Theological College (The Catholic University of America)

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Theological College
Seal of Theological College 2018.svg
Latin: Seminarium Sancti Sulpitii
Former names
Sulpician Seminary
(1917–1940)
TypeRoman Catholic seminary
Established1917 (1917)
Affiliation Catholic Church (The Catholic University of America, Society of Saint-Sulpice)
Rector Rev. Gerald D. McBrearity, PSS
Vice-RectorRev. Hy K. Nguyen, PSS
Location
401 Michigan Avenue, N.E., Washington, D.C.
,
United States
Affiliations United States Conference of Catholic Bishops; Congregation for the Clergy
Website theologicalcollege.org
Theological College Theological College.JPG
Theological College

Theological College is the national Roman Catholic diocesan seminary located in Washington, D.C. The seminary is affiliated with The Catholic University of America. The seminary is owned and administered by priests of the Society of Saint-Sulpice. It was founded in 1917.

Catholic Church Largest Christian church, led by the Bishop of Rome

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with approximately 1.3 billion baptised Catholics worldwide as of 2017. As the world's oldest and largest continuously functioning international institution, it has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilisation. The church is headed by the Bishop of Rome, known as the pope. Its central administration, the Holy See, is in the Vatican City, an enclave within the city of Rome in Italy.

Diocese Christian district or see under the supervision of a bishop

The word diocese is derived from the Greek term dioikesis (διοίκησις) meaning "administration". Today, when used in an ecclesiastical sense, it refers to the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. Sometimes it is also called bishopric.

Seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, and divinity school are educational institutions for educating students in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, in academics, or in Christian ministry. The English word is taken from the Latin seminarium, translated as seed-bed, an image taken from the Council of Trent document Cum adolescentium aetas which called for the first modern seminaries. In the West, the term now refers to Catholic educational institutes and has widened to include other Christian denominations and American Jewish institutions.

Contents

Theological College is located near the campus of Catholic University, across from the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, and close to Capuchin College and the Dominican House of Studies.

Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Church in D.C., United States

The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is a large Catholic minor basilica and national shrine located in Washington, D.C., United States of America.

Capuchin College is a national Catholic Roman Rite seminary located in Washington, D.C. The seminary is owned and administered by priests and brothers of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin.

The Dominican House of Studies, officially the Priory of the Immaculate Conception, is a community of the Province of St. Joseph of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) in Washington, DC. It is dedicated to the theological formation of Dominican friars and the service of the church in the Archdiocese of Washington. It serves as a formation community for Dominican candidates for Holy Orders and the Dominican cooperator brotherhood. It also operates the Thomistic Institute.

History

In 1889, priests belonging to the Society of Saint Sulpice were asked to administer the divinity college of the Catholic University of America. In 1917, they began building their own seminary next to the university. The Sulpician Seminary was first run as an extension of Saint Mary Seminary in Baltimore, Maryland, but became an independent institution in 1924. In 1940, the Catholic University school of theology assumed responsibility for training its seminarians, whereupon the seminary was renamed Theological College. [1]

Baltimore Largest city in Maryland, United States

Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the 30th most populous city in the United States, with a population of 602,495 in 2018 and also the largest such independent city in the country. Baltimore was established by the Constitution of Maryland as an independent city in 1729. As of 2017, the population of the Baltimore metropolitan area was estimated to be just under 2.802 million, making it the 21st largest metropolitan area in the country. Baltimore is located about 40 miles (64 km) northeast of Washington, D.C., making it a principal city in the Washington-Baltimore combined statistical area (CSA), the fourth-largest CSA in the nation, with a calculated 2018 population of 9,797,063.

Maryland U.S. state in the United States

Maryland is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east. The state's largest city is Baltimore, and its capital is Annapolis. Among its occasional nicknames are Old Line State, the Free State, and the Chesapeake Bay State. It is named after the English queen Henrietta Maria, known in England as Queen Mary, who was the wife of King Charles I.

Sulpician tradition

The formation program of Theological College is guided by the principles and ethos of the Sulpician Fathers as articulated by Father Jean-Jacques Olier, founder of the Society of St. Sulpice: “to live supremely for God in Christ Jesus our Lord, so much so that the inner life of His only Son should penetrate to the inmost depths of our heart and to such an extent that everyone should be able to say ‘It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.'” Founded to reform the clergy in 1630s France, the Society retains its commitment of “developing men of character, educating effective priests, forming pastoral leaders and nurturing an apostolic spirit.”

Jean-Jacques Olier 17th-century French Catholic priest and founder of the Sulpicians

Jean-Jacques Olier, S.S. was a French Catholic priest and the founder of the Sulpicians. He helped to establish the Société Notre-Dame de Montréal, which organized the settlement of a new town called Ville-Marie in the colony of New France.

