St. Mary’s Supports Community Effort Against Gun Violence

SMSU shines orange June 6-8, together with City and Inner Harbor buildings, for Baltimore City’s Gun Violence Awareness Day. Community events recognize both survivors and efforts to reduce gun violence as part of “Wear Orange” weekend nationwide.

The yearly event—with participation nationwide—is part of a grassroots effort to show support for the victims of gun violence and efforts to reduce the tragic epidemic. The orange color is a call-back to the color worn by hunters in the woods to protect themselves and others.

For more information, see the national campaign website wearorange.org.

Once again, St. Mary’s faculty, under the leadership of Rev. Dennis Billy, C.Ss.R., have contributed the scholarly articles in the Spring 2025 issue of Seminary Journal. In his introductory column, General Editor Rev. Sebastian Mahfood, OP, Ph.D acknowledged the effort:

“We express gratitude for authors and editors like Fr. Dennis Billy, C.Ss.R., who designed this issue of Seminary Journal for the purpose of advancing the conversation on the direction seminary formation is heading as the 6th edition of the PPF is implemented among the major American seminaries. Included within it are articles concerning the intellectual, human, spiritual, and pastoral formation of seminarians authored by the theology faculty of St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore, MD, the first Catholic
seminary established in the United States in 1791.”

The issue is available as a free PDF download from seminaryjournal.com and print copies are available through amazon.com.

The faculty and their articles for this issue are:

• Dr. Barnabas Aspray, “Theology as Cultural Witness.”
• Rev. Phillip J. Brown, P.S.S., “Human Formation in the Twenty-First Century.”
• Most Rev. Fredrik Hansen, “The Diocesan Priest and Seminary Formation.”
• Leelamma Sebastian, “The Intersection of Pastoral Care and Contemporary Leadership in Seminary Formation.”
• Rev. Hy Nguyen, P.S.S., “Preparing Foreign-Born Seminarians for the U.S. Church.”
• Dr. John Macias, “Political Philosophy and Catholic Social Teaching in Seminary Formation.”
• Dr. Dennis Castillo, “Teaching Catholic History in Seminary Formation.”
• Rev. Dennis J. Bily, C.Ss.R., “Teaching Marian Doctrine and Spirituality in a Catholic Seminary.”

May 8, 2025

Statement of Rev. Phillip J. Brown, P.S.S.
President Rector of St. Mary’s Seminary & University
on
The Election of Cardinal Robert Prevost as Pope Leo XIV

America’s first Catholic seminary, St. Mary’s Seminary & University, rejoices at the election of America’s first Holy Father of the Roman Catholic Church, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, originally from Chicago, Illinois. An Augustinian monk and priest, Pope Leo served as U.S. Provincial of the Augustinians, Prior General, and director of formation before being appointed Bishop of Chiclayo, Peru by Pope Francis. He became a member of the Congregation for Clergy in Rome, then Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops. He understands at a very deep level the importance of the education and formation of priests and religious, and Christians in general.

Pope Leo has showed care and sympathy for Venezuelan refugees in Peru, and he has reflected deeply on the reality and challenges of the human condition. His choice of the name Leo XIV signals a deep consciousness of matters of social justice and the plight of the poor and otherwise disadvantaged. He has shown a commitment to the Gospel imperative that those in need be visible and that we promote their full human dignity. He has emphasized the importance of living well-ordered Christian lives. Pope Leo’s election promises an ongoing awareness of the Church’s duty to awaken people to God’s mercy and treat all with ultimate dignity and respect. The Church and the world have entered a new era in continuity with the best of its traditions and solicitude for the poor, and its commitment to gentle pastoral approaches. All have good reason to rejoice at the election of Pope Leo and to move forward in hope and with confidence that Leo will be a Pope who unifies and consoles those within the fold of the faith and all people. His initial words as Pope were words of peace. He will undoubtedly be a peacemaker with charismatic gifts to bring peace to our hearts and minds and to relations among peoples.

Viva Pope Leo XIV: ad multos annos from the entire St. Mary’s Seminary & University community.

Rev. Phillip J. Brown, P.S.S.
President Rector
St. Mary’s Seminary & University

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St. Mary’s President Rector, Rev. Phillip J. Brown, P.S.S. welcomes the appointment of Msgr. Marc Caron (Diocese of Portland) as new director of the Center for Continuing Formation.

View or download this statement.

