SEATTLE – Simon Stehr, a seminarian from Centralia, is the first recipient of a four-year Mundelein Seminary scholarship in honor of the late Seattle Archbishop Thomas J. Murphy.

The scholarship, covering full tuition for a seminarian from the Archdiocese of Seattle, was recently established by the family of Archbishop Murphy, who was rector at the seminary in Mundelein, Illinois, from 1972-78.

“In June we celebrated the 25th anniversary of Archbishop Murphy’s death. To remember him and to honor his work to nurture vocations to the priesthood, we decided to support seminarian education and discernment,” his sister Eileen Murphy Frey and sister-in-law Carolyn Murphy wrote in an email.

Usually, the Archdiocese of Seattle pays for its seminarians who study four years of theology at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary, according to Father Justin Ryan, the archdiocese’s vocations director.

In a letter to Father John Kartje, Mundelein’s current rector, Archbishop Paul D. Etienne thanked him for the good news of the scholarship.

“It is a gracious gift and suitably honors the memory and contributions of Archbishop Murphy to the seminary and the Archdiocese of Seattle,” the archbishop wrote. “I am grateful to the Murphy family for this generous gesture.”

The family of the late Archbishop Thomas J. Murphy has established a four-year scholarship in his honor at Mundelein Seminary in Illinois. Photo: Courtesy Archbishop Murphy Archive/Seattle Archdiocese Archives

Archbishop Etienne also accepted Father Kartje’s recommendation to award the scholarship to Stehr.

Stehr, 22, who grew up in Centralia as one of five siblings, said he has good memories of the priests who served at his parish, St. Joseph Parish in Chehalis.

“They just seemed really happy … and I thought they were kind of cool,” he said.

But a priestly vocation wasn’t on his mind back then.

“I didn’t even think of the priesthood for myself until I was starting high school,” Stehr said.

That’s when he became “fascinated with the Catholic faith and … the Catholic intellectual tradition,” he said. Many of the students in his Olympia-based homeschool group were Protestant and really cared about faith and Scripture. He wanted to be like that, but as a Catholic.

“I wanted to know and defend my own faith,” Stehr said. 

He credits various retreats and experiences — like the archdiocese’s Quo Vadis Days for young men and a visit to Mount Angel Seminary in Oregon — as well as inspiration from his former pastor, Father Jacob Maurer, in helping him work on his relationship with God and begin discerning a vocation to the priesthood.

After completing two years at Centralia College through the Running Start program, Stehr entered the seminary at age 19. He attended Bishop White Seminary in Spokane for three years, where he took undergraduate classes at Gonzaga University and graduated this year. Stehr began his graduate studies at Mundelein this fall. (See sidebar for details on how long it takes to become a priest.)

Archbishop Murphy also studied at Mundelein (then called St. Mary of the Lake Seminary), where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in divinity. He was ordained there in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception on April 12, 1958. He continued his studies at Mundelein, earning a doctorate in sacred theology. He served as rector from 1972 until 1978, when he became bishop of Great Falls, Montana (later the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings).

In May 1987, Bishop Murphy was appointed coadjutor archbishop of Seattle, becoming archbishop in 1991 when Archbishop Raymond G. Hunthausen retired. Archbishop Murphy died June 26, 1997, at age 64, after a seven-month battle with leukemia. He was interred in the crypt under the floor of St. James Cathedral.

In 1999, the new Archbishop Murphy High School in Everett was named in his honor. Today, the school’s website hosts an online archive of Archbishop Murphy’s homilies, addresses and other writings, along with news articles. Carolyn Murphy said it took her son Brian more than 1,000 hours to create the Archbishop Thomas J. Murphy Archive, which includes more than 1,100 documents. Visit the archive at http://archive2.am-hs.org.

How long does it take to become a diocesan priest?

It usually takes six to nine years to become a diocesan priest, depending on the man’s educational history, according to the Archdiocese of Seattle’s vocations page.

A young man entering college seminary immediately or shortly after high school will spend four years getting a foundation in philosophy and the other liberal arts before moving on to the theological seminary for four more years of specialized study in Scripture, theology, church history and related fields.

Some men don’t begin preparations for the priesthood until they have already earned a college degree (and sometimes advanced degrees). They usually need to study philosophy and preliminary-level theology, so they enter a pre-theology program that takes up to two years to complete and results in a master’s degree in philosophy. Then they enter the four-year theological seminary, for a total of five to six years in the seminary.

Seminarians for the Archdiocese of Seattle currently study at one of four seminaries:

  • Bishop White Seminary in Spokane, a college seminary adjacent to Gonzaga University
  • Mount Angel Seminary in St. Benedict, Ore., which offers college, pre-theology and graduate school of theology programs. It is the oldest seminary in the western U.S.
  • Mundelein Seminary (University of St. Mary of the Lake) in Mundelein, Ill., a theology seminary and the largest priesthood preparation program in the U.S.
  • Pontifical North American College, a national seminary in Rome for the formation of candidates from the U.S.

For more information about vocations to the priesthood visit the in the Archdiocese of Seattle’s diocesan priesthood page.