Mary Immaculate Seminary was a Catholic seminary in Northampton, Pennsylvania. It opened in 1939 to train candidates for the Congregation of the Mission, commonly called the Vincentian Fathers, and operated until 1990. The facilities then served as a retreat center. [1] The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2022. [2]
In 1912, the Vincentians made the decision to build a school of theology for candidates to their community based in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Prefect of the Vincentian minor seminary, the Rev. Joseph A. Skelly, C.M., was asked to dedicate his time to raising funds for the building of a new seminary. [3] As a result of his labors, in 1936 the Congregation acquired a 460-acre tract of grassy fields and wooded land, at the highest point in Lehigh Township, near the palisades of the Lehigh River, about 12 miles north of Allentown within the Diocese of Allentown. [4]
Construction began in 1938 and the cornerstone was blessed that year in a ceremony presided over by Cardinal Dennis Joseph Dougherty, the Archbishop of Philadelphia. The service was attended by 15,000 people. [4]
The seminary held its first classes in the fall of 1939. The member of the first class were ordained after graduating the following spring. The seminary continued to serve the Eastern Province of the Congregation until 1969. By that time, the number of candidates to the Vincentian Fathers had dropped to such a point that the seminary was opened to students for dioceses of the region and other religious institutes. The last class graduated in 1990, the 50th class to have done so. The seminary had trained some 500 men for the priesthood by that time. [4]
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia began to make use of the facilities for its own seminarians. In 1996, the Vincentian Fathers sold the property to the Archdiocese, which converted into use as a retreat center. [4]
In 1954 the Chapel of Mary Queen of all Saints was opened for worship by the Vincentian community. [1]
The chapel was built in the form of a cross composed of the nave and the transept, with a semi-circular apse around the altar. The Vincentian Fathers and seminarians sat in choir stalls of white oak, with stone work of white Indiana limestone, ornamented in places with carved inscriptions. It contains a shrine to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. The stone work in the shrine is of Kentucky sandstone. [5]
The architectural style of the chapel is a fusion and adaptation of ancient forms. The exterior was done in the Romanesque style, and the interior uses the Roman barrel vault for the nave. The dome of the apse, directly above the main altar, was done in a Byzantine style. The apse dome features a tile mosaic executed by Hildreth Meiere [6] in the Art Deco style depicting Our Lady surrounded by six saints who were known for a strong devotion to her. They are:
The tabernacle is not marble, as is commonly used, but made of white onyx. The crucifix has the body of Jesus in ivory-colored linden wood, which stands out from the darker tones of the zebrawood cross, with its edging and trim done in sheet copper. [5]
The complex includes a tower that dominates the front of the main building and which features the crucifixion. In its foyer, mosaics depict the life and works of St. Vincent de Paul, founder of the Vincentians, and notable members of the Congregation. Sayings of Vincent de Paul are sculpted into the stone. [5]
The Congregation of the Mission, abbreviated CM and commonly called the Vincentians or Lazarists, is a Catholic society of apostolic life of pontifical right for men founded by Vincent de Paul. It is associated with the Vincentian Family, a loose federation of organizations that look to Vincent de Paul as their founder or patron.
Catherine Labouré, DC was a French member of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul and a Marian visionary. She is believed to have relayed the request from the Blessed Virgin Mary to create the Miraculous Medal, now worn by millions of people around the world. Labouré spent forty years caring for the aged and infirm. For this, she is called the patroness of seniors.
Many religious communities have the term Sisters of Charity in their name. Some Sisters of Charity communities refer to the Vincentian tradition alone, or in America to the tradition of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, but others are unrelated. The rule of Vincent de Paul for the Daughters of Charity has been adopted and adapted by at least sixty founders of religious institutes for sisters around the world.
The University of Saint Mary of the Lake (USML) is a private Roman Catholic seminary in Mundelein, Illinois. It is the principal seminary and school of theology for the formation of priests in the Archdiocese of Chicago in Illinois. USML was chartered by the Illinois General Assembly in 1844. USML is often referred to by the name of its graduate program, Mundelein Seminary. Its compound name is University of Saint Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary.
Hildreth Meière (1892–1961) was an American muralist active in the first half of the twentieth century who is especially known for her Art Deco designs. During her 40-year career she completed approximately 100 commissions. She designed murals for office buildings, churches, government centers, theaters, restaurants, cocktail lounges, ocean liners, and world’s fair pavilions, and she worked in a wide variety of mediums, including paint, ceramic tile, glass and marble mosaic, terracotta, wood, metal, and stained glass. Among her extensive body of work are the iconographic interiors at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln, the dynamic roundels of Dance, Drama, and Song at Radio City Music Hall, the apse and narthex mosaics and stained-glass windows at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church (Manhattan), and the decoration of the Great Hall at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C.
The Carmelites of Mary Immaculate abbreviated CMI, formerly also known as the Servants of Mary Immaculate, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, and is the largest such congregation in the Syro-Malabar Church.
