A Vocation to the Priesthood & Religious Life
Many are called,
but few are chosen
St. Matthew, 22:14
If you desire to be an instrument of Our Lord in His work for souls and His Church, we invite you to join our ranks.
Speak with the Director of VocationsThe Call
There has always been a great need for priests and brothers, but that need cannot be compared with the vocation crisis of our own day. The faithful from around the globe are calling out for someone to lead them to heaven — someone who is willing to spend himself for the glory of God, the preservation of the traditional liturgy, and the salvation of souls.
The Minor Seminary
We offer training for the holy priesthood and religious life not only for college-age young men, but now we have also begun a minor seminary program for high school students who wish to start their priestly formation early. Here they may complete their high school education, and at the same time be introduced to the practice of mental and liturgical prayer and the living of the priestly and religious life.
They will begin their training to become champions of the Faith and be among the happiest men on earth. In addition to their studies and spiritual life, the minor seminarians have ample time for visiting family, receiving visitors, and recreation. They will become members of our religious family.
An information sheet on the minor seminary, together with details of the Saint Dominic Savio Scholarship, is available on request — please contact the Director of Vocations.
The Mind of the Church
Sound studies are not always the only benefit to be drawn from minor seminaries, nor is this the main reason for their existence. Sound Christian pedagogy confirmed by long centuries of experience teaches that true personality, strong virtue, and profound convictions are not formed in a haphazard manner.
Life is too short, the years of adolescence and of youth are too delicate not to be in pressing need of guidance and protection. The young man who has at heart to become a priest must ripen in the climate most favorable to a lucid choice. The education of his still fragile will requires prudence and respect.
He will therefore find in the minor seminaries greatly experienced and solicitous counselors and teachers who will guide his step, stimulate his intelligence, and develop his generosity and the feeling of his responsibility in the proper functioning of the seminary.
If minor seminaries are so useful and beneficial, it is because their institution is based on a precise knowledge of the needs of the adolescent and Christian youth. Families can therefore rely on the wisdom of the Church to judge one’s aptitude for the priesthood and the means best suited to prepare for it.
The Catholic priesthood is truly one of the purest glories of the Church and one of the most striking marks of her holiness. She has therefore always given it her most solicitous care throughout the centuries.
Despite the weaknesses of human nature, she has maintained at a very high level its ideal of life, without sparing any effort to make her priests men of God and men of the Church, truly capable of taking charge of a part of the flock of Christ and of giving an account of it to God on the day of judgment. She has arranged their intellectual, moral, and pastoral formation in an always precise and demanding manner.
After ordering the erection of major seminaries in dioceses, she has then created special institutions meant for candidates to the ecclesiastical life. Far from having to repent such an institution, she congratulates herself for it when she witnesses the happy fruits borne by minor seminaries in the field of studies as well as in the formation of character.
Our Life
A traditional, semi-contemplative religious life — the life of prayer joined to the care of souls.
Servants of the Holy Family is a community of priests, seminarians, and brothers. The community joins the life of prayer — the “better part,” as Our Lord says to St. Martha in the Gospel of St. Luke — with the active life in the care of souls. Members follow the religious life by living in common under the authority of superiors. It is centered upon the traditional Latin Mass and Liturgy, and is endorsed by Catholic bishops worldwide.
The Religious Habit
The distinctive attire of the community is worn at all times as a reminder and as an expression to the members of their lofty vocation and obligations. The habit is black, signifying death to the world; each part of it carries a meaning of its own.
- The color black
- Death to the world.
- The tunic
- A reminder of charity.
- The shoulder cape
- A symbol of the pure prayer of the angels.
- The belt
- A recollection of the virtues of chastity and obedience.
- The Holy Rosary
- Attached to the belt, expressing the community’s special devotion to Our Lady and to this highly indulgenced sacramental.
- The cross
- Borne without the figure of Christ, it calls each religious to affix himself daily and generously in imitation of Our Lord.
- The St. Benedict medal
- A powerful sacramental of protection.
Qualifications for Admission
It is not a life for the faint of heart, but for those who have a burning desire to become holy and intrepid soldiers of Christ — for those who desire to offer the Mass, provide the Sacraments, and teach true doctrine in these times of so little faith. To enter you must have completed your schooling through age 14 and be in good health, and you should be possessed of…
- Zeal for the salvation and sanctification of souls, especially your own
- Love of Our Divine Lord and His Holy Mother
- Love of the Church and her liturgy
- Good moral character and piety
- Generosity and common sense
- A good sense of humor
The Path to Admission
Initial contact. Reach out to the Director of Vocations to begin the conversation.
Getting acquainted. Come to know the community and be known by it.
Formal application. Submit your application for admission.
Acceptance. Be received into the religious family of the Servants of the Holy Family.
The harvest indeed is great, but the labourers are few.
Answer the Call
Write to us. Come and see.
Reverend Director of Vocations
Servants of the Holy Family
8528 Kenosha DriveColorado Springs, Colorado
80908‑5000
- Telephone
- (719) 495‑3933
- E‑mail
- vocations@servi.org
- Fax
- Fax (719) 985‑4111
Women’s Vocations
For our sisters in faith who are interested in learning about women’s vocations, we warmly invite you to visit our adjoining Carmelite Convent to learn more.
Iesus · Maria · Ioseph