St. Mary's Seminary is the first Roman Catholic seminary in the nation: rich in tradition while focused on priestly preparation for the 21st-century.
These pages provide information on the history, personnel, environment, and formation (in the Sulpician tradition) at St. Mary's.
The three pages in this section of our site touch on the very basics of the formation process.
A major part of priestly formation is intellectual formation, accomplished through the pursuit of academic degrees.
Desiring to assist in the strengthening of Hispanic ministry and recognizing the need for well-prepared priests dedicated in-part or in-full to this ministry, St. Mary’s Seminary and University has established a specialized track in Hispanic ministry.
St. Mary’s Propaedeutic Stage implements the vision of the Program for Priestly Formation (6th edition). It takes place in a revitalized and expanded structure on the historic grounds of the original St. Mary’s Seminary in downtown Baltimore. The McGivney House welcomes candidates from all dioceses and is not limited to candidates destined to enter St. Mary’s Seminary & University, but is the recommended program for those who will come to St. Mary’s.
St. Mary’s Ecumenical Institute (EI) was founded in 1968 by St. Mary’s Seminary & University, America’s oldest Roman Catholic seminary, in cooperation with ecumenical leaders. St. Mary’s is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools and by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. The Ecumenical Institute encourages people of all denominations to explore theological studies in a serious, open-minded, and supportive environment. All EI programs are available wherever you are - on campus in Baltimore, and on-line.
The Ecumenical Institute invites people of all denominations into theological study that pursues excellence and promotes ecumenical understanding and respect. All EI programs are available wherever you are - on campus in Baltimore, and on-line.
St. Mary's Ecumenical Institute has a rolling admissions policy. Students may apply at any time for admission by submitting the appropriate materials.
The Ecumenical Institute offers accredited graduate theological programs for two master’s degrees, several graduate certificates, and introductory explorations.
The post-master’s Certificate of Advanced Studies in Theology (CAS) is designed for individuals who possess a master’s degree in theology (e.g., MAT.), ministry (e.g., MACM), divinity (e.g., MDiv), or a related field and who desire to continue their theological education with a general or focused program of study.
The Doctor of Ministry program roots ministry in the mission of God, the ways God is working in your context, in your ministry, and in you.
Students have a host of resources available to support their theological education, from free parking and a great library to writing assistance and advising.
St. Mary's Ecumenical Institute offers accredited graduate theological education that is intellectually rigorous, personally enriching, and professionally empowering.
More than 750 alums of St. Mary's Ecumenical Institute are making a difference in Baltimore, in Maryland and D.C., West Virginia and Pennsylvania, and around the world.
General communication and individual contacts
It is the mission of the Center for Continuing Formation to encourage bishops, priests, deacons, and lay ecclesial ministers to engage in human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral growth and to enable processes of growth that are ongoing, complete, systemic, and personalized.
Forming Supervisors for Vocational Synthesis implements the vision of the Program for Priestly Formation (6th edition) for the final stage of preparation for the priesthood.
Conference space rentals include a large room that will seat as many as 58 and smaller rooms that will seat from 4 to 30.
St. Mary's Center for Continuing Formation offers and hosts a variety of continuing formation programs for priests in the spirit of the Bishops' new Basic Plan for the Ongoing Formation of Priests.
St. Mary’s Seminary & University’s Pinkard Scholars is the cornerstone of Youth Theological Studies at SMSU.
For more information about any of our conference facilities or space rentals, please contact our offices directly.
The Marion Burk Knott Library of St. Mary’s Seminary and University is the largest specialized theological library in the Baltimore area, with additional materials in the areas of philosophy, psychology, pastoral counseling and church history, among others. The library receives over 390 periodicals and maintains a collection of 20,000 volumes of bound periodicals. Other holdings include newspapers, microfilm, and audio-visual materials.
The Associated Archives at St. Mary’s Seminary & University opened in the spring of 2002. Located on the campus of the nation’s first Roman Catholic seminary, this program brings together the archives of the Archdiocese of Baltimore (est. 1789), St. Mary’s Seminary & University (est. 1791), and the Associated Sulpicians of the United States (U.S. Province est. 1903), making it one of the most significant repositories for records relating to the early history of the Catholic Church in the United States.
Click here for more information about hours and visitor policies.
This section was created to provide researchers with a brief description of the open collections in the archives of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, St. Mary's Seminary & University, and the Associated Sulpicians of the United States.
The Associated Archives at St. Mary’s Seminary & University has developed a genealogical policy responsive to individuals researching their Catholic roots.
We facilitate personal integration of the human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral dimensions necessary for authentic priestly witness and service in the image of Jesus Christ.
As an online Style Guide webpage, this resource has been designed to help content editors understand the styles and conventions that are used in the SMSU 2023 website. By placing this page online, we hope to both explain/specify some of the styles being used and to demonstrate their presentation and behavior.