Thomas Jerome Welsh was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania (1970-1974), as bishop of the Diocese of Arlington in Virginia (1974–1983) and as bishop of the Diocese of Allentown in Pennsylvania (1983–1997).
Sacred Heart Major Seminary is a private Roman Catholic seminary in Detroit, Michigan. It is affiliated with the Archdiocese of Detroit.
Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) Seminary is a Roman Catholic college seminary for men in Winona, Minnesota, in the United States that is sponsored by the Diocese of Winona.
The Green Scapular is a Roman Catholic devotional article approved by Pope Pius IX in 1870. It is worn to gain the intercession of the Virgin Mary in the wearer's life and work, as well as (especially) at the moment of one's own death. Use of this article is generally understood to be more liberal than other scapulars; the favor it earns will apply to anyone who wears it, carries it, or simply keeps it aside. It can even be carried or kept by one party in the stead of another if circumstances impede the intended recipient to safely or practically accept it.
Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary is a Roman Catholic seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, that is under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The oldest Catholic institution of higher learning in the Philadelphia region, the school is named after Charles Borromeo, an Italian saint from the Counter-Reformation.
The buildings and architecture of Allentown, Pennsylvania reflect the city's history from its founding in 1762 through to the present.
The Monastery and Church of Saint Michael the Archangel, known locally as Saint Michael's Monastery Church, is a state and national historic place in Union City, New Jersey, United States. Formally opened in 1869 and completed in 1875, the grounds of the complex are bounded West Street and Summit Avenue between 18th and 21st Streets. The small street leading to its front entrance from the east is called Monastery Place. At one time the largest Roman Catholic church in Hudson County, it has since become home to a Presbyterian congregation while part of the grounds are used for housing and education. At one time its walls were adorned by artwork by Hildreth Meière, until rain damage prompted their removal from public view.
St. Vincent's Seminary and College, also known as St. Vincent's College and "The Cape", was an educational facility in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, which had two components: a college, providing a secular education of young men of the region; and a seminary, for the training of candidates for the Catholic priesthood to serve in the Midwestern United States. The school was operated by the priests of the Congregation of the Mission, commonly referred to as the Vincentians, as a part of their mission since their founding in 17th-century France by St. Vincent de Paul. It operated from 1838 to 1979.
Saint Joseph's Seminary was an American Roman Catholic educational institution located in Plainsboro, New Jersey, though with an address in Princeton, New Jersey. It was founded in 1914 and was operated by the Congregation of the Mission, better known as the Vincentian Fathers, for the formation of their members and other candidates to the Catholic priesthood. The school closed in 1992 and a retreat center occupied the site until 2009. The Mother of God Orthodox Church had also occupied a small portion of the seminary until 2015 when American Boychoir School had been relocated there. The site is now home to private schools, but the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal is now home to the Princeton Abbey and Cemetery. The Abbey is now a public cemetery and event space for the Princeton area.
St. Mary's of the Barrens Church is a Catholic Church and former seminary in Perryville, Missouri. St. Mary's is the historic seat of the American Vincentians and since its establishment in 1818 has served as an educational institution, a Vincentian house of formation, and a Vincentian community residence. The complex of eight contributing buildings, one contributing site, and two contributing structures was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995 as St. Mary's of the Barrens Historic District. St. Mary's is the home of the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal.
Our Lady of Immaculate Conception Church, popularly known as Manjummel Palli, is a parish church coming under the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Verapoly. It is situated along the Eloor - Muttar Road, about 8 km from Kalamassery at Manjummel, in Kochi, Kerala. It was blessed on 4 December 1892 and is one of the century-old churches in Kerala.
Mount St. Alphonsus Seminary, located in Esopus, New York, was an American Roman Catholic seminary founded in 1907 by the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, more commonly known as the Redemptorist Fathers and Brothers. It operated as a seminary until 1985, after which it became a center for meetings and spiritual retreats for the people of the Hudson Valley in New York. In 2012, the Mount St. Alphonsus Retreat Center was purchased by the Bruderhof Anabaptists who renamed the building as The Mount Community and started The Mount Academy, a parochial school, at the premises. A daily meal is shared by the Bruderhof members of The Mount Community who worship together several times throughout the week, living together as a Christian intentional community.
The Basilica Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, formerly known as The Miraculous Medal Shrine, is at 500 E. Chelten Ave. in the East Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The church now known as the Basilica Shrine was completed by the Congregation of the Mission in 1879 as the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception on the grounds of St. Vincent's Seminary. In 1927, Fr. Joseph Skelly, CM, commissioned the creation of Mary's Central Shrine within the chapel to promote devotion to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, a title of the Virgin Mary originating with her apparitions to Saint Catherine Labouré in Paris in 1830.
40°44′08″N75°31′20″W / 40.7355°N 75.5223°W
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