Yearning for the Past: Francis Only Wants BIG Seminaries

All rotten fruit of Vatican II. Our own Archdiosecean seminary was originally built in 1871 by Archbishop Wood, when the number of seminarians after the Civil War grew enormously. Some were originally from Ireland, but the number of Seminarians grew from about 30 in 1860, to over 70 by 1869. Realizing the need of a bigger building, and away from the rapidly espanding Philadelphia and its building boom, Archbishop Wood bout 150 acres in the area outside Philadelphia named Overbrook, and the seminary was dedicated in 1871. It is a classic Victorian buildinh with high ceilings, large oaken doors, and believe it or not, the original staircasses of carved wook, and globe electric lights (installed in the 1880's). It was buillt to accomodate about 125 seminarians, and has a beautiful Chapel. By the early 1900's, this building was becoming too small. IN the early 1920's, Denis Cardinal Dougherty (the greatest Archbishop Philadelphia ever had), decided to build a huge new seminary on the same grounds, in the Italian Renaissance style. The chapel, dedicated to St. Martin of Tours is a masterpiece of Italian architecture, and could have been in any Italian village. The new seminary was built to house about 200-300 seminarians. It was decided in the early 1930's, when the building was dedicated, to use the original 1871 building to house those seminarians studying Theology, and the new huge building to house the junior seminary, and the upper seminarians pursuing philosophy and college studies.
Amazingly, all Theological studies and lectures were conducted in Latin, and the seminarians were all fluent in it upon ordination.
The huge college building, by the late 1940's was again becoming too small, and the overflow of seminarians were housed on cots in the basement!!! By the en reign of the great Pope Pius XII, (1958), seminary enrollment of the combined building was about 550.
During the brief reign (1958-63) of John XXIII, infamously know for calling Vatican II, the seminary grew alittle more, to about 620 students , including about 35 studying in Rome, at at the now closed Catholic University Seminary of Louvain (Belgium)
At the close of Vatican II, the seminary still had 550 seminarians, but after the introduction of the Novus Ordo (1970), enrollment collapsed. There were only 330 seminarians by 1972, a mere 2 1/2 years after the Novus Ordo was introduced. By 1978, there were about 175, and seminarians were admitted from other dioceses to keep the buildings open and opperating. This set up lasted until two years ago, when it was announced that due to continuing declining enrollment, and massive structural repairs needed, the seminary would be closed. It was bought by MAIN LINE HEALTH INC., a network of Philadelphia area hospitals, offices, and clinics. The seminary now pays MAIN LINE HEALTH rent, and will be forced to move out in 2024.
The building the smeinary has purchased as a replacement is tremendously smaller, so much so that the rare collection of Catholic books, missals, and other documents at St. Charles won't fit in the tiny new library.
The new "seminary" is a converted dormitory on the campus of Gwynned-Mercy College, and could house about 200 seminarians......but it is common knowledge that this building is already WAY too big for the 120 current seminarians, and with a Pope like Francis and his agenda and his appointees as Bishops, enrollment will continue to go down. It will not be longe before this new building will be vacated, and the handful of seminarians will have to find even smaller accomodations.
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

@Kenjiro M. Yoshimori It’s definitely a rotten conciliar fruit. No argument from me. Around 1960, Boston was ordaining around 60 per year. By 1970, there have only been a couple of years when 20 was reached. Of course, in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, the quality of many of the candidates had already degraded, as evidenced by the significant number of predators in their ranks, but, there were still predators among the smaller, later classes. The fact is, there just isn’t the money to keep the beautiful old seminaries going, unless they bring in candidates from other dioceses, which will mean the closure of some seminaries.

That's what the did at St. Charles Seminary, here in Philadelphia area. IN 1960's-70's, they started bringing in seminarians from other dioceses to suppliment enrollment and keep the place open. But after 10 years of Francis, even that doesn't work. There are now, as of 2022, fewer seminarians studying specifically for the Philadelphia Archdiocese, than there were in 1871 when the seminary was built. All the fruit of Vatican II and the rotten Novus Ordo.