WYNNEWOOD, PA – Through a generous grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary today announced that starting this fall, it will launch an English as a Second Language (ESL) program for its increasingly diverse seminary students. The program will assist current and prospective seminarians who are or will attend Saint Charles. The specific goal of the program is to meet the needs of students who speak English as a second language.
The $50,000 planning grant to the seminary is supporting the program’s launch and is part of Pathways for Tomorrow, Lilly Endowment’s national initiative to strengthen seminaries and theological schools.
“Saint Charles is grateful to Lilly Endowment for its funding and is very excited to launch this new and innovative program to address the language needs of our seminarians and ultimately, our Church,” said Bishop Timothy Senior, rector of Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. “Our current seminary student body is 33 percent non-Caucasian with several international student where English is their second language. Therefore, this program will not only help these students but will also attract new seminary students who be discerning a vocation but were hesitant due to language challenges.”
The new program’s director is Reverend Augustus C. Puleo. Father Puleo has a Bachelor of Arts and Masters of Science in Linguistics from Georgetown University; a Masters in Spanish from Middlebury College; a Ph.D. in Spanish from the University of Pennsylvania; and a Masters in Divinity from Saint Charles Seminary. He was ordained for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in 2005 and is also currently the pastor of Saint Patrick’s Parish in Norristown.
Father Puleo will be joined by a new faculty member, Ms. Elizabeth S. Popjoy. Ms. Popjoy earned her Bachelors in Linguistics at Saint Joseph’s University and her Masters in Teaching English as a Second Language at Temple University.
A significant amount of work has already been completed to address the needs of international seminarians, including the addition of culturally sensitive spiritual directors, formation advisors, pastoral internships and field assignments. A special and unique focus of the program will be the inclusion of theological and philosophical terms and language which are necessary for the seminary’s coursework.
Saint Charles is also addressing the demand for priests trained in the Spanish language. As a result, several seminarians are also participating in an intensive Spanish language immersion program this summer in Texas and Guatemala. In prior summers this program also took place in part of Mexico.
About Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary
Founded in 1832, Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary has been forming men for priestly service in the Catholic Church for more than 180 years. In August 2020, the seminary reported an overall enrollment of 154 seminarians. Saint Charles’ seminarian population is becoming increasingly diverse with approximately 30% of its students now coming from Asian, Latino, or African countries or nationalities. Of the 25 new seminarians, six are seminarians studying for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and there are 75 new or returning seminarians for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia studying at St. Charles. With the generosity of many, these young seminarians are able to successfully transform into the compassionate and loyal priests and inspiring leaders of tomorrow’s Church. For more information, visit www.scs.edu and on Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, Instagram and YouTube.
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