by Fr. Brian Kane
Rector, St. Gregory the Great Seminary;
Director of Seminarians
For many years, we have ordained new deacons and priests on Memorial Day weekend in the Diocese of Lincoln. We will do that again this May, ordaining two deacons May 23 and two priests May 24 at the Cathedral of the Risen Christ in Lincoln. That tradition will shift next year as the Church implements the last part of the Vatican document guiding the formation of priests: Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis (Ratio) or The Gift of the Priestly Vocation.
The fundamental goal of the document is to help young men be well-prepared to enter the priesthood. The addition of the Propaedeutic Stage at the beginning of formation will be book-ended with the Vocational Synthesis Stage at the end of seminary formation.
For a young man graduating from high school and entering the seminary, his formation journey is nine years from entrance to ordination to the priesthood. The first five years are at St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward, the next three and a half years are at one of the two theology seminaries we use on the east coast, St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, and Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md. The Vocational Synthesis Stage is the last six months before ordination to the priesthood. The seminarian will be ordained a deacon before Christmas, and be assigned to a parish in our diocese. He will then be ordained a priest on Memorial Day weekend.
The document lays out the rationale for the change: “The vocational synthesis stage is the time from leaving the Seminary until the subsequent priestly ordination, which obviously is brought about by conferral of the diaconate. This stage has a twofold purpose: on the one hand it is about being inducted into the pastoral life, with a gradual assumption of responsibilities in a spirit of service; on the other hand it is about making a suitable preparation, with the help of a specific accompaniment, in view of priesthood.” (Ratio #74)
This means the new deacon will be welcomed into the diocese as a deacon and be mentored by his pastor and others given the responsibility of accompanying him to ordination to the priesthood. In our diocese, he will also be able to begin preparation to teach in our high schools and grade schools.
The Ratio places a great deal of importance on the role of the pastor to whom the deacon is assigned, stating, “The Pastor… should be aware of the formative task entrusted to him, and should accompany him in his gradual entry to pastoral ministry.” (Ratio #75) The new deacon will also be welcomed into the presbyterate of the diocese (the community of priests) through his participation in the quarterly diocesan clergy study days, deanery days and other gatherings of priests.
The Program of Priestly Formation (PPF), the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops document that implements the Ratio in the Church in the United States, establishes benchmarks that give some insight to the purpose of the new vocational synthesis stage: “During this [vocational synthesis] stage he (the deacon) works to overcome any human fears, and he grows in the freedom of natural self-confidence to be able to bring the Gospel to all those who need it.” (PPF #200)
On a practical note, this means that this is the last May the Diocese of Lincoln will ordain deacons. The next ordination to the diaconate will take place Dec. 19, 2026, at the Cathedral of the Risen Christ.
Please continue to keep all the men discerning a call to the priesthood in your prayers. They are a gift, and your prayers are the perfect accompaniment on their paths of discernment.
