Photo by Kaitlyn Baker / Unsplash
Dr . Mary Healy , Professor of Sacred Scripture , has taught two courses fully online , one of which included a student in Italy . When online education was first introduced over a decade ago , she was concerned about the loss of the intellectual community that comes from professors and students interacting in a traditional classroom .
“ We have to be honest that there is something lost in terms of fostering the intellectual life together as students and professors ,” said Dr . Healy . “ But at the same time , we gain a lot in enabling people to participate who otherwise could not . Also , I found students shared and expressed themselves more openly in discussion boards online than they would in a seated class . Students offered some beautiful online reflections and appropriate personal sharing . And they really did grow in community with each other online .”
Making online instruction personal and interactive rather than generic and passive can be a challenge . Sacred Heart faculty engage in ongoing training for online education to ensure an optimal experience .
“ We try to make distance learning as incarnational as possible ,” Dr . Wallenfang said . “ We have to think of the foundation of our Catholic faith and the incarnation of God as he became human in Jesus . It ’ s important for us to continue to personalize online education and build a meaningful fabric of interpersonal relationships . We never want to approach it in a utilitarian fashion where people are trying to get something from each other that ’ s less than personal .”
Uniquely Positioned
Sacred Heart ’ s reputation for high-quality Catholic formation and education , coupled with the New Evangelization , make the seminary the ideal institution to launch new online programs . With the ability to deliver courses simultaneously online , more people can take advantage of all the seminary has to offer through virtual , live face-to-face interactions with professors and peers .
“ We have something beautiful at Sacred Heart in that we have a highly qualified faculty who all love the Lord and love the Church and who are trustworthy in terms of what they teach ,” said Dr . Healy . “ On the graduate level , we have a faculty who recognizes that Pentecost is the perennial paradigm for the Church . Pentecost is meant to be renewed in every age and to be the grace that powers our evangelization , our catechesis , our ministry , and everything we do . It ’ s fantastic to be able to offer that much more widely now .”
While many students who are enrolled in the new programs won ’ t be visiting the seminary regularly , they ’ ll still be part of the connected Catholic community that makes Sacred Heart special .
“ We are a seminary . The seminary is always going to be our primary mission . But most people don ’ t realize that while we typically have 100-125 seminarians , we always also have 300-400 active lay students ,” Dr . Cahill said . “ This makes for a vibrant community because you see in the classroom the same dynamics that happen in a parish — the laity have to work to support the priest . It ’ s wonderful to see them being formed and growing together . And the same dynamic will happen online .”
As Sacred Heart goes global this fall , students on their laptops in Florida , at a library in Madrid , or right here in the Archdiocese of Detroit , will all be studying and learning together — a glimpse of the universal Church .
Information about programs offered by Sacred Heart Major Seminary can be found online at shms . edu / content / academics .
Contact the Office of Admissions at ( 313 ) 883-8696 .
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