COLLEGEVILLE -- With Pope Francis' recent visit to America, seminaries are hoping to capitalize on the excitement his visit generated.

Father Michael Patella is the Seminary Rector for St. John's School of Theology and Seminary in Collegeville. He says the number of students entering the School of Theology has remained steady, but the number of young men entering the priesthood is on the rise in recent years.  He says the average number of seminarians has tripled since 2007.

Father Patella says the age of seminarians is also getting younger. He says a majority of seminarians are millennials today. That's in contrast to older students entering the priesthood years ago.

There are a total of 86 full-time equivalent students in the St. John's School of Theology with 14 of them entering the seminary.

 

More From AM 1240 WJON