St. Philip Neri Seminary is the seminary of the Diocese of Wichita, forming men in the propaedeutic and discipleship stages of priestly formation. Founded in 2017 as the St. Joseph House of Formation, St. Philip Neri Seminary prepares seminarians for major seminary through integral human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral formation. Rooted in a home environment characterized by charity, prayer, study, and fraternity, the seminary seeks to cultivate a life modeled after the Holy Family of Nazareth.
Nazareth is a kind of school where we may begin to discover what Christ’s life was like and even to understand His Gospel ... Gradually we may even learn to imitate Him.
“Here we can learn the importance of spiritual discipline for all who wish to follow Christ and to live by the teachings of His Gospel ... Nazareth can teach us the value of study and preparation, of meditation, of a well-ordered personal spiritual life, and of silent prayer that is known only to God.
“Nazareth serves as a model of ... a community of love and sharing, beautiful for the problems it poses and rewards it brings.
“In Nazareth, we learn about work and the discipline it entails.
“Priestly formation today continues in the spirit of the response of the first disciples and their communion of life. The Gospel foundation of priestly formation precedes programs, structures, and plans. What was vital and essential for that first community of disciples remains so today for those engaged in priestly formation.”
-Program of Priestly Formation no. 15
The more things change, the more they stay the same, the old saying goes. As the world around us changes, often rapidly, God Almighty and the Gospel He imparted to us, stays the same. He continues to move in the hearts of each generation, fresh and new and inviting. And those hearts continue to seek Him, who is Beauty ever ancient, ever new.
At Saint Philip Neri Seminary we seek to provide for the needs of young men discerning a call to the Catholic priesthood. What was vital and essential to the first disciples is still vital and essential today; namely a personal relationship with Jesus Christ in order to do the will of the Father and be receptive to the Holy Spirit. Formation in this narrow way takes honesty and conversion, trust and courage. We rejoice in and with the men who are willing to embark on this journey.
This growth, while guided by God, is nurtured within the context of our seminary community. We pray together, eat together, work together, and day in and day out live together taking as our model the home of Nazareth. We are more than merely a school or an institution. To borrow the words of Pope Saint Paul VI, we strive to be a ‘community of love and sharing, beautiful for the problems it poses and rewards it brings.’
This mission calls forth the use and development of many virtues. But perhaps chief of these virtues, as we daily place ourselves before God and discern His will, is humility. In this spirit we take as our motto the words of our patron St. Philip Neri, siate umili, state bassi. Be humble, be lowly. May these wise words touch all hearts who enter into our seminary community.
Finally, whatever has led you, unknown reader, to this spot, we ask you to join in this work by offering a prayer for us: St. Philip Neri Seminary.
The vision for a diocesan seminary in the Diocese of Wichita did not begin in 2026. In the early 2000s, diocesan leadership explored the possibility through commissions, feasibility studies, and extensive discussion. While the idea generated significant interest, the project was ultimately shelved, awaiting the right moment, the necessary resources, and the providential circumstances that would allow it to flourish.
That moment arrived through the apostolic courage of Bishop Carl Kemme. Recognizing the need to provide a strong foundation for the formation of future priests, Bishop Kemme revived the long-discussed vision by establishing the St. Joseph House of Formation, initially as a two-year program for college seminarians.
Enrollment more than doubled from seven to sixteen seminarians, requiring additional living space. The Diocese acquired the convent on the campus of St. Joseph, last occupied by the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM), naming it Hennessy House after Bishop John J. Hennessy, the first bishop of the Diocese of Wichita. Fr. Mike Baldwin joined the formation team as a third priest, overseeing the seminarians’ pastoral field education.
Growth continued rapidly. With twenty-one men now in formation, the House of Formation expanded from a two-year to a full four-year college program. At the same time, Newman University established a Catholic Studies Program under the direction of Fr. Joseph Gile, providing a richer intellectual foundation for the seminarians’ formation.
To support the communal and spiritual life, the former IHM convent underwent extensive renovations, including the construction of a new chapel and garages.
The chapel is adorned with two stained-glass windows salvaged from a closed church in Philadelphia, depicting the Feeding of the Five Thousand and the Last Supper. On November 4, the feast of St. Charles Borromeo, Bishop Kemme dedicated the chapel, remarking:
“Today we make this house into a true home, where seeds of evangelization, discipleship, and stewardship planted in your personal homes, parishes, and schools, will continue to be nurtured and tended to as you discern a call to be priests for this diocese.”
The dedication marked more than the completion of a building project; it symbolized the establishment of a genuine home dedicated to forming future priests.
During a year overshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the House of Formation celebrated an important milestone as its first graduating class completed the program. Five seminarians finished their formation, demonstrating that the new model of priestly formation had already begun bearing fruit despite extraordinary challenges.
