Next cohort will begin classes August 2021.
The Certificate in Pastoral Ministry Program is a partnership between the Diocese of Greensburg and
Seton Hill University. The program is designed to meet the educational and formational needs of adults, who are committed to the mission of Christ within the Roman Catholic Church and feel called to serve publicly in the name of the Church.
Certificate recipients serve as lay ecclesial ministers and as ordained permanent deacons under the leadership of the diocesan bishop. They are entrusted by pastors with leadership responsibility in a wide variety of ministries, such as pastoral care, social ministry, youth ministry, catechetics, Catholic schools, and music ministry.
Some serve beyond parish settings in hospice care, nursing home and hospital care, campus ministry and retreat centers. It is the aim of the certificate program that these persons are equipped to undertake their ministerial responsibilities with theological competence, pastoral sensitivity, and spiritual depth.
Since 2005, 74 diocesan parishioners have received the undergraduate Certificate in Pastoral Ministry during commencement ceremonies at Seton Hill University and have been recognized during a diocesan Evening of Prayer and Celebration. They serve in a wide variety of ministries in diocesan parishes as lay ecclesial ministers or as permanent deacons.