What was special about age 14 that 'many' boys and girls entered seminary/convent?
It occurred to me that it corresponds to the customary age for completion of
school grade 8. Before Vatican II, that was the final grade in Catholic
parochial (i.e.: parish) schools.
The Council of Trent established the rules for
seminaries and their students:
Let those be received [....] who having been born in lawful wedlock, have at least attained their 12th year, are able to read and write passably, and whose naturally good disposition gives token that they will always continue in the service of the Church." (1563, 23rd Sess.)
[....] Today an ordinary grammar school instruction is required for admission into the preparatory seminaries. [....] Parents and parish priests are urged to encourage and to help boys who by their intelligence and piety give hope that they are called to the priesthood (Council of Baltimore, no. 136).
Thus, successful completion of the 8th grade (
Q.E.D.). Perhaps a rule-of-thumb had evolved that trying to evaluate intelligence and development of learned skills, before completion of the 8th grade, risked overlooking
late bloomers who'd develop into perfectly satisfactory priests.
For a boy with a probable vocation to the priesthood at the outset of the 20th century, a common U.S. path would've been 6 years of preparatory (i.e.:
petit) seminary, and if he could've passed the entrance exam, 6 years of theological (i.e.:
grand) seminary. For centuries, there'd been other options for study (e.g.: in Rome), but absent a dispensation by the applicable bishop, successful completion of those 12 years of seminary training seems to've been the shortest U.S. path to ordination to the priesthood.
Our moderator and some regulars here are reputed to have studied at seminaries, so I solicit corrections.
Topic: Future Priests and Nuns (Read 3307 times)