Study Program
The Ratio Fundamentalis points out: “intellectual formation is part of the integral formation of the priest. Moreover, it serves his pastoral ministry and has an impact upon his human and spiritual formation which draw rich nourishment from it. This means that the development of all the faculties and dimensions of the person including the rational dimension, through the vast array of acquired knowledge, contributes to the growth of the priest as the servant and witness of the Word in the Church and in the world. Far from being confined solely to the field of knowledge or being understood solely as a means of acquiring more information in the various disciplines, intellectual formation helps priests to listen profoundly to the Word and also to the ecclesial community in order to learn how to read the signs of the times (q. v. Ratio Fundamentalis Sacerdotalis 117, 2016).”
In view of the aforementioned, the Church Recognized Programs in Theology aims at the formation and education of men for the priestly ministry through a methodical and systematic understanding of the entire deposit of Catholic faith and worship and of the history and government of the Catholic Church. The student who has been infused with erudition on the Christian truths aided by his personal studies and research and enhanced by his pastoral skills may thus be able to convey convincingly the Christian truths and ideals in different contexts and to respond effectively to the changing times.
The Church Recognized Programs is a six-year certificate program. The first two years consist of the biennial philosophy which is taken previously from ecclesiastical faculties or approved institutions followed by three years in theology which constitute the academic formation then one-year pastoral or ministerial year. The study program of the three-year academic formation is divided into six semesters in which the student should pass the prescribed courses and four seminar courses which are taken during the second semester of the third year. Students have to take the oral and written comprehensive examinations at the end of the second semester of the third year.
Admission Requirements
Divine Word School of Theology accepts qualified students who desire to pursue their studies in theology for the priesthood. Admission to DWST requires the following:
- Two years Philosophy or its equivalent of 120 European Credit Transfer System [ECTS] (q. v. Instr. art 24). Official Transcript of Records of the last school attended with the remarks “for evaluation purposes”.
- The applicant must pass the entrance examination conducted by the Divine Word School of Theology and an interview with the members of the Committee on Admissions.
- Six credits of Latin.
- Letter of Recommendation from the Rector/Superior of the House of Formation/last school the applicant attended and not from the bishop.
- Students studying for the priesthood should belong to a formation house.
- Upon enrollment, the student must submit a transfer credential from the last school attended.
- DWST reserves the right to admit clerical students in the Ecclesiastical Program.