What does that mean? Simply put, the website doesn’t look exactly the same in different clients with different screen sizes—nor should it. This website is mobile-first, mobile-friendly, and fully responsive to the browser being used to view it.
Therefore, the information below—particularly the Site Block examples—are best viewed “dynamically.” For example, use a desktop browser but change the viewport width from widescreen to narrow and see how the various blocks change responsively. Or compare the parts of this page on different devices (e.g., a desktop computer, tablet, and/or smartphone) to see how they differ.
Happy content editing!
Garamond ATF Subhead ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789
Weight/Style Variations Garamond ATF Subhead Regular Garamond ATF Subhead Regular Italic Garamond ATF Subhead Bold (weight 700) Garamond ATF Subhead Bold (weight 700) Italic
Museo-Sans ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789
Weight/Style Variations Museo Sans weight: 500 (Regular) Museo Sans weight: 500 (Regular) Italic Museo Sans weight: 700 (Bold) Museo Sans weight: 700 (Bold) Italic Museo Sans weight: 300 Museo Sans weight: 300 Italic Museo Sans weight: 900 Museo Sans weight: 900 Italic
All text is black except as noted. Brand colors can be applied in classes.
Certain aspects, like font-size or margins, change depending on the width of the browser (viewport). Those aspects are usually set for the base style and two “break-points” (when the change in browser width causes a change in style). The base style is the smallest width (“mobile-first” design: viewports up to 767 pixels wide). The first break-point is for some tablets and medium-width screens (viewports between 768 and 1249 pixels wide). The last break-point is for wide screens (viewports above 1250 pixels wide).
Body copy (basic paragraph or <P> in HTML).
Links in body copy (e.g., St. Mary’s website)
Ordered List (can choose convention, e.g., numerical, Uppercase alphabetical, Lowercase alphabetical, Roman numerals, etc.):
Unordered List (can choose convention, e.g., circle, disc, square):
List items in both ordered and unordered lists inherit style from the body text (<P>) except
Most of the color used on the website are preset style elements coded into the blocks and specific text. Some options for certain blocks give the editor color choices based on the colors below.
In rare cases, it is possible to assign color to text or elements that are not normally colored. This is only done through classes assigned within the HTML code (for example, using the WYSIWYG block).
#000C99
The official blue in RGB (display screens) used in the St. Mary’s Seminary & University seal.
Can be used as background for the Quote blocks and a choice for the color stripe on internal page heroes. Also used as a number of website style elements; for example, the top border line on these Floating Card blocks.
#CC9933
The official gold in RGB (display screens) used in the St. Mary’s Seminary & University seal.
Can be used as a choice for the color stripe on internal page heroes. Also used as the color of the cross image on Banner Blocks and for CTA buttons on dark blue backgrounds.
#0E014C
A dark blue in RGB (display screens) created for the 2023 SMSU website. Background for the page footer and the homepage accordion elements. Used as background for the Banner block and a choice for the color stripe on internal page heroes. White text stands out well against it.
#6C2125
A burgundy (red) in RGB (display screens) created for the 2023 SMSU website. Used as background for the Video CTA block and a choice for the color stripe on internal page heroes.
#F2EBE5
A tan in RGB (display screens) created for the 2023 SMSU website. Can be used as background for the Background, Full Width. and Quote blocks as well as rows. Especially nice as the row within which Cards and Floating Cards are used.
#1C1C1C
A very dark grey in RGB (display screens) created for the 2023 SMSU website. Used as color of body text.
The WYSIWYG Block is probably the most versatile block in the collection. It will likely be the most used block by content editors.
This is because the WYSIWYG block allows the editor to modify the content in the block in a number of ways, unlike the basic paragraph block which simply places text in the most basic paragraph style (not even allowing for bold [<strong>] or italic [<em>] text).
WYSIWYG blocks allow text with bold (strong) or italic (emphasis) characteristics.
Below are some possible text settings in the WYSIWYG block:
*Note: when using headings, keep in mind the overall semantic structure of the page (the hierarchy of page elements) Don’t use headings simply for their style. Use them because they are appropriate to the semantic structure of the content.
Ordered Lists:
Unordered Lists:
Change of text justification:
Example: Center justify
Example: Right justify
Links created in the text.
Anchors can be inserted for linking within the same page.
Tables can also be added in the WYSIWYG editor, but use them sparingly, being mindful of the mobile-friendly design that can make too-wide tables scroll off the page.
Special characters like em-dashes (—), foreign characters (ñ), or symbols like copyright (©) can be inserted.
Media can be inserted into the WYSIWYG editor, but classes may have to be applied in the HTML code to format them as desired.
