Life in a Catholic Seminary 1961

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.