We want to give you a short explanation of the characteristics of our National Seminary Christ Priest (Cristo Sacerdote National Seminary)

The seminary is, in first place, an Institution of the church. We form the priests with the orientations of the church. They are expressed in the documents of the Magistery of the church concerning the formation of the priests

The basic purpose of our seminary is the formation of the pastor of the church. The configuration with Christ is the most important effort of the priests and of the seminarians.

The seminary was born like a service to the church in the formation of vocations of Adults (people that felt the vocational call in a grown age). However, today you could find people of diverse ages there (we have this year. In first of philosophy a 57 years old student, but we also have young student that will finish their process of formation at 24 years old). We thought, at this time, that the grown vocation is the mature vocation, solid, defined and resolved in order to follow Christ.

It is a National Seminary. It is not destined only to the formation of the seminarians of the diocese of Sonsón - Rionegro (our diocese), but rather the service of the formation of priests to much diocese from Colombia and also from other foreign countries (we have people from Peru, Ecuador, Panama, Guatemala, Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico and of approximately 35 diocese from Colombia).

This International character of our seminary makes us keep in mind the necessities, not only of the Colombian Church, but also of the Latin American Church and the universal one. For us, the formation is directed to the essential criteria for priests, so they could live their ministry in different atmospheres.

The seminary has always had a great number of seminarians. We have 260 students this year. This number of students is an advantage for the formation process. They can share their culture, their opinions, their pastoral actions, their hopes, their problems. We have tried to maintain a good spirit of life in community.

The majority of the students come from simple and poor families. They are people that have had to fight very strong in order to carry on their vocation. They bring a solid human formation from their families. The Colombian and Latin American families are very united, generous and hardworkers. This atmosphere helps to the seminarians to come to the seminary with the necessary readiness in order to assume the formative process with zeal and sacrifice.

From the same manner, the seminary attempts to maintain a spirit of austerity and poverty. This will help the seminarians to live in their priesthood, between the poverty of the brothers and sisters, the life of simplicity that is requested of a true priest.

We also want to state that the Seminary is sponsored by the help of generous people that aid for the growth of the vocations. In reality, we can not request the seminarians all the money that is needed in order to live in the seminary. Most of the money needed in our seminary comes from some foreign institutions. The seminarians, their families and their diocese contribute with a minimal part of the money.

Our process of formation is divided in two big parts: Philosophy, with a duration of 3 years and theology, with a duration of 4 years. · In this formative period, the bishops can request that their seminarians carry out one year of pastoral practice (year of pastoral formation) in any parish.

Today it is necessary in our process of formation to include one year, named "propedéutico". In this year we try to offer the necessary human and Christian basis in order to assume the process of formation toward priesthood.

It is also part of the identity of the seminary to keep the seminarians living in the institution, in community. The seminarians don't go to the university, all the activities are carried out within the house and the pastoral actions in the near towns. This is perfectly comprehensible if we keep in mind that the seminarians come from very distant places and they can't go weekly to their houses