HELP PRESERVE A PIECE OF EL PASO'S SACRED HISTORY

Seminarian Education

Endowment Fund

The Seminarian Education Endowment Fund was created to ensure continual resources for the recruitment and training of seminarians to serve as the future leadership of the Diocese of El Paso. Pray for priests!

924
Donors
$4,057,226
Current Value
$5,000,000
Goal

Reaching our goal will provide a yearly allocation of $200,000 to the Seminarian Education Program

About this Fund

The Seminarian Education Endowment Fund is a permanent fund made up of designated gifts. Distributions are made on an annual basis to support tuition, room and board, and other expenses related to training seminarians.

Alfonso Coronado, Astry Déraly, César García-Ortega, Edroud Jean, José William Arévelo Narváez, Sergio, Legarreta Carrasco were ordained to the priesthood in 2022.

One of our greatest areas of focus is the Seminarian Education Endowment Fund, created to ensure continual resources for the recruitment and training of seminarians to serve as the future leadership of our Diocese. Recruiting and educating seminarians is a significant and critical investment, and the responsibility of providing priests for the Diocese of El Paso, both spiritually and financially, belongs to all of us.

St. Charles Seminary was founded in 1961 by Bishop Sidney M. Metzger to provide spiritual, human, intellectual and pastoral formation for young men called to become priests. For a young man seeking to be a priest, our intensive formation program requires four years of undergraduate education towards a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and four to five years of theological studies in Major Seminary for a Master of Divinity degree, which includes a ten-week spirituality program at Creighton University in Omaha, a three-month supervised hospital ministry training program, and one full year of pastoral internship at a parish within our diocese.

Because the number of seminarians is increasing, so is our need to raise money for their education and living costs. The average cost to train one seminarian is $45,000 annually. The cost includes room and board, education, health insurance and travel expenses. Men are not allowed to work in the seminary, they must devote themselves to prayer and study. The annual budget to run the seminary is now $1 million. Your gifts will help offset these costs.

Funding for seminarian education comes from a variety of sources including the Seminarian Education Endowment Fund, Progress: Catholic Ministry Appeal, Serra Club, the Filipino-American community, Knights of Columbus, second collections, and generous individuals and organizations.

  • 206
    Seminarians have been supported during formation since 2001
  • $45,000
    Average cost per year to train one seminarian, including tuition, and room and board
  • 115,413
    Distributions from this fund in 2022

Fund News

Catholic Foundation Welcomes Meece Family Fund in memory of Al and Gracie Adkins† for Seminarian Education

The fund is in memory of Tom’s aunt and uncle, Gracie and Al Adkins†, who, as native El Pasoans and devout cradle Catholics, were an inspiration to all who knew them.

Read more
Cinco Nuevos Diáconos

José William Arévelo Narváez, Astry Déraly, César García-Ortega, Edroud Jean y Sergio Legarreta Carrasco se acercaron un paso más a su ordenación sacerdotal del 2022 al ser ordenados diáconos transitorios

Read more
Five New Deacons

José William Arévelo Narváez, Astry Déraly, César García-Ortega, Edroud Jean, and Sergio Legarreta Carrasco, moved one step closer to their 2022 priestly ordination when they were ordained transitional deacons.

Read more
Five Men to be Ordained!

Bishop Mark Seitz will ordain five men to the Sacred Order of the Diaconate on Friday, April 16 at 6:30pm at St. Frances Xavier Cabrini. The Diocese of El Paso will be livestreaming the Ordination Mass on the diocesan Facebook page.

Read more
Seminarian Angel Tarango is Working in Hospital Ministry during his Clinical Pastoral Experience

CPE (Clinical Pastoral Experience) follows the third year of study and is required for the M.Div. degree (Master of Divinity) at Mundelein Seminary where Angel is in formation.

Read more
Seminarians: Social Media Disciples During COVID-19

See what our seminarians are doing to continue bringing the Good News to the faithful in the Diocese of El Paso during the pandemic

Read more
The Herrera Group Sponsors a Sold Out Benefit for Seminarians at El Paso's Alamo Drafthouse Cinema

The Herrera Group Sponsored a Sold Out Benefit for seminarian education. The Catholic Foundation presented Risen on 3 Screens on Wednesday, April 18 at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. It’s an epic Biblical story about the Resurrection, as told through the eyes of the non-believer, and his ultimate conversion. 100% of the proceeds benefit the Seminarian Education Endowment Fund.

Read more
And The Oscar Goes To...

Lopez Scrap Metal "The Oscar" Sponsor of a Special Benefit for Seminarians at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema

Read more
Seminarians Awarded the Prestigious Canary Grant

Fr. John Kartje, Rector and President of the University of Saint Mary of the Lake, Mundelein Seminary, announced that seminarians Michael Lewis and Ivan Montelongo had been selected as recipients of a 2016 Monsignor John Canary Theological Enrichment Fund grant.

