{"id":59451,"date":"2026-03-17T13:02:34","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T12:02:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.omnesmag.com\/?p=59451"},"modified":"2026-03-18T11:46:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T10:46:25","slug":"radiography-seminars-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.omnesmag.com\/en\/foco\/radiografia-seminarios-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Radiography of Spanish seminaries: fewer students entering, but dropouts are decreasing\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE) has officially launched the campaign for the Seminar Day 2026<\/a>, This year it will be celebrated in most dioceses on March 22 (the Sunday closest to the feast of St. Joseph).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year's motto, \u00abLeave your nets and follow me,\u00bb is inspired by the passage from St. Luke (Lk 5:11), and seeks to invite young people to disconnect from digital noise and personal fears in order to respond to the priestly vocation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At present, there are 1066 young men preparing for the priesthood in Spanish seminaries, as pointed out by Florentino P\u00e9rez, director of the secretariat of the Episcopal Subcommission for Seminaries, who described as a \u201ccounter-cultural decision\u201d the option of these young men for a life of service to others as priests. In general data, although this year there are fewer entries than last year, there are also fewer dropouts, which stabilizes the data of the Spanish seminaries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this point, Perez wanted to emphasize that the dropouts occur in the early stages of the discernment process, which is good news, because this vocational process is carried out correctly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two seminarians from Cuenca, who were part of the team that created these materials, wanted to share their vocational testimony and experience during the presentation. At this point, Jorge, one of these seminarians, wanted to emphasize that \u201csometimes we focus more on the networks that we leave and we should focus on the Follow me, on what Christ gives us\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Digital innovation and support<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As a great novelty for this 2026, the Episcopal Commission for the Clergy and Seminaries has launched the web platform 4pm.es<\/a>. The name refers to the time when St. John the Apostle decided to follow Jesus: \u00abIt was about four o'clock in the afternoon\u00bb (Jn 1:39).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This new portal is not only a repository of materials, but also a tool for discernment that includes: a videopodcast<\/em> biweekly where seminarians share their real experiences<\/a>; a song Follow me at<\/em> composed ad hoc by Luispo and OzoresP as well as a series of materials<\/a> designed to help young people identify their \u00ablife plan\u00bb in a society saturated with stimuli.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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