The new seminarians, fourteen from the French-speaking section and eight from the German-speaking section, joined on Monday, September 28 and, after their entrance retreat, began the propaedeutic year, the preparatory stage that precedes the studies of Philosophy and Theology. This was communicated by the seminary itself on its blog, information also reported by the French portal Riposte Catholique.
With these new arrivals, the European house of formation of the Fraternity now gathers 108 seminarians this academic year: 72 in the French-language section and 36 in the German-language section. The eight new German-speakers also inaugurate a new superior: Father Josef Unglert, who replaces Father Bernward Deneke at the head of this group.
A year that began with two pilgrimages
The seminary reopened its doors on Sunday, September 13. Both sections began the year with a pilgrimage in the presence of the superior general of the Fraternity, Father John Berg, elected for a third term at the general chapter of July 2024. The German section walked from Cologne to Kevelaer, one of the great Marian shrines of the Rhineland, while the French section made a pilgrimage to Chalon-sur-Saône, in Burgundy. There, on Saturday, September 12, the seminarians sang a solemn Mass in the cathedral before a 15-kilometer march that concluded with solemn Vespers.
Back in Wigratzbad, the seminarians dedicated the first week to spiritual exercises. They were preached for the French-speakers by Monsignor Jean-Louis Bruguès, bishop emeritus of Angers and emeritus archivist and librarian of the Holy Roman Church, and for the German-speakers by Father Armin Kögler.
From 76 to 108 seminarians
The figure gains significance when compared with previous years. In October 2018, according to data from the Fraternity itself, Wigratzbad had 76 seminarians from 19 nationalities. Last year, 16 new students from nine countries entered; this year there are 22. The entire FSSP, founded in 1988 and in full communion with the Holy See, gathers according to its latest data about 380 priests and more than 160 seminarians, distributed between Wigratzbad and the seminary of Our Lady of Guadalupe, in Denton (Nebraska, United States).
Related: The impact of the liturgy on vocations: an analysis based on Seminary Day
The liturgy and vocations
The data aligns with the trend that InfoVaticana analyzed on the occasion of Seminary Day 2025. That study placed the Fraternity of Saint Peter at 0.56 seminarians per priest, compared to a diocesan average of 0.08 and ratios of 0.051 in France and 0.029 in Germany, the two linguistic areas served by Wigratzbad. The estimated threshold to ensure generational renewal of the clergy is around 0.20 seminarians per priest.
That analysis did not address the causes, but it did note a persistent correlation between the celebration of the traditional liturgy and vocational vitality. While numerous European dioceses are merging parishes due to a lack of priests, the Fraternity’s seminary in Bavaria opens the academic year with more than a hundred young men in formation.