Diocese of Lincoln seminary is a new option for archdiocese seminarians

A new agreement to send Archdiocese of Omaha seminarians to a seminary in the Diocese of Lincoln is expected to reap benefits for both dioceses.

Father Scott Schilmoeller, vocations director for the Archdiocese of Omaha, said he hopes to have two to four young men at St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward next fall.

About a year ago, Father Schilmoeller said, he began looking into St. Gregory Great.

The archdiocese currently sends men to minor seminary (traditionally the first four years of formation) at St. John Vianney College Seminary in the Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis. St. Gregory the Great is now another option.

In the fall of 2024, Father Schilmoeller and other archdiocesan officials started more formal talks with officials from St. Gregory the Great.

From the perspective of the Archdiocese of Omaha leaders and the young men who visited with them, “across the board, we were impressed,” Father Schilmoeller said.

QUALITY FORMATION

“Firstly, we were impressed with the priests on staff and their attentiveness to the formation of each individual seminarian,” he said.

Father Brian Kane, rector at St. Gregory the Great, had worked at a major seminary for a number of years, so he knows seminary formation from beginning to end, Father Schilmoeller said.

The archdiocese vocations director said he was also impressed with Father Ben Holdren, who leads St. Gregory the Great seminarians in their first year of formation, called a propaedeutic, or preparatory, stage.

The formation during that initial year helps men transition from a life in the world into full seminary formation.

St. Gregory the Great is a fully accredited member of the Institution of the Higher Learning Commission, has been approved by Nebraska’s Coordinating Commission for Post-Secondary Education and is a member of the National Association of College Seminaries.

The seminary was established in 1984 by late Bishop Glennon P. Flavin of Lincoln, first as a two-year college program. Seminarians at that time lived at the Our Lady of Good Counsel Retreat House in Waverly and received religious formation there while attending classes at the University of Nebraska for secular subjects.

Under Bishop Fabian W. Bruskewitz, now retired, the Diocese of Lincoln purchased the Seward property. It opened its doors in 1998.

St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward. DIOCESE OF LINCOLN

STRENGTHENING RELATIONSHIPS

Both Father Schilmoeller and Father Kane said that having Archdiocese of Omaha seminarians at St. Gregory the Great will strengthen relationships between the two Nebraska dioceses and their priests.

“It’s a real opportunity for those relationships to be built early,” Father Kane said, “as young men are together here in the seminary.”

Increasingly, he said priests in Nebraska have had overlapping ministries.

“It’s also good just in general for a seminary to have a mix of different dioceses that come together,” he said, “because seminarians get to hear different experiences in different places of what parish life looks like and what diocesan ministry looks like.”

Other dioceses that send seminarians to St. Gregory the Great: the Diocese of Lincoln; Archdiocese of Denver; Diocese of Pueblo, Colorado; Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Missouri; Diocese of Fargo, North Dakota; and Diocese of Rapid City, South Dakota.

“It’s just a nice mix of men who we get to form,” Father Kane said, “and I think that really is a valuable part of our program.”

“The time they get to spend together here is something that’s really important to us,” he said. “I think a great description of a seminary is a series of important relationships, and that includes the relationships with each other.”

“It begins with the relationship that we’re trying to help foster the most, and that is being disciples of Jesus, then the relationship they build with all the people who are involved in formation, and the important relationships with each other.”

Visitors learn about seminary life. ST. GREGORY THE GREAT SEMINARY

St. Gregory the Great Seminary has furthered relationships across all three dioceses in the state, the rector said, especially in the seminary’s work to promote vocations.

 “We have a great relationship with the Diocese of Grand Island as well,” he said. “They bring high school students here to discern and to see what opportunities there are in seminary life.”

“We don’t have any seminarians here currently from Grand Island,” Father Kane noted, “but all those relationships, I think, are really important.”

‘JUST HOP DOWN INTERSTATE 80’

The nearness of St. Gregory the Great to the Archdiocese of Omaha is another benefit Fathers Kane and Schilmoeller see. From Omaha, the distance is about 75 miles.

 “When the guys from Omaha have been here, they really like the idea of being able to go home on Saturday, visit their family, visit their friends,” Father Kane said. “They get to stay connected in a much easier way when they’re closer to home.”

The nearness also will help Father Schilmoeller, he said, who “will be able to just hop down Interstate 80 and be here in an hour and visit with his guys who are here and see how they’re doing and be a connected part of the community here.”

Additionally, Father Kane said, the proximity to the archdiocese “opens up an opportunity for families to come visit, for school groups to come visit from the Archdiocese of Omaha, for pastors to bring groups from their parishes.”

Earlier this month, Father Schilmoeller led a group of about 17 men who are discerning a priestly vocation to a Come and See Weekend at St. Gregory the Great Seminary. The group, which consisted of high school and college students and college graduates, was among about 70 potential seminarians from a variety of dioceses to attend the March 14-16 event.

Accompanying the Omaha group were Father Schilmoeller; Father Taylor Leffler, associate pastor of parishes in Columbus, Duncan and Platte Center; and Father Brett Jamrog, associate pastor of Assumption-Guadalupe, Sts. Peter and Paul and St. Mary Parish in Omaha.

The weekend was a chance for young men to see what a seminary is like, to listen to testimonies from seminarians and ask questions.

Father Kane said he’s excited to help the Archdiocese of Omaha promote vocations and for the new partnership to help the archdiocese prepare men for the priesthood.

Young men participate in Come and See Weekend at the seminary. ST. GREGORY THE GREAT SEMINARY

ST. GREGORY THE GREAT SEMINARY

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