Sister Katarina Schuth, OSF, has worked with seminary leaders and seminarians for nearly 40 years, published books and articles about them, and seen many changes in approaches to formation for their ministry.
She advocates for more attention to seminarians’ work outside the four walls of churches. Citing Pope Francis’ call that priests be shepherds who “smell” like their sheep, she said that seminarians are learning to better understand who their parishioners are and how the Church functions in everyday life. They are getting to know parishioners on the streets, in their homes and in informal settings. They are engaging more fully with people in their joys and struggles — from baptisms and parish celebrations to job loss and family problems.
In these encounters, seminarians are partnering more with women, who are natural teachers in understanding people’s personal issues and treating them with respect.
“We are teaching seminarians to be good collaborators with women,” she said.
She noted Catholic Extension Society’s U.S.-Latin America Sisters Exchange Program as a good example. “This initiative is a great way for men who are preparing for priesthood to learn from others how to work in Hispanic ministries, as they too will serve these populations,” she said.
More women religious and lay women are becoming leaders in the Church. “Women now have many essential positions in the Church,” she said.
“Lay women, especially, have taken an important place not only in parishes, but in about half of U.S. dioceses, women have major leadership roles. Thus, during parish internships, a seminarian may experience a woman as a supervisor.”
Sister Schuth is a member of Catholic Extension Society’s mission committee to advise on strategies and projects. In 2015 she took part in a Catholic Extension Society pilgrimage to Rome. As the group waited to take a photo at the bottom of the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica, they received a surprise visit from Pope Francis. He stopped in front of her to express his gratitude for her work, asked her to bring thanks to all the sisters in the U.S., and then requested her prayers for him. “It was a blessed moment, an amazing encounter that points to the possibility of great things for the future of our Church,” she said.
Read more about Sister Katarina Schuth’s mission in her own words in her article “How Seminaries Today Strive to Realize Pope Francis’ Vision.”
