DUNWOODIE — The Latin word for “shepherd” is “pastor,” and like Jesus is the Good Shepherd who watches over his flock of believers, a pastor cares for his parish.
But who takes care of the pastor?
At St. Joseph’s Seminary and College in Dunwoodie, Yonkers, its men will soon have a broadened support program to help them achieve wellness in mind, body, and spirit — not just during formation, but also post-graduation.
The Redemptor Hominis Center for Holistic Health will open in 2026, providing seminarians and alumni with services to address their mental, physical, and emotional needs.
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Auxiliary Bishop James Massa, the seminary’s rector and president, described how the center will benefit future priests and the people they will serve.
“This center will help cultivate the affective maturity and priestly character that our people expect to find in their priests,” Bishop Massa said. “Our purpose is forming men of communion who live healthy and holy lives and help others to do the same.”
The new center is made possible through a nearly $1 million grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc.’s Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative.
Msgr. Luke Sweeney, who joined Dunwoodie’s faculty and staff in August to fill the roles of vice rector and dean of seminarians, said the seminary is conducting a search for the new center’s director, who will oversee individual wellness assessments with follow-up recommendations for all seminarians and alumni.
“We want additional human formation support,” Msgr. Sweeney said, “particularly in the areas of nutrition, dealing with stress, any challenges to proper sleep, time management, and life balance.”
Addressing these “benchmarks,” he added, will help a seminarian become “a successful priest, able to manage challenges of our world, of our society, and able to create a balanced and sustainable pastoral life.”
“We recognize that a lot goes in for them to be happy, holy, and healthy priests,” Msgr. Sweeney said. “Certainly, we want to offer them the fullest on that human dimension, not only for now, but also for the future.”
Msgr. Sweeney was pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Scarsdale from the fall of 2020 until arriving at Dunwoodie last summer.
In his new job, he follows Father Michael Bruno, the former dean of seminarians who is now the associate vicar for clergy and consecrated life for the Diocese of Brooklyn.
As vice rector, he succeeds Father William Cleary, who became pastor of St. Joseph’s Church in Bronxville.
Msgr. Sweeney credited his predecessors for how they handled their administrative duties while also teaching full class loads. By contrast, he said he teaches only one two-credit course each semester.
He praised Father Bruno for starting the application process for the $999,440 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc.
Msgr. Sweeney also praised other contributors, including Diane Lama, the seminary’s director of assessment and accreditation, and Christine Hammill-Cregan, associate dean and associate professor of theology.
Lama said the center’s new director will work closely with the rest of the faculty.
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“There will be an assessment tool that’s based on the benchmarks that monsignor pointed out earlier, and very strictly guided by the human formation benchmarks already in existence,” Lama said.
“So,” she added, “in addition to building the good habits, the seminary is providing our parishes with priests who can model those healthy choices.”
Msgr. Sweeney noted that it’s important for priests to be examples spiritually, but also as part of humanity.
“There’s the mind, the body, and the soul, and it all goes together,” he said. “These are important things, not just to live, but to help them serve the people, as Jesus and the Church envision.”
Msgr. Sweeney said construction of the new center will start in 2026 and coincide with the expansion of the seminary’s gymnasium.
