Thesis advisor: Ana Martinez-Aleman / Roman Catholic Seminaries are post-secondary schools where men study in preparation for ordination for priesthood. In recent visitations by bishops to American seminaries faculty and students at all the seminaries were interviewed regarding the effectiveness of the curriculum. Noticeably absent from the consultations were the priests who had recently graduated from the seminary. This study, influenced by Dr. Dean Hoge's study: The First Five Years of the Priesthood interviewed twenty men who were ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Boston in the years 2001-2006. Using Pope John Paul II's seminal work of Pastores Dabo Vobis the qualitative study focused on the four areas of formation: human, intellectual, pastoral, and spiritual. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded using axial coding and open coding as well as cross case analysis and triangulation. Among the findings are loneliness of the recently ordained, the need for clearer boundaries in relationships with faculty members and women in the parish, more realistic training, the need for more support from the archdiocese, and better screening of pastoral sites prior to and after ordination. The findings suggest from the perceptions of the recently ordained men that there is significant room for improvement in all areas of formation. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2008. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Higher Education and Educational Administration.