Robert Fastiggi, Ph.D., teaches a class of priests studying in Sacred Heart Major Seminary’s graduate program in the New Evangelization.Dan Meloy | The Michigan Catholic
Every summer, Sacred Heart Major Seminary hosts priests from around the U.S. and Canada studying in its unique Sacred Theology Licentiate specializing in the New Evangelization. The program, viewed as one-of-a-kind in North America, is taken both online and at the seminary’s campus over the summer.
This July, about 40 priests from across North America are meeting at the seminary for classes in pursuit of a Licentiate in Sacred Theology, STL, an ecclesiastical degree in pastoral theology through the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome.
“It’s an advanced theology degree with a focus on the New Evangelization,” said Ralph Martin, Ph.D., a professor at Sacred Heart who chairs the program. “Certain courses are basic advanced theology with a particular few that are more focused on evangelization. In one course, we talk about the history of evangelization; in another we focus on the family school of evangelization with a course of Scripture, focusing on the letters of St. Paul.”
The four-year advanced pontifical degree is considered higher than a master’s degree and just a step below a doctorate, with a graduates from the program able to go to Rome to complete their dissertation and obtain a doctorate.
Now in its third year, the program is meant to train and retrain priests in the New Evangelization, similar to a priestly “refresher course.”
“We are talking about the basic content,” Martin said. “What is the message? What did Jesus ask us to preach? We’ll look at what it means to teach the truth about salvation, conversion, Church members, and what role the Holy Spirit has.”
Priests come to the program to delve a little deeper into what it means to be an evangelist, all the while learning in a community environment.
“I heard about this program from colleagues, hoping to experience a transformation in my priestly ministry,” said Fr. Michael Wollbaum of St. Charles Parish in Winnipeg, Manitoba. “I’m here to learn better ways to learn about how to bring about the New Evangelization to my parish. To get my parish to take evangelization more seriously.”
Taking evangelization more seriously is exactly what the program – like many other recent initiatives carried out in dioceses across the country – is intended to do.
“A lot of people have noticed recent popes have been emphasizing the need for evangelization,” Martin said. “But a lot don’t know what evangelization is, so a lot of priests are now more interested in what evangelization is all about and how to do it. Sometimes, a priest is appointed to be in charge of the Department of Evangelization, and they take this course to know what it’s all about.”
During an STL class taught by Sacred Heart professor Robert Fastiggi, Ph.D., students went over the history of Christian philosophers’ teachings on creation and reason, providing the intellectual formation needed in order to become an evangelist, said Fr. Ignacio Llorente, a first-year student from St. Mary Parish in Corvallis, Ore.
“When you go deeper into philosophy, you can answer questions secular society places,” Fr. Llorente said. “First, it builds a deeper faith, but it also builds a sound mind from which you can better engage people with the way you speak.”
Through studying philosophy, priests can better understand the points of view of others who might either not know, or completely oppose the Christian worldview, said Fr. Matthew Schneider, LC, of Our Lady of Bethesda Retreat Center in Bethesda, Md.
“A lot of this is to prepare us to understand people and their mentality versus a Christian mentality,” Fr. Schneider said. “If we don’t understand their philosophy, you can’t get through.
“It’s always important to study, to know the basics. We all know the creed, we say it every day, but we study to have more to work with when we’re evangelizing. A lot is understanding people and expressing truths to people who are coming from different mentalities.”
In addition to what is learned in the classroom, the STL program serves as a networking opportunity for priests from around the continent; giving them a chance to share experiences, seek advice and learn from one another.
“We feel like a lot of this stuff is better understood through personal interaction,” Martin said. “We’d like to get to know who these students are. This program offers a chance for students to get to know each other, to network. It also is a great refreshment to come from here back to their assignments, ready to apply what they learn here in Detroit.”