Read more
Foundation exceeds the 2015 Catholic Extension Seminarian Challenge

Catholic Extension challenged El Paso to raise $150,000 for the Seminarian Education Endowment Fund with a 1:3 match and donors responded. This challenge brought in over $175,000 in new gifts and Catholic Extension matched your efforts with another $50,000.

Read more
Seminarians serenade the Serra Club during the annual celebration of our future priests

Seminarians serenaded the Serra Club during the annual celebration of our future priests. They are a bright group of young men who will lead our diocese in the future.

Read more
Knights of Columbus Support Seminarian Education Endowment Fund at Clergy Dinner

The Foundation staff enjoyed a delicious dinner for our clergy hosted by the Knights of Columbus. The icing on the cake was the generous gift they presented to Bishop Mark for the Seminarian Education Endowment Fund.

Read more

Why Give to Endowment?

Endowed funds provide a vehicle through which individuals make outright or planned gifts that will have an everlasting impact on the ministry/parish/school. In time the income generated by the gift will far exceed the original donation.


As a result, endowed funds provide a perpetual, supplemental source of income for such things as the enhancement of programs and ministries, facilities maintenance, scholarships and seminary assistance, priest retirement, etc. Learn more about endowed funds.

Other Ways to Give

In addition to online donations, there are a variety of ways you can donate to support this fund.

Phone or Mail

To donate by phone, please call:
(915) 872-8412
(Monday – Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. MT)

To mail your donation:
Download our Donation Form PDF

Monthly Giving

Monthly giving is a powerful way to provide sustainable, long-term support. As little as $20 (66 cents a day) can make a difference for the people helped by the parishes, schools, ministries, and charities in the Diocese of El Paso.

Set Up a Monthly Donation

Planned Giving

Creating a bequest in your will for the Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of El Paso is a powerful statement in your legacy, and costs you nothing today.

Learn More About Legacy and Planned Giving

Establish a Named Fund

Donors may create a Named Fund benefiting the endowed fund of their choice with a gift or pledge of $10,000 or more over a five-year period. If you're interested in creating a legacy in honor or memory of a loved one, contact us online or call (915) 872-8412.

Named Fund Donors Supporting the Seminarian Education

Anonymous Funds (3)
Leroy and Rose Baeza Fund
Baldwin Family Fund
John A. and Eppie Bayer Fund
Catholic Church Extension Society Fund
Marshall and Julia Condon Fund† - El Paso Community Foundation
Gregory Y. Daw Family Fund
Mark and Elizabeth Daw Family Fund
Yaz Daw† Family Fund in honor of Msgr. Francis J. Smith†
Dr. J. Manuel and Maureen de la Rosa Fund
Manuel and Guadalupe de la Rosa† Fund
Angela Delgado† Fund
Dr. Victor and Susan Diaz Fund
Gilbert G. & Lupe Estrada Fund
Robert V.† and Juanita S. Falvey Fund
Rita Foster† Fund
Andrew Gallardo Fund
Dr. and Dr. Jesus A. Gomez Fund
Rollo R.† and Doris Gurss Fund
Jon T. and Sheridan Hansen Fund
James Morgan and Ceil Jellett Fund
Knights of Columbus Texas State Council #78177 Fund
Anthony W. and Margaret Laduca† Fund
David and Angelica† Lemaster Fund
Isidro and Lisa Lopez Fund
Rudolph and Elvia Miles† Fund
Our Lady of Guadalupe Apostalate Fund
Luis† and Connie Perez Fund
Dr. Arthur and Irma Ramirez Fund
Yvonne Richardson† Fund
Santo Niño de Atocha Parish Fund
Scanlan Foundation Fund
Dorothy A. Schatzman Fund
2nd Community Neocatechumen Our Lady of the Light Fund
Shaw and Jody Skinner Family Fund
St. Mark Parish Fund
St. Raphael Parish Fund
Sts. Peter and Paul Parish Fund
John† and Rosa Thorpe Fund
Benjamin A. and Machelle Vanecek Fund
Col. Thomas E. and Lillian Walters Fund
Paul and Patricia Yetter Fund for the Yaz Daw† Family Fund in honor of Msgr. Francis J. Smith†
Irma L. Mejia Fund
Mike and Vicki Adkins Fund
Reverend Richard A. Matty† Fund
Patrick and Lorraine Hoefner Fund
Reverend Peter F. Ruiz† Fund
Anonymous Fund
Reverend Richard A. Matty† Fund
San Pedro de Jesús Maldonado Fund
Meece Family Fund in memory of Al and Gracie Adkins† for Seminarian Education
Marc and Michelle Zayas Fund
Back to all Endowment Funds