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Hispanic Formation Program Tracks
Saint Meinrad School of Theology is committed to enhancing its program for Hispanic students, as it continues to integrate the Hispanic perspective more fully into the curriculum. The Program for Formation in Hispanic Ministry offers three tracks to provide formation for bilingual, bicultural ministers for the Church.
For Hispanic Students
At Saint Meinrad School of Theology, liturgies and activities help Hispanic students become integrated in the life of the seminary community as well as the life of the wider Church. Morning Prayer and Mass are celebrated in Spanish weekly, and other liturgies incorporate bilingual elements.
Support for Hispanic seminarians includes a commitment to providing spiritual directors and confessors fluent in Spanish, and a faculty and library that offer resources, whenever possible, in Spanish. The Mader Center, an on-campus resource to assist students with English-language skills, offers an English as a Second Language program, overseen by a director and a staff of volunteers, to assist in tutoring.
For Non-Hispanic Students
Non-Spanish-speaking students will be prepared to minister in Spanish and to the various cultures within the Latino community. Saint Meinrad's Hispanic ministry formation program offers two tracks that seminarians can pursue: a literate track and a conversant track.
In the literate track, students will be prepared to read Spanish and work with liturgical guides in their ministry. Meanwhile, the conversant track strives to provide better linguistic command so the future priest can write and converse in Spanish and more fully minister to the Spanish-speaking members of his parish community.
Immersion Opportunities
Saint Meinrad School of Theology offers credit for Spanish-language immersion at two schools, one in Mexico and the other in Guatemala. The Director of Formation for Hispanic Ministry can provide further information. The director conducts group orientation sessions before departing and debriefing sessions upon return.
Immersion is typically taken during the summer. Suggested scheduling includes five weeks of intensive class, followed by a week or two of vacation in the host country, and then five more weeks of intensive class. This schedule should prepare students for advanced Spanish at Saint Meinrad upon returning.
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