Fr. Marsel Rante Taruk, SX
First of all, I have to say that it is a privilege for me to have the chance to attend courses at St. Peter Favre Centre this academic year. This centre is an interdisciplinary academic unit, founded in 1996, with the particular purpose of preparing formators for diocesan seminaries and for the houses of formation of religious institutes and of consecrated life. It is an academic unit of the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
The centre indeed offers its students a deep, well-structured and integral preparation for responding to the challenges of our Church today, especially in the field of vocational animation and formation. I find it very interesting that the centre develops an interdisciplinary and dialogical model of formation between theological reflection, spirituality, psychology and human sciences; courses and seminars, visits in situ and exchanges in small work-groups (divided according to the language spoken: English, Italian, Spanish); some thematic workshops favour a preparation both theoretical and practical for the role of the formator.
There are 45 students in the first year batch of 2015/2016 academic year; diocesan priests, priests and sisters of different religious congregations or communities. It is Interesting to notice that we come from different parts of the world (from countries of Africa, Asia, North and South America, and Solomon Islands). The composition of our batch is indeed a very enriching and challenging reality in terms of building an academic and friendship community. Beside the intellectual formation, the centre also offers us the possibility to deepen the knowledge of oneself through psychological examination and personal evaluation. Indeed there is a strong encouragement to avail ourselves of personal accompaniment, spiritual direction, dialogues on vocational growth, and group dynamics. I realize that this dimension of formation is not just meant to fill the numbers of credit we have to take for the whole year, but it is rather a formative moment that helps us to know ourselves better and be personally converted, so that as a person consecrated to priesthood and religious life and to the task of ‘future formators’, we may arrive at a genuine synthesis and a true personal integration.
First of all, I have to say that it is a privilege for me to have the chance to attend courses at St. Peter Favre Centre this academic year. This centre is an interdisciplinary academic unit, founded in 1996, with the particular purpose of preparing formators for diocesan seminaries and for the houses of formation of religious institutes and of consecrated life. It is an academic unit of the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
The centre indeed offers its students a deep, well-structured and integral preparation for responding to the challenges of our Church today, especially in the field of vocational animation and formation. I find it very interesting that the centre develops an interdisciplinary and dialogical model of formation between theological reflection, spirituality, psychology and human sciences; courses and seminars, visits in situ and exchanges in small work-groups (divided according to the language spoken: English, Italian, Spanish); some thematic workshops favour a preparation both theoretical and practical for the role of the formator.
There are 45 students in the first year batch of 2015/2016 academic year; diocesan priests, priests and sisters of different religious congregations or communities. It is Interesting to notice that we come from different parts of the world (from countries of Africa, Asia, North and South America, and Solomon Islands). The composition of our batch is indeed a very enriching and challenging reality in terms of building an academic and friendship community. Beside the intellectual formation, the centre also offers us the possibility to deepen the knowledge of oneself through psychological examination and personal evaluation. Indeed there is a strong encouragement to avail ourselves of personal accompaniment, spiritual direction, dialogues on vocational growth, and group dynamics. I realize that this dimension of formation is not just meant to fill the numbers of credit we have to take for the whole year, but it is rather a formative moment that helps us to know ourselves better and be personally converted, so that as a person consecrated to priesthood and religious life and to the task of ‘future formators’, we may arrive at a genuine synthesis and a true personal integration.