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Portland, ME Priest Named Director of the Center for Continuing Formation at St. Mary’s Seminary and University

Father Phillip J. Brown, PSS, President Rector of St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore, the first Catholic seminary in the United States, announced the appointment of Msgr. Marc B. Caron, STD, as the new Director of the Center for Continuing Formation. Msgr. Caron is a priest of the Diocese of Portland, where he most recently served as Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia. In his new role, Msgr. Caron will oversee the Center’s many ongoing formation programs for clergy and lay ministers, which are conducted on site and online.

“I am very grateful to Bishop Ruggieri, the Bishop of Portland, and to St. Mary’s Seminary for this unique opportunity to be at the service of priests from all over our country. Drawing on the heritage of St. Sulpice, I look forward to guiding the Center for Ongoing Formation in its mission of promoting the intellectual, pastoral, spiritual, and human growth of priests and ecclesial ministers.”

Msgr. Marc Caron

The Center for Continuing Formation was built by St. Mary’s in 1996 in response to the teaching on the priesthood and priestly formation of St. John Paul II. The Center offers special programs each year for pastors, newly ordained priests, and senior priests. It also hosts various bishops’ meetings, ecumenical gatherings, and other conferences as well. Building on the directives in the Program for Priestly Formation (6th edition) and the Guide to Ongoing Formation for Priests (USCCB, 2023), the Center has continued to expand its initiatives. Its offerings also include distance learning programs of varying lengths for priests. Programs for deacons and lay ecclesial ministers are offered as well.

Fr. Brown said of Msgr. Caron, “I have known Msgr. Caron for almost 40 years and have watched with admiration his outstanding, varied, and dedicated service to the Church, including several years of seminary formation work. No one understands priests and their needs for ongoing education and formation better than Msgr. Caron, and I know of no one who could fulfill this role better. St. Mary’s is extremely blessed to have Msgr. Caron join us as the Director of our Center for Continuing Formation.”

Monsignor Caron was ordained in 1989 with a Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree from The Catholic University of America. In his home diocese of Portland, Msgr. Caron served in a number of parish and chancery positions. He also served as a member of the faculty at St. John Seminary in Brighton, Massachusetts. Monsignor Caron will begin his new role on July 1, 2025.

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The Center for Continuing Formation, which adjoins the main seminary building while providing necessary privacy to occupants, is a 30,000-square-feet facility with 30 private, three-star guest rooms and suites, and a variety of conference spaces and small meeting rooms. The Center also has an oratory and private chapel as well as its own dining room.

For more information about the Center for Continuing Formation at St. Mary’s, visit https://stmarys.edu/center/.

April 21, 2025

Dear Seminarians, Faculty Members, Staff and all Members of the St. Mary’s Community,

The St. Mary’s Seminary and University community, students, faculty, and staff join Catholics everywhere and the whole world in mourning the passing of Pope Francis. Pope Francis began his pontificate proclaiming the God’s mercy and concluded with a message of hope. Throughout he called upon all people to recognize the goodness of creation and take better care of the environment our lives depend on. He emphasized God’s love for all and encouraged Christians in particular to avoid judging others and to mirror God’s love to them. He focused attention on the essentials of the faith of Christians, and on its entirety, encouraging us to address our particular concerns from that perspective. He encouraged all of us who believe to exude the joy of the Gospel.

Pope Francis modeled what it means to be a priest after the heart of Jesus Christ: accompanying people and ministering to them with mercy, compassion, love and fidelity to the Magisterium. For thirteen years as our Holy Father he was an example of the kind of priest who strives to live that ideal. Forming priests after the heart of Jesus is the central mission of St. Mary’s. May the model and the legacy of Pope Francis continue to inspire those being formed for the priesthood and those who serve as priests. May our memories of Pope Francis continue to animate the ministry of those who serve the Church, especially priests, and for us at St. Mary’s those who carry out the important work of forming future priests for service in the Church, to God’s people, to all people.

Rev. Phillip J. Brown, P.S.S.
President Rector
St. Mary’s Seminary & University

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May his soul and all the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God,
rest in peace.

St. Mary’s Own “Home Opener!” On Saturday, March 30, St. Mary’s seminarians held their annual wiffle ball spring opener. Team Redemptorists—coached by Professor of Moral Theology and Spirituality, Rev. Dennis Billy, C.Ss.R.—faced off against Team Sulpician—coached by St. Mary’s President Rector, Rev. Phillip Brown, P.S.S.—on a sunny “field of dreams.” Team Redemptorist won the contest which, of course, included a spring picnic lunch, games, and good times.

