Scranton bishop reopens St. Pius X Seminary in his hometown

The Diocese of Scranton, Pennsylvania, has re-established Saint Pius X Seminary in a newly renovated downtown building, more than two decades after the original seminary closed, welcoming four seminarians to the first stage of priestly formation under a bishop who once walked the same path himself.

Bishop Joseph Bambera entered the original Saint Pius X Seminary in Dalton, Pennsylvania, as a seminarian 48 years ago. On Aug. 23, he celebrated the new seminary's opening Mass, welcoming its first class in the former Cathedral Convent building at 333 Wyoming Avenue. "What an incredible gift this is," Bishop Bambera said, according to the Diocese of Scranton.

The renovated building sits across from the Diocesan Pastoral Center and near the Cathedral of Saint Peter in downtown Scranton. It includes individual bedrooms for seminarians, common areas meant to foster fraternity, a dining area and kitchen, space for priests in residence, and a chapel for Mass, eucharistic adoration and the Liturgy of the Hours.

Four men make up the seminary's first class: Kenneth Francis of Nativity of Our Lord Parish in Duryea, Matthew Kelly of Saint Gregory Parish in Clarks Green, Zachariah Levin of Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish in Brodheadsville, and Stephen Chronowski of Saints Peter and Paul Parish in Plains. 

Francis said being able to begin formation close to home offers an important witness to others. “It’s a nice example for other people, to show them that the Church is growing and there are young men willing to enter formation and hopefully one day become priests,” he commented in a YouTube video published by the diocese.

The four seminarians are beginning what the Church calls the Propaedeutic Stage, an initial period of formation focused on building habits of prayer, adjusting to community life and deepening their understanding of the faith before moving on to studying philosophy and theology. The seminarians will also take coursework at the University of Scranton.

The diocese decided to reestablish the seminary locally in response to new Vatican guidelines for priestly formation and Bishop Bambera's own interest in keeping seminarians closer to the diocese and the people they may eventually serve as priests. The Rev. Alex Roche, the diocese's secretary for clergy formation and the new seminary's rector, said the reopening reflects a broader increase in vocations both nationally and within the diocese.

The original Saint Pius X Seminary operated in Dalton from 1962 until it closed in 2004. Bishop Bambera marked that history during the opening Mass by wearing two symbolic items: the episcopal cross once belonging to Bishop William O'Hara, the first bishop of Scranton, and his own episcopal ring, previously worn by Bishop Jerome Hannan, who established the original seminary six decades ago.