Arlington, Va. - The National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) provides leadership, direction and service to the teaching mission of the Church. To most people that means elementary and secondary education along with religious education in parishes. There is, however, another important NCEA responsibility — priestly formation.
The NCEA’s seminary department is responsible for the preparation of candidates for the priesthood. Msgr. Jeremiah McCarthy, in residence at St. Rita Church in Alexandria, has been the head of the department for nine months, continuing his career of service to seminary education.
Msgr. McCarthy was born in Fort Riley, Kan., the oldest of 11 children of Michael and Margaret McCarthy. His father was a World War II fighter pilot who retired from the U.S. Air Force in 1972 with the rank of brigadier general. The family was stationed in many different posts around the world, finally settling in Arizona.
Msgr. McCarthy graduated from Seton Catholic Preparatory High School in Chandler, Ariz. He considered a career in the Air Force, but due to the influence of his devout Catholic family, decided on the seminary. His parents honored priests and the family prayed together every night.
He entered St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, Calif., and was ordained in 1972 by Bishop Francis Green of Tucson, Ariz. After ordination, he served as a parish priest for two years at St. Ambrose Church in Tucson.
In 1974 he began four years of service as vocations director for the Tucson Diocese. It was an experience that brought the critical nature of priestly formation and its importance to the Church to the forefront for Msgr. McCarthy.
“(This was) a position that definitely influenced my subsequent lifelong involvement in priestly formation,” he said. “Forming good holy priests who love their people and who have the ability to collaborate and call forth the gifts of all the faithful is, I think, one of the most essential ministries in today’s Church.”
In 1985, Msgr. McCarthy earned a doctorate in moral theology from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Calif., and a licentiate in sacred theology from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley.
His dedication to priestly formation led to his return to St. John’s Seminary in 1983, where he served nearly 20 years as a professor of moral theology, academic dean and eventually rector/president.
In 2001, Msgr. McCarthy joined the staff of the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada as director of accreditation and institutional evaluation.
He returned to academia and priestly formation in 2009 when he accepted the position of professor of moral theology at St. Patrick’s Seminary and University in Menlo Park, Calif.
With the approval and support of Tucson Bishop Gerald Kicanas, he accepted the NCEA position in September 2010. He was now back in a position to directly influence the formation of priests.
The seminary department is involved in all programs that affect the preparation of candidates for the priesthood. These include high school- college- and graduate-level seminaries.
Msgr. McCarthy said that the seminary programs must fulfill the four pillars, or components, of priestly formation: intellectual, spiritual, human and pastoral.
The four pillars are detailed in the document that guides priestly formation in the United States — “The Program of Priestly Formation.”
The document was adapted from “Ratio fundamentalis institutionis sacerdotalis,” the normative guide for governing seminaries, developed in 1965 at the end of Second Vatican Council. The “The Program of Priestly Formation” is updated every five years and is in its fifth edition. The NCEA seminary department will be collaborating with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in consultation with seminaries to produce the sixth edition.
Msgr. McCarthy said the human component is the newest one and stresses maturity and interpersonal skills. To help with the pastoral component, the seminary department developed a DVD to train seminarians on how to better develop and deliver sermons.
Since Msgr. McCarthy’s arrival at NCEA, he has published, after a lapse of several years, the Seminary Journal. The journal is an important newsletter of opinion, research and process in the field of seminary education.
There are challenges facing Msgr. McCarthy as he guides the seminary department into the future. The Church is facing a shortage of priests and seminaries need continued financial support.
But Msgr. McCarthy is eager to continue to help guide the formation of priests. “(I’m looking forward to) the opportunity to work with seminary rectors, deans and faculty members,” he said. “They’re heroic in their work for priestly formation.”
He said the Church owes seminaries a great deal of gratitude for the work being done. “(The Church) should be proud of the work being done in the training of priests,” said Msgr. McCarthy.
He’s also thankful for the efforts of NCEA in their support of seminary education.
“NCEA serves Catholic education in an outstanding manner,” he said.
Msgr. McCarthy said that NCEA is committed to the seminary department and to help seminarians in their journey to the priesthood.
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