Just as the apostles went to the ends of the earth to preach the Gospel, the St. John Vianney Theological Seminary Lay Division is going international! The announcement was made last month on the ministry’s Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts. Followers were invited to “tell all your family and friends – anybody, anywhere in the world, can take classes online with us!” For decades, the Lay Division has offered courses through the Biblical and Catechetical Schools, as well as various enrichment courses on several topics, from the saints and saints-to-be to different forms of prayer to the arts. Though most of their classes have been in person in the Denver metro area, the Lay Division has made a concerted effort in recent years to expand its offerings to more communities across the archdiocese and beyond. “It’s a fact of life that we live in a digital world,” Daniel Campbell, director of the St. John Vianney Theological Seminary Lay Division, told the Denver Catholic, pointing to the benefit of online learning. In short, if people are online, then the Gospel should be preached there, and there is great potential for preaching and teaching through digital means. The formation for evangelization provided by the Lay Division is vital for that effort on and offline. This expansion offers faithful worldwide new access to a program through which they will be equipped for mission, no matter where they are. “This is a wonderful opportunity for us not only to expand but also to fill that need that’s out there for formation in Christ,” Campbell said in a video posted to social media explaining the expansion. “You guys know how important it is to know the Lord in order to better love him, and in knowing him and loving him to better serve him, to better share him with all the people in your lives. We want to take these beautiful gifts that we have here in the Archdiocese of Denver that have so faithfully served the local community for decades now and, living in a digital world and with online classes, serve that need for formation in Christ with these very unique programs.” “There’s nothing quite like what we offer here in the Archdiocese of Denver,” he said of those unique programs, pointing to the organization’s fidelity to Church teaching while also offering “robust theology and philosophy in a way that’s so practical and so concretely applied to your lives.” People worldwide have certainly taken notice of the Lay Division’s courses. Over the last few summers, over 100 priests and seminarians from the Diocese of Soroti, Uganda, have participated in several enrichment and short courses.
Though the Lay Division has offered online classes recently, Campbell hopes that the international expansion will allow more faithful to come to know, love and serve the Lord.
“We are blessed with these programs of formation in the Archdiocese of Denver and now have a real opportunity to meet the hunger of people to know their faith,” Campbell concluded. “We will not love what we do not know, and we will not share what we do not love. So offering this vital formation in Christ is a part of our work of evangelization in bringing people to know, love and share their faith.”
Here in the Archdiocese of Denver, the St. John Vianney Theological Seminary Lay Division will continue to offer in-person learning opportunities at various parishes throughout northern Colorado. In fact, this year, the organization is offering the most in-person courses it ever has.
Colorado faithful are invited to pray for the success of the Lay Division’s ministry to form and equip leaders for mission, and to spread the word about the expansion, inviting friends, families and neighbors to come to know Jesus better so as to better love and serve him.
For more information about the St. John Vianney Theological Seminary Lay Division, and to register for their upcoming summer and year-long courses, visit their website here.
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