Below are some event photos (click on the thumbnail to open the full-size picture).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Wednesday, March 19—the Solemnity of St. Joseph—St. Mary’s Seminary welcomed back Oslo coadjutor Bishop Fredrik Hansen, former faculty member, Dean of Seminarians, and Sulpician Candidate, for the Pontifical Mass celebrating the Feast of St. Joseph followed by a festive reception. His Eminence, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States of America, Baltimore Archbishop William Lori and Sulpician Provincial Very Rev. Daniel Moore, P.S.S. joined over 100 special guests for the celebration.

Below the photos which follow is the text of Bishop Hansen’s homily.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Homily for the Solemnity of Saint Joseph

(view/download as PDF)

Bishop Fredrik Hansen
St. Mary’s Seminary and University, Baltimore
19 March 2025

2 Samuel 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16
Psalm 89:2-3, 4-5, 27 and 29
Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22 2
Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24a

Our Holy Father, Pope Francis—for whose health and recovery we continue to pray—observed in his apostolic letter Patris Corde that “[a]fter Mary, the Mother of God, no saint is mentioned more frequently in the papal magisterium than Joseph, her spouse”.

The Church as a whole also turns continuously to Saint Joseph, looking to his example of faith, of justice, of righteousness. He is honored as the last of the Patriarchs and as the Patron of the Universal Church, he is invoked at every celebration of the holy sacrifice, and he is held up as the protector of so many personages, causes, realms and communities that no two lists are the same and, quite possibly, possibly no list is complete.

The wealth of both ecclesiastical pronouncements and expressions of popular piety focused on Saint Joseph, like the Marian treasury of the Church, makes a comprehensive exposition of this beloved saint most challenging.

Allow me instead to dwell on one striking trait of Saint Joseph: his silence. I do so both as his silence is worthy of meditation and imitation, and as it speaks—in my humble opinion—to qualities that in a particular way should guide ecclesiastics in this present age.

The holy Gospels make plain the silence of Saint Joseph as not a single word is attributed to him. He is placed before us as a silent man, a man of contemplation and a quiet faith. This silence
of Saint Joseph is, however, not a failure to speak or the absence of speech. It is clear that he spoke, such as when he espoused himself to the Virgin or when he—giving voice to the angelic proclamation—announced the name of Jesus. So, what exactly characterizes his silence? What exactly does his example place before us? I believe the silence of Saint Joseph, the reserved quite of the Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, points to three specific characteristics.

First, his reserved silence speaks of a man who listened readily and continuously to God. Saint Joseph allowed God to speak, to speak the Law, to speak truth, to speak into his life that unique and glorious mission that God had set out for him. Rather than being focused on his own words and his own speech, Saint Joseph was silent to hear God and, thereby, to do the will of God and to do so faithfully and in justice.

The ordained ministry begins not with us, but with the word of God speaking to us and speaking us into service. This comes to the fore in the very rite of ordination, where the candidate is called forth. He does not on his own stand up and state “Adsum.”

Second, the silence of Saint Joseph speaks of a man who carefully and prudently avoided constant or meaningless speech. Notice that sharp contrast between Saint Joseph on the one hand, and the Apostles on the other. How often in the Gospels do the disciples rush to words, rush to opine or comment? Our Lord himself warns against empty words, against speaking and speaking, all devoid of purpose or actual content. How many ecclesiastics speak much, yet bring none to penance or fasting, convert not a single soul. Contrast such incessant speaking with the immensely powerful final words of so many of the martyrs. They often said little more than “Jesus and Mary” as the deadly blow drew nigh. Their words are remembered, however, through the centuries.

Third and finally, the silence of Saint Joseph speaks of a man who tempered his words until they were needed. When Saint Joseph pointed to Egypt and called the Holy Family to make haste there in the night, his words were required. And when spoken, they had impact and effect, and there was no questioning them.

One who neither allows time to listen to God in prayer or simply fills every possible moment with his own words, will seldom be the origin of a clarion call to act that will move hearts and minds. It is striking how the Church constantly invites her ministers to see their very life, their example of the Christian life, as the most powerful weapon in their arsenal when leading the faithful. Not words upon words, but the witness of the theological and human virtues, the witness of being a priest who can in truth say, “it is no longer I that live, but Christ that lives in me” (Gal 2.20). Such a deacon or priest, indeed such a bishop, will when he does speak, be heard and set the world ablaze.

