Recently, I’ve been
re-reading James Carroll’s book Practicing Catholic. I had read it
earlier and thought he provided some very interesting historical information
about the Catholic Church and his own perspective of why he continues to be a “practicing
Catholic”. James Carroll was a Paulist priest for five years (1969-1974). In
the part of the book I have been reading, he writes about his experience in the
seminary at the time of the Second Vatican Council. Reading about it reminded
me of the time I spent in the seminary and prompted me to write about some of
my experiences there.
James Carroll writes about
that time being one of change in the Church and it certainly was. I entered St.
Charles College minor seminary as a freshman high school student in the fall of
1961. The seminary I entered reflected the beliefs and values of the
pre-Vatican II Church. During my first year, all the freshmen were separated
from the upper classes (sophomores, juniors, seniors and those in the first two
years of college). The exception to that was that about 20 second-year high
schools students also lived with us. I’m sure the idea was that they would be
our mentors as we began this new experience and would help ease us into our new
life. But, human nature being what it is, the initiation wasn’t always
supportive. They were the “big men on campus” in our little section of the
seminary and some of them reveled in that role. At times, some of them were
bossy and sometimes genuinely mean. They might take over a pool table or ping pong
table because they were second-year men. Or, a freshman might be “jaked” (have
his head pushed into a toilet while the toilet was being flushed – always clean
water).
But let me back up a little
and describe the situation we lived in. We basically had five areas in which we
spent time. First, a sort of living area, with pool tables and ping pong tables
and a trunk room (where our foot lockers were stored). Second, a sleeping area.
This was a very large room on the fourth floor of the building; each of the 102
freshmen had a bed with a chair next to it. There was also a locker room, with
sinks and toilets, attached to the dorm. This large, drafty dormitory room was
(not affectionately) known as “Pneumonia Hall”. Third, a chapel in which the
freshmen and the 20 sophomores attended morning prayers and Mass and evening
prayers. Fourth, a study hall; and lastly, a locker room and showers where we
could change into our “slop clothes” for leisure or sports activities.
Our day began at 5:40 am,
when a bell rang to let us know it was time to get up. We would then get
dressed and head off to chapel. The “Grand Silence” began after evening prayers
and did not end until after morning Mass, so this all happened without any of
us speaking. Our chapel was in the basement below the main chapel, close to
where our recreation area was. After morning prayers there would be a period of
meditation, led by one of the priests. And then, Mass.
After Mass, we went to the
Refectory (Dining Hall) for breakfast. We had our meals with all of the
seminarians, not just our little group. We sat at a table with students from
each of the high school grades. One or two seniors were in charge of each
table. Each meal we sat at the same table with the same students at our
assigned seat. I think that table assignments may have changed each quarter. At
breakfast, two priests joined us: one was in charge of our area and the other
was the disciplinarian for the older students. At lunch, one of the college
students read to us, while the rest of us ate in silence. Sometimes they read
from religious books; sometimes from secular books. One of the non-religious
books was about the Cocoanut Grove fire and some of the descriptions of burn
injuries from the fire were not very good for the digestion. (In 1942, 492
people died in a fire in the Cocoanut Grove nightclub in Boston.)
After breakfast, we would
return to the dorm to brush teeth and get ready for classes. (We would not
return again to the dorm until after evening prayers.) We all took the same
classes (Latin, Math, History, English, Science and, of course, Religion). In
our junior year, we got to choose between French and German; but we had to
take one. After morning classes, we would return to the Refectory for lunch.
And, after lunch, we had a study hall. After study hall, another class or two.
Then, we had time for recreation. Sports were intramural and there were
different leagues for kids of different skill levels. Sports leagues followed
the seasons: football in the fall, basketball in the winter, baseball in the
spring. We also had track and field one day in October and one in May. During my freshman
year, each of our teams was captained by a sophomore. After recreation time
came showers and dinner.
Every day we would have time
to pray the Rosary. I can’t remember whether this occurred before or after
dinner. But, I can clearly picture many young men walking outside during the
good weather, silently fingering their Rosary beads. In inclement weather, we
would walk through the halls of the seminary building, completing the same
ritual.
In the evening, we would
return to Study Hall for "Spiritual Reading", a brief period of instruction by the priest in charge of our area. Sometimes the topic would be
spiritual. Sometimes it would be about study habits. One time, I remember the
priest reaching into some pockets on the inside of his cassock (the long black
robe he wore) and bringing out a complete meal place setting, putting it down
on his desk at the front of the Study Hall and giving us a lesson in table
etiquette. After this period of instruction, we would have the evening Study
Hall to do our homework. Finally, we would head off to the chapel again for
evening prayers. After that, 120 of us would walk to the other end of the
building and walk from the basement up five flights of stairs to our fourth
floor dorm, get ready for bed and wait for “lights out” (9 pm if I remember
correctly).
St. Charles College opened
in 1848 in Ellicott City, MD. In 1911, a fire completely destroyed the school
and it was rebuilt in Catonsville, MD. St. Charles was a minor seminary (4
years of high school and 2 years of college). The main building was U shaped
and made of stone with classrooms, administrative offices and the refectory in
the center. The chapel was on one end and the dormitory rooms were on the other
end. Ironically, St. Charles was located on Maiden Choice Lane.
In 1961, there were many
seminaries for high school students; a quick look on-line leads me to believe
there are very few today. In 1961, entering a seminary at that early age (14
years old for me) was an accepted practice and boys were encouraged by parish
priests to enter then. In elementary school, I wanted to be a priest. My
parents were devout Catholics and I was an altar boy. The parish priest was
someone who was respected and looked up to. In addition, the priests and the nuns who taught us in
Catholic school told us that becoming a priest was a special calling.
I think my going away to the seminary was probably difficult
for my parents, since I was an only child. But being good Catholics, they
accepted my decision. For me, it was somewhat exciting to be leaving home at
such an early age. I enjoyed the camaraderie of my fellow seminarians but also
missed my parents. We got to go home for vacations at Christmas and Easter and
for the summer. But it was a long time to be away from home.
Nowadays, individuals
interested in the priesthood are encouraged to finish high school and even
college before entering a seminary. This provides them with more of an
experience of what we used to call “the world” and the people in it, to whom
they will be ministering. This can probably be attributed to a great extent to
the Second Vatican Council and the changes that have occurred in the Church
because of the Council. It’s a different world these days and the idea of
sheltering young men from “the world” has been replaced by an emphasis on being
in the world and being of service to the men and women who live in it.
