We are nearing the end of a historic year for our seminary program. We jumped up from six seminarians to 12, and I’m very grateful for all of the support we have received to help our men engage in their formation. About half of our seminarians are at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans and the other half are at St. Joseph Seminary College in Covington, Louisiana.
After a man is accepted to the seminary, we consider which environment would be ideal for him to start his time as a seminarian. As you would expect, the atmosphere in New Orleans is city immersed. Classes are held within two large buildings on the west end of New Orleans, and while there is space to play basketball and tennis out back, there is not much in the way of nature – with mostly cars zooming up and down South Carrollton Avenue.

St. Joseph is nestled in the farmland north of Covington. It’s less than an hour to the Mississippi line on I-55. There are plenty of walking paths, a river and lakes. It’s a nature-lovers paradise, but it is more isolated from the conveniences of the city.
Both places are beautiful and have pluses and minuses. The biggest consideration is typically the age of the new seminarian. Anyone who is still within the age-range of an undergraduate college student will start at St. Joseph. The community there tends younger and I would be concerned about someone in their early 20s feeling comfortable and confident at Notre Dame at such a young age. Once a man turns 25, typically we send him to New Orleans so that he doesn’t start to feel like a ‘senior citizen’ in the community. I know, it’s funny to think of someone in their 20s thinking of themselves as ‘old!’
We have used seminaries in different parts of the country throughout the years, including during my time as Vocation Director, but typically I like to keep our men at these more local seminaries so long as the program there remains solid. It is a great gift to be able to drive to see our guys.
Bishop Kopacz has made it a priority to attend annual evaluations in person, which is not typical, but it is a great gift. His presence helps the men feel connected to the diocese and to realize how seriously we are taking their journey through formation. When Bishop and I come down for evaluations we like to pray evening prayer with them and take them out to dinner so that the day isn’t just ‘all-business.’ We also ask the guys at the ‘other seminary’ to drive up, or down, for the occasion so we can all be together. I think this has helped create an atmosphere of trust and accountability over the years. I am grateful for these trips because it has really helped me continue to update the bishop on the men’s progress in a way that is consistent and personal, and he gets to check in on them himself, which means so much to our seminarians.

(Father Nick Adam is Director of Vocations for the Diocese of Jackson. He can be contacted at nick.adam@jacksondiocese.org.)