ABOUT SEMINARYO NG DON BOSCO

A shorter description of Seminaryo ng Don Bosco (SnDB) is Samahan ng mga

Dakilang Brothers. It’s obviously a very distinctive emendation of the precise rendition
of the Tagalong acronym SnDB. In English, SnDB simply means ‘Don Bosco Seminary.’
Perhaps there’s a need to justify. First of all, let us break down this seemingly bogus
redefinition of mine:

 Samahan – a community, conglomeration, group, academy, or union

 ng – of
 Dakilang – great, noble
 Brothers – can be understood equivocally: (a) brothers = male persons who
consider each other as siblings and (b) brothers = consecrated religious persons
living in a religious house, either they are aspiring to become priests or they are
Salesian Brothers

Here now is a longer and a more detailed description of what this Seminaryo ng
Don Bosco is.

The Community members: formands and formators

The Seminaryo ng Don Bosco is a major seminary where brothers from different
countries all over Asia converge and live together to form a home. It is officially
recognized as a Salesian community and is part of the Philippine North Province.
Majority of the Salesians here compose the formands or brothers, who undergo
seminary’s formation program, which touches the four important aspects: Human,
Intellectual, Spiritual, and Pastoral. There are those who aspire to become priests and
those who pride themselves as Salesian or Lay Brothers. From here onwards, let us call
the latter Salesian Brothers.
Those who are given the role of formators are a lot fewer than the aforementioned
but have very important roles, inasmuch as they have the delicate task of molding and
preparing future Salesian superiors, formators, priests, and perpetually professed Salesian
Brothers. There is but one main formator—the Rector. He is the undisputed father of the
community! To him the brothers must render an account of himself, at least every month,
during the nerve-racking but excitingly liberating rendiconto! Together with Father
Rector are the co-formators, designated as Vice-Rector or Vicar, Catechist, Economer,
and Prefect of Studies. There are those provinces that have the luxury of providing a
Salesian to be part of the formation team.

A melting pot of various cultures

The Seminaryo cannot be properly called a Samahan if it were not because of the
sheer number of those who live here. One of the most obvious things to spot is the
difference in culture of all those who live here. Many of the Salesians who live in this
home come from Asia and very few from other continents. It is made up of members
coming from different provinces, each bringing his idiosyncrasies. There are those
coming from Indonesia, East Timor, China, Korea, Papua New Guinea, India, Sri Lanka,

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Myanmar, Thailand, and even as far as Spain. One can possibly be led astray in this
jungle of cultures! It is overwhelming, especially for first-timers, to see a community
filled with various races, languages, traditions, fads and interests. It is important to note,
however, that the unifying power of Don Bosco’s charism truly transforms SnDB into a
harmonious unity amidst a remarkable diversity.

Scholastic Program
The bulk of the formation a brother has to undergo in this particular level happens
in the intellectual aspect. In short, much of the formands’ time is dedicated to serious
studies and reflection. For those Salesians who aspire to become priests, the most basic
requirement for the admission to the priesthood, as far as academics is concerned, is to
pass all the subjects offered in their BTh (Bachelor of Theology) curriculum. Salesian
Brothers are normally required to pass all the basic subjects of an MRS (Master in
Religious Studies) curriculum. There are some special cases, in agreement with the
respective provincial superiors, that an aspiring Salesian priest extends for a few months
in the Theologate for the purpose of acquiring a MATh (Master of Arts in Theology)
degree. Normally, however, majority of the priests-to-be stay here in the seminary for
four years, while the Salesian Brothers two years.
Each of the brothers is highly exhorted to diligently fulfill his duties as a student.
Although he has already completed a basic college degree and some units in Philosophy,
the brother gives his best to study for the ministry, and nay, for life. Using the words of
the late venerable Fr. Charles Braga, SDB, every Salesian must “aim at mastery and not
just passing grades only!”