Kansas Opens a New Seminary in Wichita After 20 Years of Planning

- Gina Christian, OSV News

The Diocese of Wichita, in Kansas, announced on August 6 that Bishop Carl A. Kemme will formally establish The San Felipe Neri Seminary. The name comes from the 16th-century priest and founder of the Congregation of the Oratory, who helped revitalize both the clergy and the Church during the Counter-Reformation.

“The seminary's rector was ”known for his joyful spirit, his profound holiness, and his dedication to the formation of priests and to evangelization through genuine friendship,' Bishop Kemme stated in a diocesan press release.".

Starting August 26, The New Seminar It will succeed the St. Joseph Formation House, which Bishop Kemme inaugurated in 2017 “to provide local formation for university seminarians,” according to the diocese.

Father Chad Arnold, a diocesan priest who has directed the formation house since 2023, has been named founding rector of St. Philip Neri Seminary. Fathers Garett Burns and Michael Brungardt, who are also diocesan priests, have been appointed vice-rectors for pastoral formation and academic formation, respectively.

20 years of planning and development and sentences

The seminar’s opening marks the culmination of more than 20 years of planning and development for the project. It had even been “shelved” for more than a decade after initial discussions and feasibility studies were conducted in the early 2000s, according to the seminar’s website.

Bishop Kemme revived the idea in 2017 and opened the St. Joseph Formation House as a two-year program. The initial enrollment of seven seminarians soon doubled to 16, prompting the diocese to purchase a convent to house them and expand the formation team.

By 2019, the formation house had become a full-fledged four-year university seminary, partnering with Newman University in Wichita to educate seminarians. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the first class of graduates from the Diocese of Kansas—five in all—completed the program in 2020.

42 men are preparing for the priesthood

The program's first priests were ordained in 2024, bringing the total to 10 to date, and three dioceses in Kansas —Wichita, Salina, and Dodge City—will be served by the future seminary.

“What began with seven seminarians has grown into a thriving community of 42 men preparing for the priesthood and serving in three dioceses in Kansas,” the diocese said in its press release.

“The growth of this program has been made possible by the prayers, generosity, and sacrifices of countless faithful Catholics throughout our diocese,” said Father Arnold. “This achievement belongs to the entire diocesan family. We are deeply grateful to all who have supported priestly vocations and helped make this day possible.”.

“The founding of St. Philip Neri Seminary is a moment of deep gratitude for the Diocese of Wichita,” Bishop Kemme said. “It reflects the Lord’s abundant blessings on our efforts to foster the priestly vocations ”and our commitment to forming holy, joyful, and faithful priests who will serve the people of God for generations to come.".

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Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. You can follow her on X @GinaJesseReina

This information was originally published in OSV News. You can consult it here.