The Society’s five hallmarks are a commitment to ministerial priesthood, the cultivation of an apostolic spirit, an emphasis on spiritual formation, the creation of a formational community, and the exercise of collegiality.

This approach gives special emphasis and recognition to the importance of mental prayer and spiritual direction. Particular devotion to Our Lady under the title Sedes Sapientiae, Seat of Wisdom, is another distinctive characteristic.

Academic programs

The Order of Saint-Sulpice focuses on training priests through its seminaries. [2] To that end, the Theological College provides priestly formation through three separate academic programs: a two-year certified pre-theology program; a theology program; and the Basselin scholars program for undergraduate-level seminarians. [1] The latter, an eponymous endowed scholarship of Theodore B. Basselin, is administered by the Catholic University school of philosophy. [1]

Theodore B. Basselin businessperson

Theodore B. Basselin (1851–1914) was an American lumber magnate, best remembered for an endowed scholarship he created at the Theological College of the Catholic University of America. The Basselin scholarship has funded the philosophical education of many notable American churchmen.

The seminary houses and forms seminarians from the following dioceses: Birmingham, Bridgeport, Charleston, Cleveland, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Fort Worth, Galveston-Houston, Hartford, Lafayette, Little Rock, Memphis, New York, Paterson, Pittsburgh, Portland, Richmond, Rochester, Rockville Centre, St. Augustine, San Francisco, Spokane, Syracuse, Washington, Wheeling-Charleston, and Worcester. [3]

Roman Catholic Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama diocese of the Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama is a particular church of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church that encompasses the northern 39 counties of the U.S. state of Alabama. It was erected on December 9, 1969, when it was split from what is now the Archdiocese of Mobile. The diocese is part of the ecclesiastical province of Mobile.

Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport diocese of the Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport is located in the southwestern part of the state of Connecticut, and its boundaries are the same as that of Fairfield County, Connecticut. There are 82 parishes in the diocese. Its cathedral is St. Augustine in Bridgeport.

Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston diocese of the Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the southern United States and comprises the entire state of South Carolina, with Charleston as its see city. Currently, the diocese consists of 92 parishes and 24 missions throughout the state. It is led by the Most Rev. Robert Guglielmone, the Thirteenth Bishop of Charleston, who serves as pastor of the mother church, Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in the City of Charleston. Its first bishop was John England. Charleston is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Atlanta.

Rectors

No.NameYears served
1. Rev. Francis Havey, PSS1917-1924; 1926
2. Rev. John F. Fenlon, PSS1924-1925
3. Rev. J. Benjamin Tennelly, PSS1926-1931
4. Rev. Anthony Vieban, PSS1932-1944
5. Rev. Llyod P. McDonald, PSS1944-1949
6. Rev. John P. McCormick, PSS1949-1968
7. Rev. Eugene A. Walsh, PSS1968-1971
8. Rev. Edward J. Frazer, PSS1971-1976
9. Rev. Anthony F. Lobo, PSS1976-1982
10. Rev. Albert C. Giaquinto, PSS1982-1986
11. Rev. Lawrence B. Terrien, PSS1986-1992
12. Rev. Howard P. Bleichner, PSS1992-2002
13. Rev. Thomas Hurst, PSS2002-2007
14. Rev. Mel Blanchette, PSS2007-2011
15. Rev. Phillip J. Brown, PSS2011-2016
16. Rev. Gerald D. McBrearity, PSS2016–present

Faculty

The sixteenth and current rector of Theological College is the Very Reverend Gerald D. McBrearity, PSS, S.T.B., D.Min., M.A., who assumed this position in July, 2016. He succeeded the Very Reverend Phillip J. Brown, PSS, J.D., J.C.D., S.T.B., who served as rector from 2011 to 2016. The current vice-rector is Reverend Hy K. Nguyen, PSS, M.A., M.Div, S.T.D. The faculty includes five other priests, four of whom are Sulpicians, who are appointed by the Sulpician Provincial Council, one permanent deacon, and one lay woman. The position of rector must be approved by both the president of the Catholic University and the archbishop of Washington. [1]

Notable alumni

Theological College is the alma mater of over 1,500 priests, including 45 bishops and six cardinals. [2] These include:

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Mission and History". Theological College. Archived from the original on February 24, 2012. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Theological College, Washington, D.C." What We Do. Sulpician Order. Archived from the original on March 10, 2012. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Sending Dioceses". Theological College. Retrieved October 3, 2017.

Coordinates: 38°55′51″N76°59′58″W / 38.93083°N 76.99944°W / 38.93083; -76.99944

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