In conclusion: Saint Joseph lays out an example of silence, and example that points to the need to place God first, to remain quiet when quiet is called for, and to speak with a voice of authenticity and integrity when words are needed. Let us all, as Pope Francis closes his letter on Saint Joseph, strive to “imitate his virtues and his zeal”.

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See a recording of the Mass. The homily begins at the 20:50 mark.

An evening to remember! On Tuesday, March 11, St. Mary’s Seminary & University was filled with gratitude as pastoral ministry supervisors from parishes, hospitals, and direct service sites gathered for an evening of reflection and celebration. Joined by seminary administrators, the event provided a unique opportunity to engage in a meaningful feedback session followed by evening prayer, reception, and dinner with seminarians and faculty. This memorable evening was a heartfelt tribute, honoring the dedication and collaborative efforts of the ministry supervisors who are integral to the continued success of our pastoral formation program.

 

Photos
(courtesy of Larry Canner);
click each picture to view full-size.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

St. Mary’s celebrated Lunar New Year on January 30, 2025 with a special liturgy, traditional foods, song, dance, and much joy.

Rev. Hy Nguyen, P.S.S., Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, presided at the liturgy and hosted the celebrations. Over 250 attendees participated in the festivities with all the food provided by the Vietnamese community.

View a selection of photos from the evening below.

St. Mary’s former Dean of Seminarians and Assistant Professor of Pastoral Studies, Rev. Msgr. Fredrik Hansen, was ordained to the episcopacy for the Diocese of Oslo on January 18, 2025. Several administration and faculty members accompanied a contingent of seminarians to Norway for the liturgy and celebrations. Bishop Hansen was consecrated to become the coadjutor bishop of Oslo and Bishop Bernts Eidsvig’s successor.

St. Mary’s Staff and Faculty attending the ordination:

• Very Rev. Daniel F. Moore, P.S.S., Provincial Superior, Province of the United States, Society of St. Sulpice.
• Rev. Phillip J. Brown, P.S.S., President Rector, St. Mary’s Seminary & University.
• Rev. Paul Maillet, P.S.S., Vice Rector, St. Mary’s Seminary & University.
• Rev. Ronald D. Witherup, P.S.S., former Superior General, Society of St. Sulpice and Adjunct Faculty, St. Mary’s Seminary & University.
• Dr. Matthew Dugandzic, Dean of School of Theology/Praeses of the Ecclesiastical Faculty, St. Mary’s Seminary & University.
• Dr. Audra Dugandzic, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, St. Mary’s Seminary & University.
• Rev. Maximilian Jaskowak, O.P., Instructor of Moral Theology, St. Mary’s Seminary & University (not in photo below).

St. Mary’s Seminarians attending the ordination: (left-right in photo below):

• Mr. Jarek Sulak, First-Year Seminarian from the Diocese of Pittsburgh.
• Mr. Cody Yarnall, Second-Year Seminarian from the Diocese of Scranton.
• Mr. Matthew Selzer, Third-Year Seminarian from the Diocese of Pittsburgh.
• Mr. Colin Kulmoski, Second-Year Seminarian from the Diocese of Pittsburgh.
• Mr. Jan Carlo Perez, Third-Year Seminarian from the Diocese of Scranton.

Full coverage (with many more photos) can be found on the website of the Diocese of Oslo. Though the site is in Norwegian, it can be viewed in a browser with built-in translation capabilities to English—for example, Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge. See the following articles:

• “Bishop Fredrik Hansen’s Ordination in Oslo on January 18th”
  https://www.katolsk.no/nyheter/2025/01/biskop-fredrik-hansens-vigsling-i-oslo-18-januar
• “Bishop Fredrik Hansen’s Sermon During his First Pontifical Mass”
  https://www.katolsk.no/nyheter/2025/01/biskop-fredrik-hansens-preken-under-sin-forste-pontifikalmesse
• “Cardinal Parolin’s Homily During the Episcopal Ordination”
  https://www.katolsk.no/nyheter/2025/01/kardinal-parolins-preken-under-bispevielsen
• “The Papal Bull of Appointment”
  https://www.katolsk.no/nyheter/2025/01/den-pavelige-utnevnelsesbulle
• “Your Law is Truth” (The Coat of Arms and Motto of Bishop Fredrik Hansen)
  https://www.katolsk.no/nyheter/2025/01/din-lov-er-sannhet

Photos
(courtesy of Fr. Daniel Moore, P.S.S.);
click each picture to view full-size.