As the program matured, the formation team continued to develop both its personnel and its approach to priestly formation. Fr. Adam Grelinger joined the in-house staff as the third priest, assuming responsibility for pastoral field education. During these years the House of Formation strengthened its rhythms of prayer, study, fraternity, and apostolic service, laying the groundwork for continued expansion.
Leadership transitioned as Fr. Chad Arnold was appointed Director of the House of Formation, with Fr. Joseph Gile serving as Assistant Director. Fr. Garett Burns joined the staff as Director of Field Apostolates, further strengthening the pastoral dimension of formation.
Enrollment reached twenty-eight seminarians, creating new questions about housing capacity. Providence again provided a solution when another convent on the campus of St. Joseph Parish, built in 1965 for the Dominican Sisters of Peace from Great Bend, KS, became available. The Diocese purchased the property, allowing the House of Formation to expand to three residences. The new house was named Vianney House in honor of St. John Vianney, the Curé of Ars and patron saint of parish priests.
A significant milestone in the history of the House of Formation came as the first men formed there were ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Wichita: Frs. Jesus Bañuelos, Matthew Cooke, and Caleb Kuestersteffen.
In this year, the House of Formation welcomed thirty seminarians spread across its three houses. This year also marked an important development beyond the Diocese of Wichita; seminarians from the Diocese of Salina joined the program, making the House of Formation an interdiocesan institution for the first time and extending its mission of formation beyond the boundaries of the Diocese of Wichita.
The House of Formation welcomed its largest class to date with forty-one seminarians. Fr. Michael Brungardt joined the formation team as Assistant Director, while the Diocese of Dodge City also began sending its college seminarians for formation. What had begun eight years earlier as a diocesan initiative now served three dioceses across Kansas, reflecting both the strength of the program and the confidence other dioceses placed in its model of priestly formation.
Having ordained ten alumni to the priesthood, and as the House of Formation prepared to welcome forty-two seminarians, Bishop Kemme announced on August 7 his intention to formally erect the institution as a diocesan seminary under a new patron, St. Philip Neri. The decision represented the culmination of years of growth and the fulfillment of a vision first explored decades earlier.
On August 26, 2026, Bishop Kemme will formally erect St. Philip Neri Seminary. At the same ceremony, he will install Fr. Chad Arnold as the seminary’s first rector, with Fr. Garett Burns and Fr. Michael Brungardt serving as vice-rectors.
Today, St. Philip Neri Seminary forms men in the propaedeutic and discipleship stages of priestly formation, preparing them for major seminary through integral human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral formation. Rooted in a home environment characterized by charity, prayer, study, and fraternity, the seminary seeks to cultivate a way of life modeled after the Holy Family of Nazareth, forming joyful missionary disciples and future priests who will faithfully serve the Church for generations to come.
Fr. Chad Arnold is a priest of the Diocese of Wichita and the founding rector of St. Philip Neri Seminary. Ordained in 2010, he served as parochial vicar at Our Lady of Lourdes in Pittsburg, Kansas, and was appointed president of St. Mary’s Colgan Schools in 2012. In 2014, he became pastor of Holy Name Parish in Coffeyville. From 2015-2020 he served on the Presbyteral Council and College of Consultors. In 2017, Bishop Kemme appointed him Director of Vocations and Assistant Director of the St. Joseph House of Formation. Since 2023, he has served as Director of the St. Joseph House of Formation and Director of Seminarians for the Diocese of Wichita. In 2026, Bishop Kemme appointed him as the first rector of St. Philip Neri Seminary.
Fr. Garett Burns is a priest of the Diocese of Wichita. Ordained in 2018, he served as parochial vicar at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and later at St. Margaret Mary Parish, Wichita. In 2021, he was also appointed Assistant Director of the Office of Vocations, helping to foster and accompany priestly vocations throughout the diocese. Since 2023, he has served on the formation team at the St. Joseph House of Formation overseeing pastoral formation and field apostolates, as well as Director of Vocations Promotion for the Diocese. Fr. Burns brings a breadth of experience as he also serves as the spiritual director for A Better Choice and Proyecto Raquel (Project Rachel), assistant chaplain to the Sedgwick County jail, and manages and hosts the About Four O’Clock Podcast.
Fr. Michael Brungardt is a priest of the Diocese of Wichita. Ordained in 2018, he served as parochial vicar at St. Margaret Mary Parish in Wichita and St. Mary Parish in Derby before being appointed pastor of St. Paul Parish in Lyons and Holy Name of Jesus Parish in Bushton in 2021. In 2023, he also became pastor of Holy Trinity Parish in Little River. In 2025, Bishop Kemme appointed him Associate Director of the St. Joseph House of Formation. Additionally, he serves on the Presbyteral Council and College of Consultors, and is completing a Licentiate in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.) through the Pontifical Faculty of Theology at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, Illinois.
