St. Charles Borromeo Seminary

St. Charles Borromeo Seminary is the seminary of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Named for Saint Charles Borromeo, it is located in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania.

The seminary is accredited by both the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, and the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada.

It consists of three divisions: College, Theology, and Graduate School of Theology. Potential candidates for the priesthood pursue a program which consists of a four-year liberal arts curriculum followed by a four-year curriculum within the professional school of theology. The seminary offers the degrees of Bachelor of Arts, Master of Divinity, and Master of Arts.

The current rector is the Most Reverend Timothy C. Senior and the current Vice Rector is Reverend Fr. Joseph Bongard.

Mission Statement

The fundamental mission of Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary is the formation of Catholic men of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and of other dioceses and religious communities for pastoral service in the Roman Catholic priesthood of Jesus Christ.

The Seminary is committed to providing a unified college and theology program of formation in priestly spirituality, pastoral ministry, celibate witness, emotional maturity, intellectual integrity and physical wellness.

Formation towards the ministerial priesthood centers around the Word of God and the Sacraments of the Church, most especially Eucharist and Reconciliation. This is complemented by personal and community prayer, a comprehensive academic program of liberal arts and theological studies, and a program of pastoral preparation designed primarily for parochial ministry.

The Seminary welcomes the diverse challenges of our time and promotes in the seminarian a commitment to work in unity with others in the Church with a pastoral solicitude which is exercised in fidelity to the Magisterium of the Church.

Offering its resources to the larger Church community, Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary, through its Graduate School of Theology and Program of Catholic Studies (GST) and in cooperation with other institutes, provides a variety of academic and pastoral programs to serve the needs and interests of priests and deacons in parochial and other ministries, other parish workers, teachers of religion, and interested lay persons. The Seminary is committed to serve the need for on-going formation and pastoral education, as this need continues to be discerned and in collaboration with the leadership of the local Church.

Current dioceses served

The following listing is of the various dioceses that have seminarians at Saint Charles for formation to the Priesthood of Jesus Christ.

Diocese of Allentown, PA

Diocese of Arlington, VA

Diocese of Brooklyn, NY

Diocese of Harrisburg, PA

Archdiocese of Hartford, CT

Diocese of Lincoln, NE

Diocese of Ogdensburg, NY

Archdiocese of Philadelphia, PA

Diocese of Raleigh, NC

Diocese of Trenton, NJ

History

The Eakins room at the seminary has many paintings by Thomas Eakins.

St. Charles Borromeo Seminary was founded in 1832 by Bishop Francis Kenrick, the third Bishop of Philadelphia. The seminary was initially located at the home of Bishop Kenrick on Fifth Street in Philadelphia. In 1838, it was chartered to grant academic degrees. Circumstances required the subsequent relocation of the seminary to the northwest corner of Fifth and Prune Streets, then to Saint Mary's Rectory on Fourth Street, and eventually to the southeast corner of Eighteenth and Race Streets in Philadelphia before moving, in 1871, to its present home in Overbrook.

In 1863 Bishop James F. Wood made the first of three purchases of the property that today comprises the campus of Overbrook. In September, 1871, the preparatory college and theology divisions were reunited on the present campus. In December, 1875, the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception was formally dedicated by Archbishop Wood (who reached that rank when Philadelphia became an archdiocese in 1875). Subsequent Archbishops of Philadelphia have initiated improvements on the Seminary campus. Archbishop Patrick J. Ryan began the building of the library. Archbishop Edmond Prendergast oversaw the building of a student residence hall. Dennis Cardinal Dougherty sponsored the construction of the college building. John Cardinal O'Hara added an indoor swimming pool to the physical assets of the Seminary. In 1971, under the leadership of John Cardinal Krol, a residence hall and multi-purpose building dedicated to Saint John Vianney was constructed. In 2005, the Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua Research Center was established at the Ryan Memorial Library. The building was completely renovated in the process. The buildings that make up the current Theology Division along with the Ryan Memorial Library stand at the western end of campus. The Seminary College is located at the eastern end.

For an eleven-year period the preparatory division of the seminary was located at Glen Riddle in Delaware County. The preparatory program consisted at that time of what is equivalent to today's last two years of high school and four years of college. The high school program was discontinued in 1968. In 1999, St. Charles was described as avoiding the brunt of liturgical abuses common in some United States seminaries.

