Saint John Vianney College Seminary Chapel

About Saint John Vianney College Seminary

Saint John Vianney College Seminary (SJV) is the largest college seminary in the United States, representing 18 dioceses throughout the nation with more than 100 undergraduate men in formation annually. Established in 1968, SJV nurtures the seeds of a priestly vocation, preparing young men for major seminary through integral formation and discipleship in Christian character, a traditional Catholic program of spiritual growth, and a formative liberal arts education. More than 750 of the seminary's alumni are serving as ordained priests today, with many more serving as lay leaders in their communities and parishes throughout the world.

History of the Seminary

Saint John Vianney College Seminary was founded in 1968 as the successor to Nazareth Hall Preparatory Seminary (1923–1970), the high-school and early-college seminary of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis on the Lake Johanna property in Arden Hills. After the Second Vatican Council and falling enrollment, the '4-4-4' plan (Nazareth Hall, College of St. Thomas, and Saint Paul Seminary) was replaced by a stand-alone college seminary at the University of St. Thomas. The first SJV seminarians lived in Loras Hall and Cretin Hall next to Saint Paul Seminary, then moved to Brady Hall on the St. Thomas North Campus in 1972. In January 1982, Archbishop John Roach (himself a former SJV rector) and rector Msgr. Richard Pates broke ground on a dedicated SJV building, completed later that year on the northeast corner of campus, which included a simple chapel on the first floor. Under Fr. Bill Baer's tenure starting in 1999, enrollment reached an all-time high, and by 2013 SJV had grown to more than 130 seminarians from 27 sponsoring dioceses — roughly 10% of all U.S. college seminarians. The seminary celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2018–2019 around the themes of faith, formation, fraternity, discernment and fidelity.

• 1968 — Seminary founded; seminarians move from South Campus to Brady Hall
• 1970 — Nazareth Hall closes; its collegiate role transfers to SJV
• 1982 — Ground broken on dedicated SJV building; new building completed with first chapel
• 1999 — Enrollment reaches all-time high under Fr. Bill Baer
• 2013 — Largest college seminary in the U.S., with 130+ seminarians from 27 dioceses
• 2018–2019 — 50th anniversary celebration
• 2019 — Propaedeutic Stage implemented per Program for Priestly Formation (6th Edition)
• 2020 — Fr. Jonathan Kelly appointed 9th rector
• 2023 — New 20,000 sq. ft. addition and chapel dedicated by Archbishop Hebda on April 20

The Chapel of Saint John Vianney

The chapel is the keystone of a 20,000-square-foot building addition completed in 2023 and dedicated by Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda on April 20, 2023. At the dedication, the archbishop said the chapel 'speaks about a generous response' to God's call, acknowledging the many benefactors who contributed to the $10 million project. The space is filled with natural materials — wood and Minnesota limestone (the altar stone was originally quarried in Minnesota and finished in Mankato) — and is lit by large windows that flood the interior with daylight. Artwork and iconography by local iconographer Nicholas Markell, along with architecture by Finn Daniels Architects and design consultation by the Studio of Liturgical Design and Consulting, give the chapel what Fr. Kelly calls 'a sense of the divine.' Craftspeople contributed more than 150,000 hours of work to the project.

• Tabernacle housing the Eucharist at the center of the chapel
• Altar with Lamb of God mosaic and a first-class relic of St. John Vianney
• Leather scroll listing every benefactor sealed inside the altar
• Loaves-and-fishes mosaic set into the floor at the Communion station
• Statues of St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary moved from Nazareth Hall
• Large crucifix beam with Latin inscription from Mark 1:11
• Annunciation mural as the final image seen on exiting the chapel

Rector and Staff

The Very Rev. Jonathan Kelly, M.Div., has served as the ninth rector of Saint John Vianney College Seminary since his appointment by Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda in January 2021. A priest of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis and a member of the priestly fraternity the Companions of Christ, Fr. Kelly was ordained in 2011, served as associate pastor of All Saints in Lakeville, Minnesota (2011–2014), and then joined SJV as a formator and spiritual director while also teaching as an Adjunct Professor of Theology at the University of St. Thomas. He serves as a spiritual director and adjunct faculty member for the Institute for Priestly Formation in Omaha, Nebraska, and currently serves as President of the National Association of College Seminaries.

