'Formation begins in a home': Phoenix Diocese establishes Arizona's first full-fledged seminary

A Scottsdale home’s small chapel recently gathered its eight male residents as they recited hymns before a crucifix hanging on a blue and gold mosaic wall.

On a still and silent day during wintertime two years ago, one of these young men was swept by a peaceful and inviting feeling to commit himself to God and his community by joining this group and preparing for the priesthood.

"I realized I'm gonna always regret this if I don't give this a shot," said Justin Sand, a former Phoenix-area school basketball coach, in an interview with The Arizona Republic about his decision to become a priest. "It was just a sense in my heart."

Now, the 28-year-old is one of nine seminarians who will journey through their several-year path toward priestly ordination within the newly established Nazareth Seminary — Arizona’s first-ever full-fledged seminary. Before, seminarians of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix would need to complete their studies more than 800 miles away at St. John Vianney Seminary in Denver.

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With an expected June 2030 graduation, the Nazareth Seminary’s first class is currently studying and residing at Our Lady of Perpetual Help House in the parish of the same name in southern Scottsdale.

The move to a complete seminary in the Valley began in 2019 when the Phoenix diocese’s then-bishop, Thomas J. Olmsted, launched the two-year college-level Nazareth House near Interstate 17 and West Indian School Road, where seminarians earn an associate degree through Phoenix College. Bishop John Dolan is now continuing his predecessor's goal.

Around 45 seminarians are part of the Phoenix diocese, whose more than 100 parishes often require more than one priest in a region serving 1.7 million Catholics.

"Our goal is to pay attention to our own seminarians who will be serving here. So, they'll have a chance to look at us as they're going through their formation years, and we'll have a good chance to look at them," Dolan told The Republic. "It's in our interest to have a seminary that will help to increase the number of vocations to help cover our parishes in the future."

Closer to community, family

The Nazareth Seminary will have an intimate house model based on the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ guide for seminaries and priestly vocation programs. This same model upholds a family-like structure. As such, the seminary borrows its moniker from the hometown of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

"Formation begins in a home and not in an institution," Dolan said.

He explained an Arizona seminary for Arizonans is meant to help retain more priests but also help alleviate separation anxiety many Latino, Filipino and Vietnamese parents face when their children move afar for studies.

The third seminarian site, St. Mary’s House, will inculcate philosophy for 20 resident students and is slated to open in August 2024 at the recently vacated friary adjacent to the basilica in downtown Phoenix. Seminarians will study at St. Mary’s College at Arizona State University in Tempe during this phase. Dolan assured this proximity to downtown, as well as to ASU’s downtown and main campuses, will allow the seminarians to better engage with the communities they will eventually serve.

The co-ed life this house will provide seminarians is much like what the bishop experienced as a seminarian at the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego.

"While I lived with seminarians, I connected with our co-ed environment at the University of San Diego. I found that to be very fruitful. I found it to be much more realistic," Dolan said.

A final site, the St. Joseph House, will open three years from now, likely on the diocesan grounds downtown, and will revolve around theology studies.

A sense of brotherhood

The Rev. Paul Sullivan will serve as rector for the Nazareth Seminary and will head up a team of pastors to guide the seminarians.

"Our hope is to help them to grow and with great freedom consider whether this is their path in life from God," Sullivan said, adding the seminary’s home model is "academics in the midst of a culture and a believing community."

That very sense of community is what Sand and the other seminarians in Scottsdale are delving into as they volunteer for local charities on the weekends. As the men grow their relationship with the divine, they go through a media fasting that includes cell phone use limited to once a week and on a basic function device — a "dumb phone," as one seminarian described it.

Between prayers and deepening their understanding of the Bible under the tutelage of the Rev. Will Schmid, the seminarians also forge a fraternity amongst each other.

They cook meals together, share responsibilities in the upkeep of the home and trek through Scottsdale’s Indian Bend Wash Greenbelt gearing up for a spring walking tour of the five California missions between San Diego and the Los Angeles area.

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They also get to take in intellectual indulgence every Wednesday night by watching a movie with some special significance, like director Alfonso Cuarón’s 2013 film "Gravity," Schmid mentioned. And just for fun, they recently went to Chase Field to watch the Diamondbacks.

Knowing he wanted to be a priest since kindergarten, this is 24-year-old Arrowhead-area native Jacob Barnett’s third year as a seminarian. He continues being awed through the seminary life.

"It's just so incredible to see all these different guys coming together, and all for the purpose of loving God. And you just get to experience it every day," Barnett said.

Reach breaking news reporter Jose R. Gonzalez at jose.gonzalez@gannett.com or on X, formerly Twitter @jrgzztx.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Diocese establishes Arizona's first-ever seminary