‘I am sure the Holy Spirit is working’

By Tom Tracy - Florida Catholic

Photography: Tom Tracy | FC

MIAMI | Not since 2013 has the Fall enrollment of new seminarians in Florida been so robust, according to Monsignor Pablo Navarro, the rector-president of St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami. 

“We were expecting 14 new seminarians for the propaedeutic year (the first year); instead, we have 25 coming in,” said Monsignor Navarro, who heads the minor seminary.

• Nine men ordained priests for the Archdiocese of Miami

“Thanks be to God, our entire number of seminarians for this year is 76, with 41 of them for the Archdiocese of Miami,” the priest added.

In the propaedeutic or preliminary stage of formation, the seminarians live in houses of prayer near the seminary while they build a foundation of prayer, study, and community before entering into the academic rigors of philosophical studies.

To accommodate the uptick in enrollment, staff and faculty at St. John Vianney were busy in mid-summer, making room for the future seminarians.

“We are now scrambling, and going out to purchase beds, dining tables and chairs,” said Monsignor Navarro. “This is a wonderful challenge and we are working hard and fast to assure that all is ready for their arrival (in August).”

Monsignor Navarro also passed the news along to the local Serra Club of Miami, part of an international support group working alongside local dioceses and encouraging and praying for priestly vocations.

St. John Vianney College Seminary is a fully bilingual program accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award baccalaureate and master’s degrees.

The seminary prepares future priests for not only the Miami area, but also for other Floridian dioceses and a few other dioceses outside the state. In general, students go on to study at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, a graduate school of theology in Boynton Beach, before ordination.

The strong enrollment numbers in Florida are reflected in national studies showing some encouraging trends, according to data published in the most recent (2025) edition of "The Official Catholic Directory." A total of 3,035 diocesan seminarians were preparing for priestly ordination in the Latin-rite dioceses of the United States, an increase of nearly 2% over the previous year, according to an analysis by Catholic World Report.

That magazine also noted that the dioceses with the highest number of seminarians in 2025 included Philadelphia (71), St. Paul and Minneapolis (64), New York (63), Boston (62), and Miami (61).

Speaking with the Florida Catholic in August, Msgr. Navarro said he was busy with student orientation week as seminarians, staff and volunteers scrambled to make adjustments for the Fall semester.

“Given the good news, this is a mixed blessing because we are scrambling to get to more ready. We are just about ready; we have a crew of our seminarians who came back to help out with deep cleaning,” he said, adding that he sees a positive uptick in priestly vocations over the last years.

He wondered if the increased interest in vocational discernment is partly a result of political and social upheaval and the uncertain times exacerbated by international conflicts and the controversy surrounding artificial intelligence.

“I don’t know if it is post-pandemic related or that we have so many uncertainties in the country. When you look at Church history, even beyond America, any time there were wars or calamities, there was an increase of vocations including in monasteries and nunneries,” Monsignor Navarro said.

“These candidates are good candidates and they still need some formation, but they have good hearts,” the priest said, adding that most will be studying to ultimately serve in the (arch)dioceses of Miami, St. Augustine, Venice, and Palm Beach, along with a few studying for Nassau in The Bahamas, and Richmond, Virginia.

For his part, Father Milton Martinez, Archdiocese of Miami vocations director, confirmed that Miami has a grand total of 66 seminarians throughout all stages of formation and at the two diocesan seminaries, but also including the Redemptoris Mater Seminary of Miami.

Opened in 2011, Redemptoris Mater is situated in Hialeah, adjacent to St. Cecilia Parish. It serves as a Florida-based international seminary for the Neocatechumenal Way under the auspices of the Archdiocese of Miami.

“I am sure the Holy Spirit is working because there is a lot of (vocations) interest from young men and even youngsters,” said Father Martinez, who speculated that the young papacy of Pope Leo XIV is showing an early impact on promoting vocations.

“I am hearing from some priests that it might be due to the influence of Pope Leo, and some have mentioned to me that the pope is inspiring the youth to look into vocations not only to the priesthood, but also to religious life and the deaconate,” he said. “From more experienced priests who have experienced different popes, that is one of the comments I am hearing.”

Monsignor Navarro agreed that the new pope may be having real impact on future vocations and that the Holy Father’s official visit to Spain in June demonstrated a renewed zeal among Catholic youth there.

In early August, Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski joined Father Martinez and seminarians for a weekend convocation experience to get to know each other and prepare them for the academic and formational years ahead.

They visited several parishes in the Miami area to expand their awareness of local diversity among Catholics. They also heard from Archbishop Wenski about some of the societal and moral challenges in Florida, including issues related to the death penalty and immigration policy.

•  We got to do what we can

At St. Hugh Parish in Coconut Grove, during a Saturday vigil Mass, the wider community had an opportunity to see some of their future priests during a regularly scheduled service.

“We opened up to the community so they can see the product of their prayers and of the assistance they give through the Seminary Burse Fund and the annual archdiocesan appeal,” Father Martinez said. “It is healthy for the community to see all these men in formation.”

To make a donation to the archdiocesan Seminary Burse Fund, please follow this link.

The new seminarian breakdown for St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami is:

• Forty-one men are studying for the Archdiocese of Miami
• Seventeen for the Diocese of St. Augustine
• Ten for the Diocese of Venice
• Three for the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia
• Two for the Diocese of Palm Beach
• Two for the Archdiocese of Nassau in The Bahamas
• One for the Diocese of Orlando