"Since coming to Rome, my faith has been inspired in a completely different way than it had been in the United States, specifically through the lives of the saints," says Mr. Byran Williams, an Old Collegian who has been studying in the Eternal City this semester with three of his classmates. "Through living amongst the Communion of Saints, which is so physically present in Rome, I have been encouraged to be strong in the faith of the Church, similar to the way in which my brothers in Holy Cross give me the strength to live as a seminarian." Read More

“The MDiv degree that we study for at the University of Notre Dame provides us with top-notch preparation for professional ministry in the Church,” writes Mr. Adam Booth, C.S.C. “I know that my place in the world is not to be alone, but to be part of a pilgrim people that I believe I’m called to serve as a priest as we walk along together. And so it’s not just my place in the world that I want to understand, but rather our place, our journey and our destiny.” Read More

“The Congregation of Holy Cross makes initial formation a top priority and central to this period are regular ‘formation nights’ in which Old Collegians, candidates and temporarily professed religious meet together with their respective staffs to discuss a set topic,” writes Mr. David Halm, C.S.C. “The specific topic flows from the larger theme of the semester – such as the vows, particular ministries, Holy Cross history – but always treat one of the ‘five pillars’ of initial formation.” Read More

“While our choir isn't made up of music majors (or angels), we still come together every week to practice and lead the music for our liturgies,” writes Mr. Michael Eardley, a Candidate at Moreau Seminary, about the seminary choir. “As a religious community, praying in common the Liturgy of the Hours and daily Mass are integral parts of our lives. To be part of the choir, then, is an important and enjoyable way of enriching our community prayer and offering our time and talents to the Lord and one another.” Read More

“The move to Moreau Seminary was a nervous experience for me. I had never lived that far from home or been somewhere where I knew very few people. I had practically no prior connection to Notre Dame or Holy Cross, but I knew that God had guided me to this decision,” writes Mr. Tim Weed, a candidate at Moreau Seminary. “The first semester of formation has been a wonderful experience, and I firmly believe that the choices I made in the past year have led me down the right path in life.” Read More

“This semester has been my chance to move out of the ordinary, as one of the Old Collegians studying at Allen Hall Seminary and Heythrop College in London this fall,” writes third-year Old Collegian Benjamin Rusch. “Living over in England has been an affirmation that people are people and the Church is Universal wherever you go. Yet, things are also different in a hundred different ways. This has made me appreciate certain things from back home even more, an appreciation that I suspect will grow once I return.” Read More

“Being able to celebrate Thanksgiving this year with my Holy Cross brothers at Moreau Seminary has helped me see more clearly that, as men with hope to bring, our life together is meant to be a deep and enduring act of thanks to the One who calls us to that hope,” writes Mr. Chase Pepper, C.S.C., a temporarily professed seminarian at Moreau Seminary. “Hope is grounded in thanksgiving, and the holidays are a special time for us as a religious community to refresh ourselves in the spirit of our vocation.” Read More

“Three weeks ago, the men of Old College made a weekend retreat,” writes Mr. Josh Bathon, a second-year man at Old College. “Throughout the retreat, we were challenged to greater understand the Congregation and ourselves through a devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows.  Such an experience is enriching and formative – truly a blessing.” Read More

"The Year of the Brother seems to be a fitting title for my year in East Africa,” writes Holy Cross seminarian Mr. Mark DeMott, C.S.C., from his pastoral year in the District of East Africa. “For the first time since coming to Holy Cross, I live in a community of brothers.  I see the ways that they are in relationship with their students, their teachers and their neighbors.  I see their witness as educators in the faith.  I see their commitment to single-hearted intimacy with God.” Read More

“Regardless of who wins the ‘best soiree’ award,” writes Old Collegian Joe Krivos after the epic Les Misérables soiree, “Thursday evenings are the time that the Holy Cross Seminary Community has to come together, to forget about the rigors of our academics for a short while, and just enjoy ourselves with our brothers in Holy Cross, while giving glory to God.” Read More

"One of the best years of my life was spent at our Holy Cross Novitiate in the mountains of Cascade, Colorado," writes Mr. Mark DeMott, C.S.C. "Often, I wish I had another day to spend there! And when I reached Lake Saaka [where the Holy Cross Novitiate in East Africa is located], I felt like I had come home." Read More

"What does it mean to say that Jesus is 'consubstantial with' the Father? Why is it more precise to say that God is Creator of all things 'visible and invisible', instead of the familiar 'seen and unseen'?" In helping adult Catholics answer these and other questions like them in his ministry placement, Moreau Seminary Candidate Braydn Harsha says he himself is "being formed to be a good and effective Educator in the Faith." Read More

Today's blog post comes from Mr. Mark DeMott, C.S.C., our Holy Cross Seminarian in East Africa. Read about his adventures and reflections of life in East Africa. Our village of Wanyange offers beautiful views of Lake Victoria. As we make our way to Mass (at Holy Cross Parish in nearby Bugembe) early in the morning, a magnificent sunrise reflects off of the water. Read More

Have you ever wondered what it must be like to transition from the world into the life of a seminary? Moreau Candidate Jim Maslar, who just graduated from the University of Notre Dame, answers that question with today’s post for our blog. It is a post any man discerning the candidate year will not want to miss. Read More

