Dear Friends,
As we stand at the threshold of a new era in the life of the Church, I write to you with a heart full of gratitude and hope. These are dynamic and demanding times for the Catholic Church, and yet they are also rich with grace and possibility. Amidst the shifting currents of culture, the mission of forming holy, joyful and courageous priests is more vital than ever.
This spring and summer have brought us a powerful sign of providence and renewal in the election of Pope Leo XIV, whose name recalls the legacy of Pope Leo XIII, the great bridge-builder between the Church and the modern world who served at the turn of the 20th century. Leo XIII gave us the Novena to the Holy Spirit, which the Church still prays with eagerness each year between the solemnities of the Ascension of Our Lord and Pentecost Sunday. And his landmark social encyclical, Rerum Novarum, addressed the challenges of industrialization with a prophetic voice grounded in eternal truths. He called on the Church not to retreat from the world but to engage it with conviction. I anticipate that Leo XIV will do the same.
“Our seminarians are being prepared not for yesterday’s Church, but for tomorrow’s world marked by technological acceleration, social fragmentation and spiritual hunger. The call of the priest in such a world is not to nostalgia, but to mission.” — Fr. Joseph Taphorn, Saint Paul Seminary rector
At The Saint Paul Seminary, we are forming men to do just that: to stand in the heart of the Church while courageously engaging the world, empowered by the Holy Spirit. Our seminarians are being prepared not for yesterday’s Church, but for tomorrow’s world marked by technological acceleration, social fragmentation and spiritual hunger. The call of the priest in such a world is not to nostalgia, but to mission. It is a call to shepherd the faithful with compassion and conviction, to proclaim courageously Christ crucified and risen. This spring, we celebrated the ordination class of 2025, men who I am confident will witness to the Gospel with a joy that cannot be shaken and who will connect their future parishioners and the world to Christ.
In this work, our friends, benefactors, and prayerful companions are essential. Your generosity, prayers and partnership sustain the mission of The Saint Paul Seminary. You share in the formation of priests who will serve not only this generation but the generations to come. You are building up the Church’s future with every gift and every prayer.
Thank you for your faith, your friendship and your witness. Let us continue to walk this path together with courage, with joy and with great hope.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr. Joseph C. Taphorn, JCL
Rector