Our Mission
WE FORM MEN OF COMMUNION
TO SERVE AS DIOCESAN PRIESTS
Forming Men of Communion
Bishop White Seminary exists to form men of communion to serve as diocesan priests.
Relationship • Identity • Mission
Our approach to formation can be summed up in the concept of Relationship – Identity – Mission. For us, relationship is the starting point, goal, and framework of formation.
Integrated Programs, Integral Formation
We provide college seminarians a tight-knit and communal experience of formation for their first two stages of seminary, leading them to vocational clarity and equipping them for their next steps beyond Bishop White.
Communion is at the core of our mission
The formation program at Bishop White Seminary helps men to encounter and understand their vocations as beloved sons of the Father, and prepares them to cooperate fully with the grace of God as they proceed to the next stage of priestly formation. In short, Bishop White Seminary provides men with clarity and freedom to become missionary disciples with the heart and mind of Jesus Christ.
We believe that good priestly formation arises out of community life. Because God is a Trinity, and love is our common vocation, we believe that parish priests must learn, above all, to be men of communion who can form and maintain healthy relationships. As they relate closely with others, seminarians learn to see their personal strengths, but also their weaknesses and areas for growth. Out of this experience, men realize their true identity: that they are sons of the Father, who need Christ as their savior, and who are willing to extend his mercy to others.
Our Mission
Forming men
of communion
We form men of communion to serve as diocesan priests. Faithful to our founding, we provide initial seminary formation. Attentive to the signs of our times, we focus on raising up seminarians to be men of communion.
The culture is marked by isolation. Our Church has been wracked by division. Priests are often spread far and wide in ministry. To be the shepherds we need, our future priests must be capable of piercing through isolation, healing division, and remaining united in their priesthood. They must be men of communion, and these are the kind of men we endeavor to form.
Our Method
Relationship • Identity • Mission
The two big ideas that define our approach to formation can be summed up in three letters: R-I-M, standing for Relationship, Identity, and Mission.
First, R-I-M clarifies the primacy we place on relationship – principally our relationship with God – and how it informs our identity and clarifies our mission. Notably, R-I-M stands in sharp contrast against the prevailing cultural presupposition that mission or activity precedes and defines identity and relationship (M-I-R).
Second, R-I-M structures our overarching framework for formation. We immerse seminarians in formative relational contexts, ultimately leading to healing encounters with Jesus Christ. We strengthen seminarians in their Christian identity while forming them in a Christian, apostolic worldview. We invite seminarians into apostolic mission while supporting confident discernment of the diocesan priesthood.
Our Means
Integrated Programs, Integral Formation
Bishop White Seminary is one seminary with two distinct and integrated programs for college-aged men. The first-year Cor Christi Propaedeutic Program feeds into our three-year Bishop White Discipleship Program. Graduates from Bishop White earn a B.A. in Philosophy through our partner academic institution, Gonzaga University. More fundamentally, they receive the formation and clarity necessary to take the next step in their vocational journey with freedom and conviction.
Throughout our programs seminarians receive whole-person formation under the categories of human, intellectual, spiritual, and pastoral – all within the context of a close-knit community of seminarians, priests, and staff.