St. Pius X College endeavours to offer its alumni a holistic formation. Very specially, it seeks to strike a healthy balance between academics and pastoral involvement.

 

The students are generally graduates or have had a fairly long working experience, and have also passed the English language test, which is a prerequisite for being admitted to the seminary. The academic formation at St Pius College is a graded one. Hence, after the Orientation Year, which is a kind of a propaedeutic year, we have two years of Philosophy, followed by Regency and then three years of Theology, which would conclude with the Diaconate year. The two years of Philosophy, apart from courses in Philosophy, also include foundational courses in Psychology and Sociology. The first year of Theology consists of basic courses in Scripture, Fundamental and Systematic Theology, Church History, Moral Theology, Pastoral Theology and Counseling skills. The second and the third years of Theology are cyclic. The fourth year of Theology, apart from seeking to revise and update the courses completed, also includes the preparation for the Ad Auds Examination (Confession Examination), and the de Universal Examination (Comprehensive Examination). The last part of the Diaconate programme, which is a combination of theory and practice, enables the deacons to reflect theologically on their pastoral involvement in the light of the matter covered in the classroom.  

 

As a consequence of a constant process of reflection which is integrated into the system at various levels, viz. the Staff Meetings, Academic Council Meetings, House Meetings, Moderator Group Meetings and so on, the effort at St. Pius X College, has been to make the academic programme contemporary, relevant, holistic, balanced, and exciting. Apart from the classes which cover the broad spectrum of disciplines which are part of the academic programme, the inclusion of Seminars, which deal with contemporary issues and are animated by professionals, helps to further bridge the gap between the classroom and life. 

 

((We were notified that the Congregation for Catholic Education, Rome approved our request for affiliation to St. Peter’s Pontifical

Institute, Bangalore for a period of five years on October 2, 2006, Gandhi Jayanthi!)