Cleveland Makes Old Things New: Changes to Priestly Formation and Ministry Preparation, 1953-2020

In 1953, Archbishop Edward F. Hoban established Borromeo Seminary, which allowed the Diocese of Cleveland to control all facets of its priestly formation program. Students would move from Borromeo to Saint Mary Seminary and on to ordination. At the height of their enrollment, the seminaries were educating more students than there were priests ministering in the diocese. However, declining numbers through the 1970s and 1980s forced the diocese to reconsider the costs and benefit of maintaining two campuses. When Bishop Anthony Pilla contracted a consulting firm to conduct a feasibility study, the firm recommended closure of both facilities and moving the entire priestly formation program to Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit. Although this proposal was rejected, it forced the Presbyteral Council of the diocese to determine how to keep both programs at home. The result was a new model for ministry training that was more resilient and responsive to the needs of the local church.