There are 60 hearts here in Bhakti Bhavan. All these hearts are filled with gratitude for the precious vocation God has given them.

Most Rev. Dr. Bernard Moras, the Archbishop of Bangalore is the head of this institute. He has great love for this house. He mentions in his pastoral Handbook that, “Bhakti Bhavan is the Heart of the Archdiocese.” This is well proved in his regular visit to our house to look into the welfare of each candidate. On every first Thursday of the month he offers the Holy Sacrifice and intercedes God’s Blessing on us. Apart from this, last year, he took initiative to renovate this house spending thousands of dollars. His constant care is a great encouragement for these hearts to serve God. These hearts are the future of the universal church.

The Young boys who feel the call to the Diocesan Priesthood, join Bhakti Bhavan after their high school. “Bhakti Bhavan” in several Indian languages means “House of Devotion”. It is here that these young boys are exposed to community life and prayer. The Orientation programmes here are three-fold: HUMAN FORMATION, SPIRITUAL FORMATION and INTELLECTUAL.

This year we have Two programmes held in Bhakti Bhavan: Initiation years and Propaedeutics Years. An initiation programme is conducted for three years during which they complete two years of pre-degree studies. The first year is devoted to the learning of Spoken and Written English, Kannada and Tamil, Basics in Latin and Introduction to the Holy Bible and Liturgy.

Before they embark upon their ecclesiastical studies after graduation from college these young boys, with the help of their Superiors at Bhakti Bhavan, discern whether the Priestly Vocation is meant for them.

This is the primary institution of the Archdiocese because it is here where the pillars and the future leaders of the church are formed.

Apart from this regular programme, this year we have a special programme called “Propaedeutics Year”. This is a new programme we have started here in Bhakti Bhavan. It is also called as ‘Spiritual Year’ (earlier known as pre-philosophy). It is conducted for 10 months. We have ten brothers for the Propaedeutics Years programme. Earlier, the brothers were sent to Mangalore, Karnataka, for this programme. This year due to some inconveniences in Mangalore, we are having it in Bhakti Bhavan.

The Propaedeutics Year is the most important year in the formation of a candidate aspiring to become a priest. At the end of this year, a candidate makes a conscious choice of whether to become a priest or not. During these 10 months, they are helped with a lot of spiritual activities. Their classes comprises mainly of spiritual than intellectual. Different spiritualities of different saints, one month retreat, Monastic life, village experience, service at the home for the aged, five-time prayers everyday… are some of the regular programme held during this year. To give extra attention to the candidates, the Archbishop has appointed Rev. Fr. Pius, a Benedictine Monk, exclusively for them.

You can share our Hope for the Future Church. You can form the dreams of these young people.

Browse through our website, we will let you know how you can support The Holy Mother Church and train more priests.

In the love of Jesus and Mary,

Rev. Fr. John Sudeep

Director, Bhakti Bhavan