Krol Chair of Moral Theology

The John Cardinal Krol Chair of Moral Theology was founded by His Eminence Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua in January of 1990. The Krol Chair, named in honor of a great churchman who clearly and unwaveringly proclaimed the moral demands of Christian life, was established to enhance the Seminary’s efforts to promote a better understanding, appreciation and acceptance of Catholic moral teaching.

Through teaching, lectures, symposiums, workshops and publications, the Krol Chair contributes to the seminary’s primary mission of preparing men for pastoral service as ordained priests and to its secondary mission of educational outreach to the broader Church community. In these ways, the Krol Chair augments the theological enterprise of the seminary and directly responds to the Second Vatican Council’s charge that: "...special care be given to the perfecting of Moral Theology. Its scientific exposition, more deeply rooted in Sacred Scripture, is to illustrate the eminent vocation that the faithful have in Christ and the obligation they have to bear fruit in charity for the life of the world" (The Decree on Priestly Formation, 16).

The current holder of the Krol Chair is Rev. Dennis J. Billy, C.Ss.R. A Redemptorist priest of the Baltimore Province, Father Billy was professor of the history of moral theology and Christian spirituality at the Alphonsian Academy of Rome’s Pontifical Lateran University for more than 20 years. He assumed the responsibilities of the Krol Chair in the summer of 2008

Graduate School of Theology

The Graduate School of Theology and Program of Catholic Studies (GST) at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia is seeking Catholics who want to pursue a fulfilling academic program of theology.

GST is a center of theological education in Philadelphia for laity, priests, and religious from the Greater Philadelphia area and the entire country. It conducts evening, summer, and online courses, on both the graduate and undergraduate levels, in Catholic theology and in various institute programs.

GST is a co-educational program of theological study, faithful to the teachings of the Catholic Church and the Catholic intellectual tradition within the framework of "intellectual charity" (Benedict XVI). Fostering a loving community centered on Jesus Christ, we provide a fully integrated theological education grounded in natural reason and revealed truth. GST seeks to form students who are authentic living witnesses of the Faith sent forth to assist the Church in the joyful work of the New Evangelization.

GST is answering Blessed John Paul II's call to build and renew the Church of the Third Millennium. GST's vision is to educate and form students who, as leaders in Church ministries and apostolates, will live by the highest intellectual and ethical standards and fully witness the Gospel in truth and love to those they are called to serve and teach.

GST was founded at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in 1969. For decades, GST has had the reputation of promoting solidly Catholic teaching with dynamic academic rigor. Since its founding, GST has granted masters degrees in Sacred Theology to over 1,050 students, most of whom still serve the Church in various capacities. GST is privileged to be part of the distinguished institution of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary and part of such a rich heritage dating back to 1832.

Alumni who became bishops

• Peter Richard Kenrick
• Edward Barron
• Michael O'Connor
• Thaddeus Amat y Brusi
• Michael Domenec
• Stephen V. Ryan
• Caspar Henry Borgess
• James O'Connor
• Edmond Francis Prendergast
• Dennis Joseph Dougherty
• George L. Leech
• Hugh L. Lamb
• Eugene J. McGuinness
• Francis Edward Hyland
• Joseph Mark McShea

• Francis Brennan
• Martin Nicholas Lohmuller
• Thomas Jerome Welsh
• Edward Hughes
• Eusebius J. Beltran
• John Joseph O'Connor
• William Henry Keeler
• Louis A. DeSimone
• Francis B. Schulte
• John Patrick Foley
• Francis X. DiLorenzo
• David B. Thompson
• Joseph Anthony Galante
• Edward Peter Cullen
• Robert P. Maginnis

• Joseph Francis Martino
• Joseph Edward Kurtz
• Joseph A. Pepe
• Michael Francis Burbidge
• Joseph R. Cistone
• Joseph P. McFadden
• Kevin C. Rhoades
• Michael Joseph Bransfield
• Daniel E. Thomas
• James Green
• Herbert Bevard
• Edmond Fitzmaurice
• Timothy C. Senior
• John J. McIntyre
• Michael J. Fitzgerald

External links

• Official website
• Graduate School of Theology
• Seminary Library