thoelogy, preparation for priesthood takes place in the Ordination and M.Div Credential Programs, which are jointly articulated in four interrelated dimensions: human formation, spiritual formation, intellectual formation, and pastoral formation. Each of these programs is designed to afford candidates guidance, challenge, encouragement, and support.
Content of the Program
The Ordination and Master of Divinity Credential Programs seek to establish a breadth of exposure to the theological and pastoral disciplines as well as a depth of understanding within those disciplines. They prepare students for a comprehensive range of pastoral responsibilities and skills, by providing opportunities for the appropriation of theological disciplines, for deepening understanding of the life of the Church, for ongoing intellectual and ministerial formation, and for exercising the arts of ministry (see ATS, A.3.1.0)
The Ordination and Master of Divinity Credential Programs are jointly articulated in three theological formation programs: Human and Spiritual Formation, Intellectual and Cultural Formation, and Pastoral and Practical Formation. Each formation program contributes in a distinctive way to the realization of the nine credential program goals. Together, the three programs realize the goals in a complementary and interdependent manner.
Location and Duration of the Program
Because of the importance of the formation community—a comprehensive community of faith and learning—and in compliance with the requirements of the Program of Priestly Formation (5th ed., 2006, n.191), Kenrick School of Theology requires at least four years of full-time residency at the campus of Kenrick-Glennon Seminary for completion of the Ordination Program. Although the requirements of the Master of Divinity Degree Program are less extensive than those of the Ordination Program, they are spread over the four-year duration of the Ordination Program; for this reason, Kenrick requires the same four years of residency at the Kenrick-Glennon campus for completion of the Master of Divinity Program.
Distinctive Resources for the Programs
Kenrick School of Theology affords to students enrolled in the Ordination and Master of Divinity Credential Programs the General Institutional Resources described later in this catalog. In addition to these, Kenrick also affords its students a community life that provides informal educational experiences, a sustaining religious fellowship, and an adequate opportunity for reflection on faith in relation to education for ministry.
Faculty and community resources at the seminary specifically support the goals of general education for priestly ministerial leadership. Faculty relate the insights of their disciplines to the practice of priestly ministry, and are attentive to students’ spiritual development and professional growth. Faculty appointments include persons who are currently engaged in parish or specialized ministerial leadership, in the case of full-time faculty on at least a limited part-time basis, and in the case of adjunct faculty on a full-time basis.
Kenrick also maintains a vital relationship with the Archdiocese of St. Louis, and with other dioceses, religious communities, and professional support systems. Above all, through its Pastoral and Practical Formation Program, it ensures that students have meaningful ministry contexts in which to work as well as professional networks on which to call in later placements.
Kenrick maintains an open and mutually enriching relationship with other theological schools, universities, and professional schools, and social agencies wherever such a relationship contributes to the accomplishment of the seminary’s goals.
More information about aspects of the Formation Program:
