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“We must abandon ourselves to God’s Providence and take care not to run on ahead of it. The works of God achieve themselves and those that are not His soon perish. Rest assured of the truth of a saying that seems paradoxical, that he who hurries delays the things of God.” |
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- St. John Mary Vianney
(1786-1859)
Curé of Ars |
 Jean-Baptiste Marie Vianney was born in 1786 at Dardilly, near Lyons, France, and intended for the priesthood from an early age. His education and training were interrupted by his conscription in the army, from which he deserted, and again considerably lengthened by his inability to learn Latin. After ordination, at last, in 1818, he was for three year assistant priest at Écully, and then appointed in February 1818 parish priest at Ars. In this remote village he achieved almost worldwide fame. First from the neighboring parishes, then from all France, finally from other countries, came men and women of all sorts and conditions to seek his counsel. By 1855 the number of his visitors was computed at 20,000 per year, and during his last few years he was forced to spend 16 to 18 hours a day in the confessional. He was beatified in 1905, canonized in 1925, and in 1929 created the patron of parish priests. His feast day in August 8th.
Vianney House, the pretheologian residence of the Archdiocesan St. Pius X Minor Seminary at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, was established under the patronage of the Curé of Ars in 1997.
General Description
Vianney House is intended as a prayerful place of residence for seminarians of the Archdiocesan Minor Seminary, St. Pius X Seminary, at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. Located at 1235 Mt. Loretta Ave. in Dubuque, just over one mile from the college campus, the residence is intended for seminarians who are either completing their philosophical and theological prerequisites for entrance into major seminary, or for those in their final two years of undergraduate studies who are anticipating an entrance into major seminary upon completion of a Bachelor’s degree.
Admission
Upon recommendation of one’s bishop and vocation director, a seminarian of the type mentioned above who is enrolled in the St. Pius X Seminary should expect to live at Vianney House. Allowances are made, however, due to limited space at the residence and other specifics of the individual seminarian’s circumstances. Such allowances need prior approval of the Rector of the Seminary.
Seminary Formation at Vianney House
The four aspects of seminary formation, as detailed in the St. Pius X Seminary Program, are to be fulfilled in the following specific ways by seminarians of Vianney House:
Spiritual and Personal Formation
 Seminarians of Vianney House are expected to attend Mass both daily and especially on Sunday. Daily Masses are conveniently available at nearby St. Columbkille Parish, Loras College, or at parishes in the city of Dubuque. The St. Pius X Seminary’s weekly Mass is celebrated on Monday evenings during the academic year at 5:00 PM in the Vianney House chapel.
Seminarians of Vianney House are also expected to dedicate time daily for personal prayer. Especially encouraged is the praying of the Liturgy of the Hours. As part of the regular weekly schedule, the seminarians of Vianney House pray evening pray in common in the Vianney House chapel on Monday (in combination with Mass), Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 5:00 PM, preceding the three weekly common evening meals.
Seminarians are also expected to establish and remain faithful to an ongoing (bi-weekly) spiritual direction relationship. Seminarians may choose a director from the approved list of spiritual directors as provided by the Director of Spiritual Formation of the St. Pius X Seminary. Other directors may be used only with the prior approval of the same Director of Spiritual Formation.
Seminarians residing in Vianney House are obliged to fulfill the other requirements for spiritual and personal formation as detailed in the St. Pius X Seminary Program.
Intellectual Formation
 The seminarians of Vianney House are to fulfill the obligations of the Intellectual Formation component of the St. Pius X Seminary Program. Seminarians are to keep in mind especially their obligation to complete the philosophical and theological prerequisites for admission to major seminary. To this end, seminarians should be in discussion with their respective vocation or seminarian directors of their sponsoring dioceses/religious institutes, as well as the Vice Rector of the St. Pius X Seminary, to insure that adequate progress is being made to fulfill these prerequisites.
Because of the right of each student to his privacy, Loras College will not release grades of its students to third parties, without the written consent of the student. Therefore, it is the responsibility, following the reception of grades after each semester, for seminarians of Vianney House to send a photocopy of his grades to the Vice Rector and also to his Vocation Director.
Pastoral Formation
Each seminarian is required to choose a pastoral ministry from the approved list provided by the Vice Rector of St. Pius X Seminary. Other ministries must be approved by the Vice Rector prior to beginning such service.
In order to assist the seminarian in his discernment of his calling to public ministry in the Church, the pastoral formation component chosen by each seminarian should involve some ministry directly related to parish ministry.
When beginning this pastoral ministry, the seminarian is to complete a ministry agreement, as provided by the Vice Rector of St. Pius X Seminary, with the supervisor of the pastoral ministry. Upon completion of the ministry each year, the seminarian is required to complete an evaluation of his pastoral ministry experience. To this end, the seminarian should solicit input from his supervisor.
Community Life
 The community life at Vianney House provides mutual support, promotes tolerance and fraternal correction, and provides an opportunity for the development of leadership and other talents. The residence is also intended to be a place of prayer conducive to the seminarian’s discernment of his vocation to the priesthood.
As an integral part of the seminarian’s spiritual formation during his time at Vianney House, the community life of the residence included various obligations. Following are some of the aspects of this community life:
 Personal Rooms
Each seminarian is provided a suite of rooms (bedroom, sitting room, private bathroom) for his use. It is the seminarian’s obligation to keep these rooms clean. Since these rooms are located adjacent to the personal areas of other seminarians, privacy of these personal rooms is to be respected.
Telephones
Each seminarian is required to have his own personal telephone. It is the responsibility of the seminarian, in agreement with his home diocese/religious institute, to pay for this telephone service.
Kitchen Facilities/Food
Seminarians residing at Vianney House are supplied a basic meal plan at Loras College so that he can take meals on campus when his schedule requires him to do so. In addition, the seminarian may choose to take his meals at Vianney House. This is generally up to the discretion of the individual seminarian. A grocery list is located in the kitchen of Vianney House; items placed on this list are normally purchased once a week by the person responsible for the preparation of the evening meals that week. A charge account has been established at a local grocery store. Seminarians should not pay for groceries themselves.
Residents of Vianney House share a common evening meal three times a week, on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday evenings. The meals follow the celebration of Mass (Mondays) or Evening Prayer (Tuesdays and Thursdays), both beginning at 5:00 PM.
Breakfast, lunch, and weekend meals for seminarians taken at Vianney House are “on your own.”
Residents are asked to keep the kitchen and dining area clean whenever they use it.
Maintenance
Each seminarian residing in Vianney House, in addition to his own suite of rooms, will be asked to provide for the weekly cleaning of some common area of the residence. These tasks will be determined at the beginning of each semester and are subject to change after each semester. Seminarians are also requested to keep clean the common areas that they happen to use.
If any maintenance needs should arise, the seminarian should place a written notice detailing the problem in the mailbox of the Rector. The seminarian should refrain from making direct requests to maintenance personnel, except in cases of emergency.
Laundry
Laundry facilities are located on the ground floor of the building, near the elevator. Laundry detergent, bleach, etc., are provided. On occasion, guests and residents of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center will be using these facilities during weekday mornings.
Outside doors/keys
The key provided each resident fits the locks of both the outside doors. Seminarians in residence are reminded to remain especially vigilant that doors always remained locked, for the security of the other residents of Vianney House, as well as to safeguard personal belongings. If desired, a key is available to lock the door into one’s private suite of rooms.
 Priests in Residence
Both the Rector and Vice Rector of St. Pius X Seminary reside in Vianney House and enjoy the same right to privacy as do other residents. In addition to each priest’s residential suite, a faculty lounge for their use is located on the first floor opposite the chapel. Both the residences and the faculty lounge should not be entered without permission of the priests.
Archdiocesan Pastoral Center
With its proximity to the Vianney House, some interaction will occur with staff and residents of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center (APC). However, unless in the case of emergency, no personnel or residents of the APC are permitted on the first, second, third, or fourth floors of Vianney House. Fire doors at the East end of all the main corridors on each floor delineate a clear boundary between the APC and Vianney House. If the need arises for a seminarian to attend to some business in the APC, he should enter the main entrance of the APC and request entrance through the receptionist. Staff of the APC are free to use all the facilities on the ground floor of the building at any time, with the exception of the laundry and exercise room.
Exercise Room
An exercise room, with basic cardiovascular equipment and some free weights, is located on the ground floor. Residents are encouraged to use this room, though always at your own risk.
Mail
Mail is delivered to the mailbox outside the front door of the building. Individual mailboxes are located in the first floor corridor, near the Rector’s office. Mail delivered to the residence will be distributed to seminarians in these mailboxes.
Guest Rooms
Guest rooms are available for guests of seminarian residents. The rooms are available on a “first come, first served” basis. The guest rooms are to be reserved by indicating the reservation of the guest room calendar located near the mail boxes. It is the responsibility of the host to see that the room is cleaned and bed linens are changed immediately after the room’s use. Seminarian residents are asked not to house guests in their personal rooms, in order to respect the privacy of other residents of Vianney House.
Parking
Residents should park their cars to the West of Vianney House, in the lot near Bryant Elementary School. There are some spaces available in the garage adjacent to this lot and are for use of priest residents and, as space is available, seminarian residents of Vianney House. Use of these garages will be designated via lottery at the beginning of each semester.
Storage
The fourth floor of Vianney house has several rooms that are available for storage. Since these are common areas, please keep them clean while using them as storage spaces. Each item stored there should be labeled with the owner’s name to permit a clear identification of its owner.
 Common Room
On the West end of the second floor, across from the chapel’s balcony, is a common room for the use of seminarians. The room includes a TV, VCR, DVD player, as well as an assortment of videos and DVD’s. Wireless internet and a laptop computer is provided to all full time students to assist in education and research. Residents are prohibited from using this Internet connection to view pornography or other material that would be deemed immoral by our Catholic tradition.
 Chapel
A chapel is available for private prayer, as well as for the communal praying of the liturgy of the Hours. A weekly hour of exposition of the Blessed Sacrament will also be held in this chapel. Attendance at this “holy hour” is optional. Since the Blessed Sacrament is reserved in this space, please keep the door to the chapel closed and maintain a prayerful atmosphere while in the chapel.
Evaluation
Each seminarian in residence in Vianney House receives an annual evaluation, as detailed in the Program for St. Pius X Seminary. An assessment of one’s participation in the community life of Vianney House will be considered in the formulation of this evaluation.
Administration
Vianney House is under the administration of the Rector of the St. Pius X Seminary. Since Vianney House is part of the St. Pius X Seminary, the formation program of seminarians residing in Vianney House is also under the direction of the Vice Rector and Director of Spiritual Formation of the St. Pius X Seminary. | 
Rector
Vice-Rector 
The Director of Spiritual Formation