Today's blog post comes from Karl Romkema, one of the men in Old College.  He just recently returned from a week of being co-mayor of camp and shares with us how Holy Cross begins the year of academics and formation.  Read More

Mr. Mark DeMott, C.S.C., who just completed his second year of temporary vows, is working in our District of East Africa, including teaching at Holy Cross Lake View Secondary School.  To kick off his monthly spot for us, Mark shares with us the rewards of embracing the unexpected. Read More

On the second Monday of each month this year, we will hear from one of the seminarians from Moreau Seminary.  Kicking this series off is someone already well-known to our followers -- Mr. Brian Ching, C.S.C., who blogged for us last year on his experiences at St. John Vianney Parish and now returns to Moreau as the Dean of the Seminarians.  The timing of his post is quite providential because, as Brian fills us in, this year's new crop of seminarians arrives tomorrow!  So please keep them in your prayers! Read More

Today, after a little break, we continue our series exploring how our seminarians continue their preparations for priesthood and religious life even during the summers. We hear today from Dennis Strach who just finished his candidate year at Moreau and will be heading to the Novitiate in the early August. Dennis, who wrote for our blog earlier this year, shares how he is using his summer to continue to developing the gifts and talents that God gave him. Read More

Today we continue our special summer series looking into how our seminarians spend their summers with Mr. Pat Reidy, C.S.C., who professed vows just over a year ago at the Novitiate.  For most of his summer, he is living at Christ the King Parish in South Bend, Ind., and talking classes at Notre Dame.  But as he shares with us today, that is not all he has done this summer. Read More

Summer is upon us, and although our seminarians are out of their regular classes, they still stay pretty busy.  Over the next several weeks, we will check in with some of them to see what's keeping them busy for the Lord this summer and how they are using this time to continue to prepare to serve the Church.  We start with Karl Romkema, a rising junior at Old College. Read More

Mr. Brian Ching, C.S.C., our faithful blog correspondent this year from St. John Vianney in Goodyear, AZ, has checked in with his last post.  As he explains in the post, he has finished his pastoral intership there and is moving back to Moreau Seminary to finish his final year of formal studies before final vows and ordination.  In today's post, Brian reflects with us on all St. John Vianney taught him about being a religious and priest in service of God's people.  A big thanks to Brian for how he has helped us learn this year through the experiences he has shared with us on Spes Unica.

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The academic year has come to a close at our seminaries. Before heading home, however, Moreau Candidate Michael Gonzalez filed this post for us on how his ministry over spring break helped him understand more deeply the call to and fruitfulness of celibate chastity in the life of the Church. For all those discerning religious life, this is a must read. Read More

It is the first Friday in May, believe it or not, and so our regular correspondent, Mr. Brian Ching, C.S.C., has checked in from St. John Vianney Parish in Goodyear, AZ, with this month’s installment of his blog, Learning the Ropes. It is party time, as we will see … Read More

We take a break from our Holy Week homilies for our regularly scheduled seminarian post for the month. Today’s comes from second-year professed seminarian Jarrod Waugh, C.S.C., and it is about one of the time-honored traditions not just in formation but in Holy Cross – the Soiree ... French style. Read More

Temporarily professed seminarian Brian Ching, C.S.C., has checked in with his latest post from his pastoral internship this year at St. John Vianney Parish in Goodyear, AZ. This time he shares how his experience of the “tidal wave” that is Ash Wednesday at SJV led to a tidal wave of grace in his own life and discernment. Read More

Today, we share with you part two of Old Collegian Dan Cruickshank’s reflections on the pilgrimage to St. Joseph’s Oratory over spring break put together by the Office of Vocations and Campus Ministry at Notre Dame and Holy Cross College. Having reflected on the pilgrimage overall, Dan today shares what was his most powerful experience. Read More

Over spring break, the Office of Vocations teamed up with Campus Ministry at Notre Dame and Holy Cross College to lead 51 students on a pilgrimage to St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal, Canada. It was part of the on-going celebrations of the canonization of St. André Bessette. Eleven of the students who went were Holy Cross seminarians, including Old Collegian Dan Cruickshank, who has submitted two insightful blog posts for us on his experience of the pilgrimage.  Read More

Recently our pastor announced to the parish that he was being reassigned to a new parish and that a new Holy Cross priest would be coming to take over as pastor in the summer. While our parishioners were certainly saddened by the news, I was surprised by the number of parishioners who came up to me to say that though they were sad, they were encouraged that our pastor was going to be replaced by another Holy Cross priest, and how thankful they were to be at a parish staffed by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross. Read More

Mr. Dennis Strach, one of our candidates at Moreau Seminary, filed this blog post for our monthly report from our major seminary. Dennis shares a beautiful reflection about how in “giving up” this year to the candidate program has helped him come to give away his gifts in service of others. Read More

Not lost in the shuffle of Catholic Schools Week last week was one of the highlights of the seminary calendar every year: the annual seminary basketball tournament at Mundelein Seminary. Today, Joshua Leeuw, one of the candidates at Moreau Seminary, reports on the tournament, the antics of our fans, and the “brothership” shared by all. Read More