Oblate School of Theology

Oblate School of Theology is a Catholic graduate school for theological studies in San Antonio, Texas. It is located at 285 Oblate Drive, San Antonio, Texas, 78216. Oblate is run by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate.

The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate came to Texas in 1849, at the urgent request of Texas’ first Roman Catholic Bishop, to preach Christ’s message and to serve the People of God, especially the poor and marginalized.

Oblate School of Theology was founded in San Antonio in 1903 as the San Antonio Philosophical and Theological Seminary. The School’s initial goal and mission was to educate young men to serve as Oblate missionaries in Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana, Mexico and the Philippines.

Today, Oblate School of Theology prepares men for priesthood from many dioceses across the United States and a number of religious communities. Roman Catholic men and women and those from other Christian traditions are present on campus as the School also prepares men and women religious as well as laity from Catholic and other Christian traditions for a variety of ministries.

The early spirit and motivation of the pioneering missionaries to be of service to the church in the cultural context where faith is lived and expressed is still a driving force for Oblate School of Theology. It understands preparation for mission and ministry as the actual integration of pastoral experience and theological study.

In 1981, Oblate School of Theology began the Ministry to Ministers program. The program is a four-month intensive spiritual and theological sabbatical experience for priests and religious men and women who have been in ministry for a number of years. The Lay Ministry Institute opened its doors in 1982, and the Instituto de Formación Pastoral in 1985. These two programs prepare candidates theologically and spiritually in certificate programs for pastoral lay ministry. In 1992, the Oblate School of Theology assumed the responsibility for the Oblate Renewal Center (formerly Casa San José). Through its facilities, the Center offers a variety of programs to respond to the needs of the local church.

The School recognizes the many ethnic groups present in the Southwest and the United States as a whole, reflecting the reality of the world church. In the Southwest, understanding ministry within its proper cultural context is particularly relevant to the Mexican-American community and heritage. There are distinct challenges, for example, of the Mexican-American in predominantly Anglo-American institutions as well as those of the Anglo-American preparing for ministry to predominantly Mexican-Americans. The School’s programs utilize the Hispanic cultural environment of San Antonio to learn from and to prepare students to minister effectively among peoples of diverse cultural backgrounds.

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