The Diocese of Wichita will soon be home to a new seminary, the culmination of a years-long effort to bring priestly formation to the area amid a rising number of seminarians.
“The days are numbered for the Catholic Diocese of Wichita’s St Joseph House of Formation, but only because it is about to be replaced by St Philip Neri Seminary,” said an August 6 statement from the diocese.
St Philip Neri Seminary will open on August 26 and will serve the dioceses of Wichita, Salina and Dodge City, three of the four dioceses in Kansas.
Fr Chad Arnold, the current director of formation at St Joseph House of Formation, will become the seminary’s rector.
“It’s very exciting to take this step, because it formally recognizes our diocese’s hard work,” Fr Arnold said in the diocesan statement. “It doesn’t change much about that work, though, and is a testament that the Lord has been working in this and has shown us many good fruits.”
Those fruits include a remarkable number of seminarians for a diocese of about 108,000 Catholics. The Diocese of Wichita has nearly twice as many seminarians as are needed to sustain its current number of priests and experienced a 255 per cent increase in ordinations between 2014 and 2023, according to a 2025 report on the state of Catholic vocations.
Fr Arnold was the first person to move into the House of Formation when it opened in 2017, he told the Diocese of Wichita. At the time, he was assistant director.
In its first year, seven men lived at the House of Formation and the programme lasted two years, covering the first four semesters of undergraduate seminary formation. Classes were held in partnership with Newman University in Wichita.
Things quickly changed.
“After that first year, we moved into a four-year programme because we clearly saw the good fruit and the Holy Spirit working,” said Fr Arnold. “At that point I realized there was a good chance it would be a seminary someday. Did I imagine I would be here and in this role when it happened? No.”
Bishop Carl Kemme said the time had come for the House of Formation to become a seminary.
“Nine years ago when we started the House of Formation, we had no idea if it would be successful. It was a bit of a risk, you know, and a lot depended on how many men would come,” he said in a Q&A published by the Diocese of Wichita.
“Over the years, our numbers have grown significantly. That and the people who advised me told me this was the right move. It seemed to make sense to do this in the 10th year.”
The Diocese of Wichita currently has 50 men in formation, 37 of whom are studying at the House of Formation.
Bishop Kemme said he hoped to keep St Philip Neri Seminary at around that size, explaining that he did not want it to become too large.
“I want it to be big enough where we can do good things – and big things – but I don’t want it to lose the personal touch so that these men become more like numbers than actual persons,” he said.
He continued: “I think where we have landed now is that we are sufficiently full. We are not overflowing, but there is a good number of men in the house and now in the new seminary. We have really hit the sweet spot. In terms of numbers, I think we will have 42 or 43 there next year.”
Ahead of the seminary’s official opening, Bishop Kemme asked for prayers and encouraged people to invite young men to discern the priesthood.
“We are really excited about the young men that are coming this year, as well as the men that are already there. It’s an exciting time to be in discernment and formation, especially for our diocese,” he said.
Bishop Kemme added: “As I go about my various ministries, I hear young men say they are discerning or thinking about coming to the seminary. That’s always exciting to hear. But, again, I want to ask people to help us by continuing to support us with their prayers. We hope to make this the best college seminary in the country.”
