Society of the Priests of Saint Sulpice

Society of the Priests of Saint-Sulpice

The seal of the Society of Saint-Sulpice
Abbreviation	P.S.S. (American Sulpicians, until recently, retained the original form, S.S.)
Motto	Auspice Maria (Under the guidance of Mary)
Formation	1641
Type	Society of apostolic life of the Catholic Church
Headquarters	6, Rue du Regard Paris, France
Membership	293 (2010)
Superior General	Ronald D. Witherup
Website	www.sulpiciens.org

The Society of the Priests of Saint-Sulpice ("Society of Saint-Sulpice", French: Compagnie des Prêtres de Saint-Sulpice; Latin: Societas Presbyterorum a Santo Sulpitio) is a society of apostolic life of the Catholic Church named for the Church of Saint-Sulpice, Paris, in turn named for Sulpitius the Pious, where they were founded. Typically, priests become members of the Society of the Priests of St. Sulpice only after ordination and some years of pastoral work. The purpose of the society is mainly the education of priests and to some extent parish work. As their main role is the education of those preparing to become members of the presbyterate, Sulpicians place great emphasis on the academic and spiritual formation of their own members, who commit themselves to undergoing lifelong development in these areas. The Society is divided into three provinces, operating in various countries: the Province of France, Canada, and the United States.

The Society of the Priests of Saint Sulpice was founded in France in 1641 by Father Jean-Jacques Olier (1608–1657), an exemplar of the French School of Spirituality. A disciple of Vincent de Paul and Charles de Condren, Olier took part in "missions" organized by them.

The French priesthood at that time suffered from low morale, academic deficits and other problems. Envisioning a new approach to priestly preparation, Olier gathered a few priests and seminarians around him in Vaugirard, a suburb of Paris, in the final months of 1641. Shortly thereafter, he moved his operation to the parish of Saint-Sulpice in Paris, hence the name of the new Society. After several adjustments, he built a seminary next to the current church of Saint-Sulpice. The Séminaire de Saint-Sulpice thereby became the first Sulpician seminary. There the first seminarians got their spiritual formation, while taking most theology courses at the Sorbonne. The spirit of this new seminary and its founder caught the attention of many leaders in the French Church; and before long, members of the new Society staffed a number of new seminaries elsewhere in the country.