A new program will enable participants to deepen their faith while learning from a diverse group of dynamic presenters, including academic professors.
On Oct. 7, St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood announced the launch of the Institute for Christian Formation, with classes scheduled to begin in January 2021.
Small, interactive sessions on Thursday evenings over an eight-week period will survey topics such as divine revelation and the person of Jesus Christ.
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The Institute’s course offerings will initially be limited to English, with exploration underway to provide future offerings in other languages.
The non-degree, non-credit program, consisting of four seasons of courses over two years, leads to a certificate of completion that will be issued by the School of Theological Studies at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.
Registration is open to “men and women, lay and religious who are curious to learn more about the underpinnings of their Catholic faith,” said Philadelphia Auxiliary Bishop Timothy Senior, rector of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.
With each eight-week module costing $250, program tuition, along with the curriculum, is intentionally accessible, administrators said.
The institute’s executive committee is comprised of Msgr. Michael K. Magee, dean of the seminary’s School of Theological Studies, which oversees the institute; Father Dennis Gill, director of the archdiocesan Office for Divine Worship; Meghan Cokeley, director of the archdiocesan Office for the New Evangelization; Ann Menna, archdiocesan Deputy Secretary of Catechetical Formation; and Suzanne Mulrain, coordinator of the seminary’s School of Theological Studies.
Although committee members are highly credentialed and experienced, the program seeks to reach “those adults who do not wish or need to pursue a theology degree, but who nevertheless do want to deepen their knowledge of the Catholic faith and their love of Jesus Christ,” said Msgr. Magee.
Graduates of the program can in turn invest their program experience into existing parish-based formation and evangelization efforts, Bishop Senior said.
He cited Pope Francis’ 2013 encyclical Lumen Fidei, which stressed that faith must be “nourished and reinforced,” adding that the institute is “another way the seminary can fulfill (its) mission of spreading the Word throughout our families, parishes and communities.”
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Registration is now open for the Institute for Christian Formation at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood. For more information and to register, visit at www.scs.edu/ICF.
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