Woodstock College

Woodstock College

Woodstock College, c. 1920
Motto	ad majorem dei gloriam
Type	Seminary
Active	1869–1974
Affiliation	Jesuit
Founder	Angelo Paresce
Location	Woodstock , Maryland , U.S. 39°20′08″N76°52′12″W / 39.33556°N 76.87000°W / 39.33556; -76.87000 [1]

Woodstock College was a Jesuit seminary that existed from 1869 to 1974. It was the oldest Jesuit seminary in the United States. ^[2] The school was located in Woodstock, Maryland, west of Baltimore, from its establishment until 1969, when it moved to New York City, where it operated in cooperation with the Union Theological Seminary and the Jewish Theological Seminary.

The school closed in 1974. ^[3] It was succeeded by the Woodstock Theological Center, an independent, nonprofit Catholic research institute located at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

History

Cemetery and sepulchral chapel at the college

Library outfitted for the college's golden jubilee

College building, c. 1871

After unsuccessful efforts to establish a divinity school in Boston, New York, and Washington D.C., 249 acres were purchased in Woodstock in 1866, where construction of Woodstock College soon followed. ^[4] The college was originally located along the Patapsco River in Woodstock, Maryland, west of Baltimore. It incorporated in 1867, and opened on September 22, 1869. ^[5] At the time, the college was the only Jesuit seminary in the United States and was intended to be where the majority of all American Jesuit priests would be trained in the future. ^[4]

In the 1960s, the college began considering affiliating with an urban university. ^{[6] [7]}

The argument to move the school into a city and place it in affiliation with a broader network of institutions of higher learning received decisive support from the newest ideas of theological education and priestly formation emerging from the Second Vatican Council and the Jesuits' own Thirty-First General Congregation. New Haven, Washington D.C., and New York City were considered for the college's relocation. ^[8] In consequence, the college closed its original campus and moved to New York City in 1969 ^[9] where it operated in cooperation with the Union Theological Seminary ^[10] and the Jewish Theological Seminary. Controversies over the merits of the move into the city, specific controversies arising over the lifestyle of the Jesuits in training in New York, and a general desire of the order to consolidate its theology schools nationally led to the school's closure in 1974. ^[3]

It was succeeded until 2013 by the Woodstock Theological Center, ^[11] an independent, nonprofit Catholic research institute located at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. The theological library retains its independence through an affiliation with the library at Georgetown University, where it is still housed.

Campus

The original campus buildings in Woodstock, Maryland are now used as a Job Corps Center, while the campus grounds are part of Patapsco Valley State Park.

Rectors and Presidents of Woodstock College

No.	Name	Years	Ref.
1	Angelo Paresce SJ	1869–1875
2	James PerronSJ	1875–1881
3	Joseph E. KellerSJ	1881–1883
4	Pierre O. RacicotSJ	1883–1890
5	Edward V. Boursaud SJ	1890–1893	[12]
6	Joseph JergeSJ	1893–1897
7	Burchard Villiger SJ	1897–1901	[13]
8	William P. BrettSJ	1901–1907
9	Anthony Maas SJ	1907–1912
10	Joseph Hanselman SJ	1912–1918	[14]
11	William ClarkSJ	1918–1921	[15]
12	Peter LutzSJ	1921–1927
13	Vincent McCormickSJ	1927–1933
14	Francis KeenanSJ	1933–1939
15	David NugentSJ	1939–1945
16	Ferdinand WheelerSJ	1945–1951
17	Joseph MurphySJ	1951–1957
18	Edward J. Sponga SJ	1957–1963	[16]
19	Michael F. MaherSJ	1963–1965
20	Felix CardegnaSJ	1965–1969	[17]
21	Christopher F. MooneySJ	1969–1974	[18] [19]

Notable people

See List of people associated with Woodstock College

See also

• List of Jesuit sites

References

Citations

1. "Feature Detail Report: Woodstock College". Geographic Names Information System. U.S. Geological Survey. 1979-09-12. Retrieved 2008-04-05.
2. "A Death in the Family". TIME. 1973-01-22. Archived from the original on November 1, 2008.
3. Blau, Eleanor (1973-01-09). "Woodstock Jesuit College Here, Experimental Seminary, to Shut". The New York Times . p. 1.
4. "Woodstock Is Oldest Jesuit School In U. S.". The Ellicott City Times. p. 6.
5. "Leading Catholic Seminary". The Times (Ellicott City). 31 March 1965.
6. Fiske, Edward B. (1966-12-16). "Jesuit Seminary Weighs Urban Tie". The New York Times . p. 52.
7. Doty, Robert C. (1967-09-02). "Jesuit Seminary May Move to City". The New York Times . p. 15.
8. Holland, Cella. "Two Senators And An Editor Came From Modest Woodstock".
9. Fiske, Edward B. (1968-02-28). "Jesuit Seminary From Maryland To Move to Morningside Heights". The New York Times . p. 16.
10. Lissner, Will (1969-10-23). "Protestants Greet Jesuits Here". The New York Times . p. 49.
11. "Jesuit College Plans Transfer". The New York Times . 1973-12-02. p. 105. Woodstock College, the Jesuit theology school being phased out here, will transfer some of its resources and assets to a new Jesuit research center to be established in Washington.
12. Obituary: Father Edward V. Boursaud 1902 , p. 279
13. "PROMINENT JESUIT VERY ILL.; The Rev. Burchard Villiger of Philadelphia Not Expected to Recover". The New York Times . 1902-11-04. p. 1.
14. "Presidents - Hanselman". College of the Holy Cross.
15. Admin, ARSI (2022-06-28). "Catalogs of New Society of Jesus - Archivum Romanum Societatis Iesu" . Retrieved 2025-04-16.
16. "What I Wanted as a Person". TIME. 1968-07-26. Archived from the original on December 2, 2008.
17. "The Jesuits' Search For a New Identity". TIME. 1973-04-23. Archived from the original on January 10, 2008.
18. "Mooney Is New Head Of Woodstock College". The New York Times . 1969-10-18. p. 9.
19. Saxon, Wolfgang (1993-09-28). "C. F. Mooney, 68, Religion Professor And Noted Author". The New York Times .

Sources

• "Obituary: Father Edward V. Boursaud" (PDF). Woodstock Letters . 31 (2): 277–280. October 1902. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 21, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2022– via Jesuit Archives & Research Center.

External links

• Woodstock Letters collection