New Doctor of Ministry degree program also under consideration

Detroit — As dioceses around the globe continue to ponder how best to put the New Evangelization into practice, Detroit’s own Sacred Heart Major Seminary has been ahead of the curve with its Licentiate in Sacred Theology with a concentration in the New Evangelization.

Now, the seminary is seeking to make its unique degree program more easily accessible even to those in other dioceses.

More than 20 priests and lay students — including those from as far away as Canada, England, Ireland, India and Ghana — have earned the degree since its creation in 2004, but they’ve had to do it by devoting two or three years of study at Detroit’s seminary. And with the clergy shortage, that’s often not a commitment bishops can allow their priests to make.

In response, Sacred Heart plans to begin offering the licentiate in a new, “innovative delivery” format beginning in 2014, Msgr. Todd Lajiness, the seminary’s rector, announced Aug. 21.

Approved in late spring by the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education, the new format for the program will allow priests — the changes aren’t yet available to lay students — to complete coursework online during the academic year, followed by several weeks of intensive courses in Detroit during the summer.

“We are given what I believe is an incredible opportunity to provide the richness of the (Sacred Theology Licentiate) in the New Evangelization in a way that reaches so many more people, especially the needs of dioceses and missions who can’t give their priests for a whole two years, but can during the summer,” Msgr. Lajiness said during his annual “State of the Seminary” address to faculty and staff.

The Licentiate in Sacred Theology is a post-graduate pontifical degree conferred by the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (the Angelicum) in Rome through Sacred Heart’s faculty. It is the second of three cycles of degrees in theological studies offered by pontifical universities, the other two being baccalaureate and doctorate.

During his address, Msgr. Lajiness also announced the formation of an exploratory committee to consider the establishment of a new Doctor of Ministry degree at Sacred Heart. Whether the seminary eventually offers the degree will depend on its resources and interest from students, but Msgr. Lajiness called the prospect of the new degree program “exciting.”

“Any consideration of a new degree program has to begin with our mission,” he said. “We are steadfast and will remain so in our mission to form priests according to the heart of Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd, and further, to prepare priests, deacons and lay ecclesial ministers, equipping them for the work of ministry in the New Evangelization.”

Msgr. Lajiness also said recommendations of a pastoral leadership working group for a new sequence for field education for seminarians and new pastoral leadership modules had been approved by Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron for the fall term. The archbishop has also asked the working group, led by Msgr. Daniel Trapp, to consider how a “propaedeutic year” — a year spent on reflection and spiritual growth generally before a man enters seminary — could help prospective seminarians grow in the virtues and spiritual life, he added.

Msgr. Lajiness also touched on several other areas during his address:

• Sacred Heart will be visited by two accrediting agencies during the upcoming academic year — by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association, and the Association of Theological Schools — both in March.

• The seminary plans to add an additional hour of Eucharistic exposition from 4-5 p.m. Monday through Wednesday in its main chapel. “I believe this can be a great blessing for our community and an opportunity to adore the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and to bring to this house a greater awareness of God’s presence,” Msgr. Lajiness said.

• Construction of a new athletic track around the seminary’s sports field could begin in the spring, after funds were raised for the project during the last several years. The project awaits approval from the archdiocesan College of Consultors.

• Preparations will begin this year for a “multifaceted celebration” in 2019 of the seminary’s 100th anniversary.

• The rector also announced four new faculty and staff members: Dr. Ilaria Ramelli, the new Bishop Kevin M. Britt Chair in Christology; Fr. Charles Fox, new adviser for undergraduate seminarians; David Policelli, who will work in information technology; and Tamra Perzanowski, who will work in the seminary’s business office.