• Executive Assistant to the Rector: Savannah Siegler — 651-358-3341

Rector Succession

Saint John Vianney College Seminary has had nine rectors since its founding in 1968, including two who went on to serve as bishops (Richard Pates, Bishop Emeritus of Des Moines, and Peter F. Christensen, Bishop of Boise) and its founding rector, John Roach, who became Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

• Bishop John Roach (1968–1971)
• Fr. Kenneth J. Pierre (1971–1981)
• Bishop Richard Pates (1981–1987)
• Fr. Kevin McDonough (1987–1990)
• Fr. Dale J. Korogi (1990–1992)
• Bishop Peter F. Christensen (1992–1999)
• Fr. William J. Baer (1999–2010)
• Fr. Michael Becker (2010–2020)
• Fr. Jonathan Kelly (2020–present)

Last Chance Mass (Public Sunday Apostolate)

Last Chance Mass (LCM) is one of SJV's signature apostolates to the University of St. Thomas and the surrounding Twin Cities community. The latest Sunday Mass on campus begins at 9:00 PM in SJV's chapel during the academic year. Confessions are heard beginning at 8:30 PM, and snacks are available immediately following Holy Mass. Last Chance Mass is not held on Sundays before classes resume following a university holiday or break.

• Sunday: 8:30 PM — Confessions begin
• Sunday: 9:00 PM — Holy Mass
• Immediately after Mass: snacks and fellowship
• Contact: Savannah Siegler, Executive Assistant to the Rector, 651-358-3341

Spiritual Formation and Daily Liturgical Life

Spiritual formation lies at the heart of seminary life at SJV. Each day includes the Angelus, the Liturgy of the Hours, and the Liturgy of the Eucharist, with Confessions available daily and a weekly Holy Hour of Eucharistic Adoration. Sunday evenings include a communal Rosary, and processions are held to mark the seasons of the Church calendar. The chapel is intended to be a place where the seminarians can be 'truly authentic … before God,' as rector Fr. Jonathan Kelly put it at the dedication — a place to 'hear God's voice and be strengthened to say yes to his call.'

• Daily Angelus, Liturgy of the Hours, and Liturgy of the Eucharist
• Daily availability of Confession
• Weekly Holy Hour with Eucharistic Adoration
• Communal Rosary on Sunday evenings
• Liturgical processions following the Church calendar

Formation Program and Discernment

SJV nurtures the seeds of a priestly vocation in young men preparing for major seminary through integral formation: human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral, paired with discipleship in Christian character and a traditional Catholic program of spiritual growth. Since 2019, SJV has implemented a new Propaedeutic Stage for men in their first three semesters of formation, in accordance with the Program for Priestly Formation (Sixth Edition). The seminary currently represents 18 sponsoring dioceses throughout the United States, and alumni serve both as ordained priests and as lay leaders in their home communities.

• Integral human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral formation
• Propaedeutic Stage for first three semesters (since 2019)
• 18 sponsoring dioceses nationwide
• 100+ undergraduate seminarians in formation annually
• More than 750 alumni ordained as priests

Connection to Nazareth Hall

Nazareth Hall Preparatory Seminary (1923–1970), founded by Archbishop Austin Dowling on the shores of Lake Johanna north of St. Paul, is the essential prequel to the story of Saint John Vianney College Seminary. SJV acknowledged that legacy in a five-part '100 Years Since Nazareth Hall' oral history project with alumni, and incorporated pieces of the earlier seminary's devotional life into the 2023 chapel: statues of St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary that had adorned Nazareth Hall (and been stored in a back room of the seminary for decades) were restored and reinstalled to the left and right of the new altar.

• Nazareth Hall founded 1923 by Archbishop Austin Dowling
• Closed in 1970; campus sold to Northwestern College (now University of Northwestern)
• Over 600 priests eventually ordained from Nazareth Hall alumni
• SJV celebrated '100 Years Since Nazareth Hall' in the early 2020s