A. Admission Policy

The following are the requirements for admission into the Regional Seminary:

1. Completion of the Pre–Seminary Formation and presentation of the seminarian by the Director of the Pre–Seminary Formation Centre and its Assessment Team.
2. Five "CXC" level passes or the equivalent.
3. Proof of stability in employment.
4. Proof of active involvement in Church life over a period of years or involvement in community activity.
5. Recommendations of the Parish Priest, employers, and members of the Christian community.
6. Recommendations of the Parish Priest, employers, and members of the Christian community.
7. Psychological assessment by a competent person.
8. Presentation of certificates of baptism and confirmation.
9. Approval by the bishop.

B. Departure from Seminary

1. The Rector has the authority to dismiss a seminarian whom the Formation Team finds to be unsuitable.
2. The Rector has the authority to dismiss a seminarian who is in constant serious breach of Seminary rules.
3. The Rector has the authority to ask a seminarian to withdraw from the Seminary when he and the Formation Team are of the firm opinion that the seminarian does not have a vocation.

In all these cases consultation between the Rector and the Diocesan Bishop is necessary.

C. Rule of Life
Faith Community

The future of the Church depends on the spiritual formation of priests, and for them, personal growth and community life must go hand in hand. The people of God expect seminarians to be men of profound piety and positive maturity. Through devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, they should be enabled to grow on the very bread they are to break for their people. More and more they should come to understand not only that the Eucharist is the central act of divine worship for the mystical Body, but that authentic participation in the Eucharist, the sign and cause of unity, is the most vital source of nourishment and enrichment in Christian life.

Each seminarian is expected:

1. --To be aware of his responsibility to build a Christ-centered community by daily active participation in the Eucharistic celebration.
   --To cultivate reverence for the things of the altar and have a genuine respect for the liturgical directives through which the Church brings the redeeming presence of Christ to the world.
2. To participate in the Morning and Evening Prayer of the Church. From deaconate, the cleric is obliged to pray the whole Divine Office each day.
3. To frequent the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
4. To have a Confessor and a Spiritual Director, who could be one and the same person and who must be seen regularly. The Rector will present an approved list of Spiritual Directors from which each student may choose.
5. --To see private prayer within the context of an intimate relationship with God through Christ in the Spirit. Whereas this relationship can be lived out by faithfully fulfilling his daily duties, the deepening of the relationship requires that at least one hour be set aside each day for personal prayer. It is highly recommended that these specific periods of prayer be spent before the Blessed Sacrament.
   --To give some time, as part of his prayer life, to regular examination of conscience.
6. To nurture and support his spiritual life through an esteem for the devotions of the Catholic Church, both the traditional ones, such as the Way of the Cross and the Rosary, and others.
7. To give an honored place to the Virgin Mother of God in his personal devotional life, considering her unique role in the history of salvation and imitating her in her virtues and holiness, and her willingness to submit herself unreservedly to the will of God.
8. To be aware that closeness to Christ, the High Priest and Victim, and a true knowledge of self, are often revealed in moments of stress. He must have a realistic understanding of the fact that disappointments and hardships are inseparable components of everyday life. He must also have a sufficiently dedicated maturity to appreciate the mystery by which God strengthens his servants through suffering, and purifies by sorrow those who seek to come to him; to observe the times of silence in the Seminary. This facilitates prayer and study.

Evangelical Counsels

1. Celibacy is required for the priesthood by the Church of the Latin rite. The value of celibacy for the sake of the kingdom of heaven is highlighted in Mt. 19: 11-12 and Lk 18: 29–30. The priest's celibate love is a symbol of Christ's love for his Church through a relationship which is not exclusive, complementing married love which is the symbol of Christ and his Church through an intimate relationship between two individuals. The Church acknowledges the serious difficulties of living a celibate life and the struggles which may be experienced.
2. Seminarians must judge if they have the gift of celibacy, and before ordination to the deaconate give assurance to the Church that they are prepared to make a permanent commitment to a celibate life.

   The relationship between Jesus and his Father is the model for all Christians. This relationship was based upon living intimacy and marked by a spirit of obedience. "Son though he was, he learnt obedience from what he suffered (Heb 5:8, NAB). "Father ... not my will, but yours be done." (Lk 22:42, NAB). Intimacy with and obedience to the Father, therefore, are necessary for all who strive to be disciples of Jesus. During priestly ordination seminarians will promise obedience to their rightful ordinary. The practice of obedience must therefore be part of their life. The focus of those in authority and those who obey must always be the will of God.

3. While rejecting the idea of slavish obedience, and promoting the custom of dialogue and consensus building, and the habit of making their views known in a respectful manner, seminarians must give obedience to the decisions of the Rector and formation staff, the Dean of Studies, professors and the house rules of the Seminary.

   Following the example of Jesus, seminarians must develop a spirit of poverty. They must learn to live a simple life-style realizing that much of what they have comes from the sacrifices of others. Poverty means to share with others one's very self: all that one has and is, both as an individual and as a member of a community. The Seminary community must commit itself to some action as a sign of its serious commitment to the preferential option for the poor This will mean each member sharing himself with his poorest brothers and sisters. This regular contact with the poor is to be perceived as an opportunity for the continued evangelizations of the members of the community and the occasion for the enduring call to conversion which is a characteristic of priestly life. This will also ensure that the community and its members do not develop an elitist lifestyle.

4. Each seminarian receives a monthly allowance. Each seminarian is also expected to prepare an annual budget for himself. This budget is to be discussed within the first month of the Seminary year with the Rector or Vice-Rector, or Formation Team member appointed by the Rector.

Work Academic

1. Each seminarian must spend a minimum of four hours daily on academic work.
2. Seminarians are expected to attend all classes to which they are assigned and to complete all the requirements of these classes. Failure in this regard without prior permission of the Rector, Vice-Rector or Dean of Studies is a serious breach of Seminary discipline.
3. Seminarians are expected to attend all classes to which they are assigned and to complete all the requirements of these classes. Failure in this regard without prior permission of the Rector, Vice-Rector or Dean of Studies is a serious breach of Seminary discipline.