In the nineteenth century, Scottish Catholic priests were not simply trained; they were made. Preferably selected and intensely trained since boyhood, seminarians – prieststo- be – were set on a lengthy career path which expected them to become exemplary Christians, brilliant scholars, disciplined (celibate) males, loyal subjects of the Pope, and approachable ‘fathers’ to their parishioners in a Presbyterian country historically unsympathetic to their faith. By the time they left the seminary system they had been thoroughly transformed: from children to adults, from boys to men, from students to professionals and from, in many cases, labourers’ and shoemakers’ sons to gentlemen. Aspects of their lives were permanently affected by the process of moulding them into missionary priests in an immersive environment in a foreign country. But regardless of their unique experience, seminarians have rarely been the focus of historical scholarship. This thesis examines the lives and the social identities of a subsection of the Scottish Mission’s seminarians: those trained on French soil between 1818 and 1878 inclusive. It uses the prosopographical method to analyse the lives of a population of 225 France-trained individuals before, beyond and during their study migration abroad. It details the system for the education of missionary priests for Scotland before concentrating specifically on France and the post-Revolution setting of the students’ further studies there, previously undocumented by historians. It addresses the Gallican and Sulpician peculiarities of the French ecclesiastical culture reigning at the seminaries and the impact of the instability of the host society on the Scots seminarians. By using the lenses of gender, class, nation and race, it addresses different intertwining facets of this experience, elaborating on these lives through the concept of belonging. This thesis makes a significant contribution to scholarship on Roman Catholic priesthood, seminary education and Scots Colleges abroad. The individual seminarian lives highlight the paradoxical nature of a Roman Catholic clerical education, designed to mould individuals into cosmopolitan priests for the Scottish Catholic Mission.

Background: The US health care system faces increased costs from end of life (EOL) care. The intensive approach to EOL treatment with greater use of procedures in ICUs has led to decedent spending six times greater than that of survivors in the hospital. Experts in ICU and Palliative care fields have called for greater utilization of end of life planning and education. To date, EOL education has been dominated by the technologically driven medical field and the church has been under-utilized. The US population relies on clergy support for many mental health and EOL issues. Clergy report feeling uncomfortable in their ability to provide EOL care and desire more education. Research in clergy preparation for EOL education is relatively small and no studies in Virginia have been completed. Purpose: Document the current state of Richmond, VA, seminary education on EOL issues and document graduating seminarians' desire for more EOL education. Methods: A two-page questionnaire was approved by the VCU IRB and distributed amongst graduating seminarians at the three Richmond Theological Consortium seminaries: Union-PSCE, Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, and Virginia Union University Seminary. The first section of the survey evaluated education on EOL issues received while in seminary. Experience with counseling the dying and bereaved along with placement at medical institutions was also evaluated. The second section evaluated the desire for more didactic and practical education. Desire for future Continuing Education Classes was also evaluated along with demographics. SAS was utilized to create frequencies and chi square associations and odds ratios.Results: Overall, 75 surveys were returned, a 35% response rate. Eighty-six percent of respondents stated that pastoral care overall education was covered (missing = 20), while 38.3% stated that medical aspects of dying was covered (missing = 9). Fifty-seven percent had some kind of placement at a medical institution. Sixty-nine percent had experience in an EOL situation. Approximately 75% wanted more education, with practical education and pastoral care predominating. Forty-eight percent desired more theologically-focused EOL continuing education classes. Prior education in preaching sermons and pastoral care of the bereaved was associated with desire for further education in those respective topics, OR = 3.42, 95%CI 1.58, 11.05 and OR = 4.64, 95%CI 1.10, 19.50, respectively. Placement at an institution was associated with desire for more didactic (OR = 3.10, 95%CI 1.03, 9.35) and practical education (OR = 3.89, 95%CI 1.22, 12.35). Experience with counseling the bereaved was associated with a decreased likelihood of wanting more education on how to interact with medical and hospice staff. Demographics were not statistically associated with desire for more education.Conclusions: Several EOL topics do not receive full coverage, specifically self care of the pastor, teaching adults about end of life planning, the medical aspects of end of life, and mobilizing the laity for the care of the dying and bereaved. Placement at an institution or experience was absent in 30-40% of participants. The majority of participants wanted more education. Placement along with previous education was associated with desire for further education. Curriculum change to reflect these findings may benefit in increasing the overall confidence and competence of pastors, increase the ministerial goals of the church, and aid in preparing the public for the end of life, thus decreasing the burden on the health care system.

This autoethnography tells the story of my faith journey with a special focus on my years as a Catholic seminarian and the change towards embarking on a career as a clinical psychologist. Pertinent childhood experiences are also shared to contextualise my story. The narrative, “Wrestling Heart”, is the centre and the produced data of this autoethnography. As an “evocative” narrative, it independently seeks to fulfil many of the goals of an autoethnography, such as being therapeutic for both writer and readers, and imbuing culture with critical thinking. The sharing of the narrative is augmented with a thematic analysis of it and Carl Rogers’ Person-Centred Approach is mainly used to comprehend the gleaned themes. The movement towards a comprehension of my experience is consistent with the philosophical foundation of this study: phenomenology. It is envisaged that the utility of this study lies primarily in its interrogation of the relationship between religion and mental health, its in-depth depiction of an individual grappling with their faith in relation to mental health, and the way in which the writing of this autoethnography therapeutically fostered greater congruence for me the writer, as I prepare to work as a clinical psychologist. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

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