MINNESOTA
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Katherine Kersten, Star Tribune
October 10, 2005
Imagine this scene: It's 6 a.m. on a wintry day. More than 100 young men wipe the sleep from their eyes and gather in a dark chapel, heads bowed, for an hour of silent prayer.
An Irish monastery, circa 1450 A.D.? No, it's a typical morning at St. John Vianney Seminary in St. Paul, a four-year college program for men considering the Catholic priesthood.
You'd think the recent bad press about clergy sexual abuse would have slowed the stream of potential priests to a trickle. But SJV, located at the University of St. Thomas, has an entering class of 49 -- the largest in 20 years. In fact, SJV has more college seminarians than any other Catholic seminary in the country. Young men flock here from 24 Catholic dioceses, from Alaska to Kentucky. To become priests, they must continue their studies at a graduate seminary after completing SJV's program.