By John Rohlf, The Message assistant editor
First-year diocesan seminarians now get “a much better sense of what our diocese is” by completing their propaedeutic stage of seminary formation at the Diocese of Evansville’s House of Formation, Father Tyler Tenbarge said.
Starting in 2023, the Diocese of Evansville has housed first-year seminarians at the House of Formation. The current House of Discernment building was used as the House of Formation until the current building was available, both of which are on the Sacred Heart campus in Evansville. The current House of Formation is the old convent on the Sacred Heart campus. The House of Discernment is the old rectory.
Over the past two years, the diocese has had a combined nine men in the House of Formation, including four this year. The first-year seminarians are getting their propaedeutic stage of seminary formation completed at the House of Formation. It allows them to grow as men and as Christians prior to the rigors and demands of growing a student of philosophy and growing as a minister in a parish, Diocesan Director of Vocations Father Tyler Tenbarge said.
“They still get a taste of education and of parish ministry, but the primary focuses are who are you as a person and are you who you need to be,” Father Tenbarge said. “And who are you as a Christian and are you where the Lord wants you to be or the Church needs you to be? So we do lots of things that are like the spiritual and human sides of formation instead of the intellectual and ministerial or pastoral.”
Jeff Helfrich, whose home parish is St. Philip Parish in Posey County, is one of four men currently in first-year seminary at the House of Formation. Landon Mayer, Sam Naas and Austin Wolf are also first-year diocesan seminarians.
After attending Purdue University and joining the U.S. Army, Helfrich is back in the diocese and in first-year seminary formation at the House of Formation. Helfrich said with being out of the diocese for so long, having the propaedeutic year in the heart of the diocese has been extremely beneficial. He is assigned to a parish, where he goes multiple days per week. On the weekends, first-year seminarians go to different parishes in the diocese, Helfrich said.
“If I was away at seminary, sure, I may be forced to study more or there may be slight differences, but really the important part about being a priest is being a priest for the people,” Helfrich said. “And so that’s really what this first year is about is getting to know the people of the diocese.”
Mayer, whose home parish is Sts. Peter and Paul Parish in Haubstadt, is living in the House of Formation after discerning in the House of Discernment last school year. He said it is a step up going to first-year seminary in the House of Formation. He is now officially a seminarian in the diocese and officially associated with the diocese, he said.
“The biggest benefit is not working full time,” Mayer said. “Being able to be involved with youth ministries in the diocese and around Evansville. Being able to be placed in a parish to get to know a parish and be able to serve under our parish pastor … But then also get to live with Father Tyler and the other guys who are going through a similar stage.”
In the propaedeutic stage now being housed in the diocese, the first-year seminarians get to meet all of the priests of the diocese, Bishop Joseph M. Siegel and the people who will either be their coworkers or parishioners, Father Tenbarge said.
“By being here, they get a much better sense of what our diocese is,” Father Tenbarge said. “And they can say I really think I do fit and I am called to these people before going off to Indianapolis or St. Louis or St. Meinrad to start their studies and then only coming home sometimes. It bears great fruit in creating a culture of vocations because people are seeing the guys more often and are more invested in their future as their future pastors.”
Father Tenbarge said with the men in the House of Formation being seminarians, they start applying in the winter before the August in which they would start in the house. They do a full seminary application.
“We really want to know who we’re getting because the diocese is investing in him spiritually and monetarily and time,” Father Tenbarge said.