Finally, the WYSIWYG environment gives the power editor, who is able to work with HTML code and CSS styles/classes, the ability to see the source code and add code such as a style class. This makes the WYSIWYG editor even more versatile.
This is text inside the basic “Paragraph” block. The entered text is only rendered as basic body text, no lists or bold/italic formatting that would be available in a WYSIWYG block. Note that the image optional image being used in this example, though rectangular (1920×1080 pixels), renders as a square placed in the left of the text in both the wide and midscreen browser widths. in the smallest (smartphone) browser width, the image renders in a rectangular shape placed above the text. This is a perfectly acceptable block to use for introductory paragraphs or simple body text following a Heading block.
This is another paragraph block. This is text inside the basic “Paragraph” block. The entered text is only rendered as basic body text, no lists or bold/italic formatting that would be available in a WYSIWYG block. In this example, no image was selected, nor title or link included. Only text has been entered. This is a perfectly acceptable block to use for introductory paragraphs or simple body text following a Heading block.
The Full Width block is a versatile element. It can have an optional heading if desired. It can use an image which is floated to the left of the text in widescreen views (viewports above 1600 pixels wide) but hidden on smaller widths. The text content editor uses a WYSIWYG environment so there are several formatting options. Finally, links can be added as a button style below the text content, but they are optional.
The Full Width block is a versatile element. It can have an optional heading if desired—in this example, the heading has been omitted. It can use an image which is floated to the left of the text in widescreen views (viewports above 1600 pixels wide) but hidden on smaller widths. The text content editor uses a WYSIWYG environment so there are several formatting options. Finally, links have been omitted in this example.
This is a standard WYSIWYG block inside the Background block. This Background block has a background color set to #f2ebe5. In place of a color, you can use a background image.
This is a standard WYSIWYG block inside the Background block. This Background block is using an image background. In place of an image, you can set a background color.
WYSIWYG container in the Aside container. Within the container, you can place any block, e.g., the WYSIWYG editor, a Multi-CTA, Full Width block, etc.
The Aside container provides the option to set the background as either blue (dark blue using white text) or tan (using black text).
In viewports above 1600 pixels wide, the Aside itself will float to the right of this content/container, flush to the right side of the page. In viewports below 1600 pixels wide, the Aside is positioned below the content of the container.
This is the content portion of the Aside itself. It uses the WYSIWYG style editor so options exist for various text elements. The Aside itself always has a blue background with white text. The link below is styled as a button.
Content strategy is the practice of planning for the creation, publication, and governance of useful, usable content. Kristina Halvorson
Use no more than four cards in the row, but three is optimal. If more cards are needed, create another row and then add cards within.
The title, text, and link designs are preset. There is no ability to restyle them or add different types of text elements (subheadings, lists, etc.). If that capability is needed, use floating cards.
Used only for short text. Text will truncate after 4 or 5 lines. Use a link to a page or post where you can place the full copy.
Floating Cards are placed inside a row. Use a maximum of two floating cards in a row. If more are needed, add another row and place the new floating cards within.
Unlike “regular” cards, the floating cards content editor uses a WYSIWYG format, so there are more options for adding content to the floating cards.
Give it a heading and put text inside the WYSIWYG editor. All styles/colors are preset (the dark blue background, white text, and gold cross field).
This block can actually contain either a video or a single image. In this example, a video is used. The text content editor is WYSIWYG so there are options in creating the text. A link below is also optional.
This block can actually contain either a video or a single image. In this example, an image is used. The text content editor is WYSIWYG so there are options in creating the text. A link below is also optional.
The Multi-CTA block provides several options:
The Color Scheme can be Blue, Red (Burgundy), Tan, or White. This block is using the Tan option.
The Width can be Full-Width Style (which uses a wide image with content in an overlay box of the color selected) or Non-Full-Width Style (which uses a square image next to the content).
Heading Text is optional.
Link Buttons are optional. If used, a maximum of three (3) are allowed.
The Color Scheme can be Blue, Red (Burgundy), Tan, or White. This block is using the Red option.
Much of the style of the Icon Text block is preset:
The Icon must be an SVG graphic, loaded from the Media Library.
The entire block itself is approximately half-page width in a widescreen viewport. For that reason, a nice presentation is use two icon blocks within a row. When used that way, they will be presented side-by-side for viewports above 1600 pixels. Otherwise, they will be presented one after the other.
When used in a row, the usual row options abide:
The content editing environment, however, is a WYSIWYG presentation so content can be adjusted to include ordered or unordered lists (like this example), (sub)headings within the text, even additonal links.
This is block for easily adding a video by simply entering its URL. The video must be from either YouTube or Vimeo. Once added, the video will be presented widescreen (almost page width), but as the viewport is decreased (e.g., tablets and smartphones) the video is resized so that it still fits within the viewport.