The Diocese of Toledo’s five propaedeutic seminarians are nearing the end of their first year of priestly formation. For much of June, they were overseas—first in Rome, and then on pilgrimage in Spain. After a week in the Eternal City, they walked 100 miles of the Camino de Santiago, finishing at the tomb of St. James the Apostle in Santiago de Compostela.
“It was a lot of time walking with Jesus,” said Max, one of the seminarians. “It was definitely a time of silence and prayer.”
For Joshua, the pilgrimage offered the chance to “embrace the silence and have a new awareness of the Lord’s presence.” He said the Camino was “a reminder that the spiritual life is a journey that you have to persevere through,” and a chance to entrust more to God. “The Camino had some hard moments and a lot of joys,” he said, “but we always had the Lord with us.”
Austin, another seminarian, described walking the Camino as “such a beautiful experience of just spending time with the Lord.” He recalled walking in silence while praying the Rosary and hearing a friend nearby singing the Divine Mercy Chaplet in Spanish. “It was just one of those moments that you know the Lord is there with you,” he said. “It just brought me to tears.”
Though only three of the five men—Max, Joshua, and Austin—were interviewed, all five completed the journey. The propaedeutic year, introduced as part of new priestly formation guidelines from the Vatican, is designed to help men entering seminary deepen their relationship with Christ and grow in the human, spiritual, pastoral, and intellectual dimensions of formation.
Now back in the U.S., the seminarians are completing the final portion of their summer with a variety of activities including shrine visits, excursions, human formation, preparation for leading a high school retreat, cultural immersion days, service experiences focused on poverty, and outdoor community building.
As the year draws to a close, each man brings home the fruits of a year spent seeking the Lord. “This year has helped me realize the importance of spending time with the Lord, especially in silence,” said Austin. “It's in the silence that you hear the Lord’s voice.”
Posted July 17, 2025 at 10:09 am