Archbishopric in Germany opens a new seminar model where women will also live

The Archbishopric of Paderborn in Germany inaugurates this weekend a new training project: in the so -called Leocampus, the candidates for the priesthood will be able to live in the future with students of theology, men and women, and with young adults who are pursuing a year of Christian guidance.

Those responsible present the model in response to the decrease in the number of vocations.

In the traditional Leokonvikt, founded in 1895 in memory of Pope Leo XIII, more than 150 students who prepared for the priesthood lived before. Today, the Paderborn Seminary community only has 13 candidates for the priesthood.

Stefan Kendzorra, director of the seminar, spoke with Vatican News about the difficulties of forming his own community with such a small number of people.

The new campus has capacity for a total of 16 residents. Eight rooms are intended for the year of guidance, six of which are currently occupied.

The concept of “laboratory”

Kendzorra describes Vatican News the model as a kind of “laboratory” in which seminarians, theology students and participants in the orientation year already gather during their training and prove together new forms of pastoral work.

According to those responsible, the project is based on the Vatican guidelines for the 2016 priestly training, the The fundamental system. At the same time, it emphasizes that other elements have been deliberately incorporated.

In the implementation, various ecclesiastical and scientific institutions participate, including the Faculty of theology of Paderborn, the Catholic University, the Catholic University Community and the Adam Möhler Institute for Ecumenism.

Part of a broader trend

There are already similar models of coexistence in other German dioceses, such as in Münster, where since 2021 students from different disciplines with seminarians coexist. There is also trying to respond to the decrease in the number of candidates for the priesthood with new forms of coexistence.

The descent is evident throughout the country: in 2024, less than 50 men were ordered priests throughout Germany, an unprecedented figure. Several dioceses have closed or merged their seminars.

Translated and adapted by the ACI Press team. Originally published in CNA German