News - June 2025 RSS Feed

The Institute for Ministry Formation was honored to serve as one of the sponsors for the 2025 Spiritual Direction Symposium, held last week, June 19-21, at Saint Vincent Seminary. It was an inspiring gathering where spiritual directors from across the nation came together for fellowship and ongoing formation.

We’ve had a grace-filled and exciting week here at the Institute for Ministry Formation! From June 23-27, we were blessed to welcome 31 students for our Summer Intensive courses.

In this episode of the Transforming Hearts podcast, Kristin Molitor interviews Donna Ottaviano-Britt, Secretary of the Secretariat for Pastoral Outreach and Director of the Office of Discipleship and Leadership for the Diocese of Camden. Donna shares about the Gifted Leadership Journey, a coaching initiative for clergy in her diocese, and highlights the impact it has had on the lives of the priests in her diocese.

The Institute for Ministry Formation at Saint Vincent College & Seminary thanks Pope Leo XIV for the appointment of Bishop Mark Eckman as the 13th bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh! Bishop Eckman is an alumnus of Saint Vincent Seminary, class of 1985, and has been an auxiliary bishop of Pittsburgh since January 11th, 2022.

Bishop Emeritus Lawrence E. Brandt, J.C.D., who served as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Greensburg from 2004 to 2015, died on June 8, 2025, at the age of 86. Bishop Brandt was the bishop who ordained me to the priesthood and had a significant impact on my life. In addition to placing me in the line of Pope Saint John Paul II (Bishop Brandt was ordained a bishop by Cardinal Justin Rigali, who was ordained a bishop by Pope Saint John Paul II), Bishop Brandt encouraged me in three significant ways.

I had the privilege of making my first trip to South America for a double mission—to minister to my own Benedictine brothers at our dependent Priory in Vinhedo (Archdiocese of Campinas) and to speak at a major charismatic conference a bit farther south in Cascavel, the state of Paraná. I also had the chance for one sightseeing expedition to the Falls at Iguassu, on the border of Paraguay and Argentina (where the movie, The Mission, took place).

In this episode of the Transforming Hearts Podcast, Kristin from the Institute for Ministry Formation interviews Greg Sherwood, a recent IMF graduate who earned his Master of Arts in Ministry with a specialization in Spiritual Direction.