 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 Original Website About Notre Dame Library Academic/Registrar Spiritual Pastoral Prospective Students Contact Us Online Resources Giving
|
 |
|
Hispanic Studies Program
One of the special features of the program of priestly formation at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans is the Hispanic Studies Program. This program is designed to prepare seminarians to minister to the growing Hispanic communities in the United States. Notre Dame Seminary offers a comprehensive approach to Hispanic ministry, including the study of language, culture, theology from a Hispanic perspective, celebration of the sacraments, and homiletics training. In addition to this, we offer a four-weeks immersion program during the summer, in a faith-conducive context developed for seminarians, priests, and religious. This program includes prayer, daily mass, and pastoral opportunities.
Our Spanish teachers are certified by the State of Louisiana to teach the language at a college and graduate level. They are also practicing Catholics and knowledgeable of the Church’s teachings and traditions.
1) Homiletics Practicum (3rd Year Theology) 2) Liturgy and the Celebration of the Sacraments (3rd Year Theology) 3) Eucharist and Penance Practicum (4th Year Theology) The total number of credit hours in the program is fifteen (15), eight (8) of which can be counted as part of the normal Master of Divinity degree, while the other seven (7) are over and above the required hours for the degree. These seven (7) credit hours typically include four (4) credit hours of language, and three (3) credit hours as part of the sacramental and homiletics components. 
Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, Louisiana, also offers a great setting to practice the Spanish language. Historically New Orleans has always been a center of Hispanic culture in the country, in part due to its historical connection with Spain, and also due to its connections with Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Notre Dame Seminary offers Mass in Spanish twice a month so that the seminarians can familiarize themselves with the Roman Missal in Spanish, and also learn Spanish hymns and other traditions. The Pastoral Department also helps with placing students interested in ministering to Hispanics, in parishes and pastoral settings where they can develop those skills. Upon completion of the program, Notre Dame Seminary will award a certificate in the Hispanic Studies Program. Seminarians completing the program will be recognized during the commencement ceremony. Several of our graduates have completed the program and are currently ministering to Hispanic communities in their dioceses. Many bishops have required this program for all their seminarians, while others have made it a matter of personal choice. This program is designed for seminarians that are beginning their first year of theological studies. Students beginning the program in their second year of theology would still have sufficient time to complete the program. Those students in philosophy would have the best possibility of having ample time to complete the program, and also securing the most opportunities of combining the program with pastoral experience.
 |
The
language component of the program offers a fulltime Spanish teacher and a
tutor for those students who would like to dedicate extra time to the learning
of the language while working on specific skills.
The
language component is meant to familiarize the seminarian with many traditional
prayers and texts that will be necessary for priestly ministry in the Catholic
Church.
The
course component of the program includes a basic pastoral course on Hispanic
ministry, and an elective in a theological field from a Hispanic perspective,
for a total of four (4) credit hours.