The Roman Colleges, also referred to as the Pontifical Colleges in Rome, are seminary institutions established and maintained in Rome for the education of future ecclesiastics of the Catholic Church. Many of the colleges have traditionally taken students from particular national or ethnic groups, those from particular regions in Italy, and those from the various Eastern Catholic churches. The colleges are halls of residence in which the students follow the usual seminary exercises of piety, study in private, and review the subjects treated in class.
In some colleges there are special courses of instruction (languages, music, archaeology, etc.) but the regular courses in philosophy and theology are given in a few large central institutions, such as Pontifical Urbaniana University, the Pontifical Gregorian University, the Pontifical Lateran University, and the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, known as the Angelicum.
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Purpose
The Roman colleges, in addition to the obvious advantages for study which Rome offers, allow the students to have a different experience of university life from that of their respective countries. They also serve in a certain measure to maintain contact between the various countries and the Holy See. With this end in view, various popes have encouraged the founding of colleges in which young men of the same nationality might reside and at the same time profit from the opportunities that the city affords.
The rector of the Kraków seminary, in bidding Karol Wojtyla farewell, said that theology can be learned elsewhere, but a priest in Rome must "learn Rome itself."
Each national college has as its head a rector designated by the episcopate of the country to which the college belongs and appointed by the pope. He is assisted by a vice-rector and a spiritual director.
Program of studies
Most colleges follow similar academic programs during the year, but variations will be found, and these are due chiefly to natural characteristics or to the special purpose for which the college was established.
During the first three years of study, seminarians study for a Bachelor of Sacred Theology/S.T.B.) degree at either the Pontifical Gregorian University, the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum), or the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (Santa Croce). In most of the courses the lecture system is followed. All the required courses of the S.T.B. program at the Gregorian and Santa Croce are taught in Italian. The Angelicum offers two separate tracks, one in English and one in Italian.
Inter-college activities
Not only do seminarians from the different colleges follow their studies in the same universities, they also take part in extra-curricular seminars and conferences as well as leisure activities such as the Clericus Cup, a football (soccer) tournament created in 2007 that provides a venue for friendly athletic competition among the thousands of seminarians, representing nearly a hundred countries, who study in Rome.
List of colleges
Almo Collegio Capranica
The Almo Collegio Capranica is the oldest Roman college, founded in 1417 by Cardinal Domenico Capranica in his own palace for 31 young clerics, who received an education suitable for the formation of good priests. Capranica himself drew up their rules and presented the college with his own library, the more valuable portion of which was later transferred to the Vatican. Students living at the Capranica pursued theological studies at the nearby Sapienza. As of 2016, the college had about fifty students, primarily from dioceses in Italy.
Vocational Pontifical colleges
The Pontificio Collegio Urbano "De Propaganda Fide" (Urban College) was established in Rome in 1622 in order to train missionaries to be sent around the world. All students of the Urban College have a full scholarship, lodging, accommodation and academic fees. After completion of studies the newly ordained priests would return to their homeland. As of 2016 the Urban College had about 165 students, most from Asia and Africa.
Besides students from the dioceses of different continents, there are also seminarians of various Churches sui iuris such as the Syro-Malabar, Syro-Malankara, Coptic and Chaldean churches. In April 2015, thirteen seminarians of the Syro-Malabar Church received minor orders: the subdiaconate and diaconate from Joseph Pallikaparampil, Bishop emeritus of Palai, India.
Originally, the college occupied a premises adjacent to the Spanish Steps. If there were not enough pupils from a particular country to constitute a national college, the students would be housed at the Urbana.
The Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy (Pontificia Ecclesiastica Academia) is one of the Roman Colleges of the Roman Catholic Church. The academy is dedicated to training priests to serve in the diplomatic corps and the Secretariat of State of the Holy See.
Regional Pontifical Colleges
Traditionally, most of the colleges were divided among the regions from which the seminarians came. Nowadays, most colleges have opened up to seminarians from other regions of the world with cultural or linguistic ties to their own.
The Roman Seminary (Pontificio Collegio Romano) is the major seminary of the diocese of Rome. The Council of Trent in its 23rd session decreed the establishment of diocesan seminaries. Its history can be traced to the Roman Seminary established by Pope Pius IV in 1565. In 1913, the Roman Seminary was merged with Pontificio Seminario Pio to form the Pontificio Seminario Romano Maggiore which was established in a new building at the Lateran. The patroness of the Major Seminary is the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title Madonna della Fiducia (Our Lady of Trust).
The Pontificio Seminario Romano Minore is the minor seminary for the diocese of Rome. It was founded in 1913 with the merger of the minor division of the "Roman Seminary" with the Vatican Seminary. It is located just outside the rear walls of Vatican City at Viale Vaticano, 42; and constitutes an extraterritorial zone of the Holy See. The present Rector is Father Roberto Zammerini. The patroness of the Minor Seminary is the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title Madonna della Perseveranza (Our Lady of Perseverance).
The Seminario Lombardo dei SS. Ambrogio e Carlo (PSL), founded in 1863 chiefly through the generosity of Cardinal Edoardo Borromeo and Duke Scotti of Milan, was located in the palace of the confraternity of S. Carlo al Corso. The first community was made up of 12 students, some already priests and other clerics in holy orders, who attended the various institutions of higher education, in particular Apollinaris and the Gregorian. They offered their liturgical service also to the annexed Basilica of San Carlo al Corso. The Lombardo was merged temporarily with the Roman Seminary from 1913 to 1920, when it was re-established as a separate college.
The PSL was relocated to its present location overlooking the square in front of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, in the Esquilino area, in 1965 and blessed by Paul VI. In 2006 the community was made up of more than 50 priests and deacons from every diocese in Lombardy.
Other Colleges
The Armenian College in Rome (Pontificio Collegio Armeno) was founded in 1883 by Pope Leo XIII. Before then, Armenian students were housed at the Urbana. The college was granted the Church of S. Nicola da Tolentino in the Trevi district. The Pontifical Armenian College and the Armenian Church of St. Nicholas of Tolentino are an important center for the Armenian community of Rome. Three Armenian Catholic patriarchs were students of the college. The colleges has hosted five synods of the Armenia Catholic hierarchy.
The Belgian College in Rome (Pontificio Collegio Belga) is the national seminary for Belgian seminarians. It was established in 1844 through the initiative of Aerts, who was aided by the papal nuncio in Belgium, Gioacchino Pecci (later to become Pope Leo XIII), and the Belgian bishops. At first it was located in the home of Aerts, rector of the Belgian national Church of S. Guiliano. In 1845 the ancient monastery of Saints Gioacchino e Anna at the Quattro Fontane was purchased. When Karol Wojtyla came to Rome in 1946, he lived at the Belgian College on the Via del Quirinale while pursuing studies at the Angelicum. The college has since re-located to the Via Giambattista. The Belgian episcopate supports the seminarians and proposes the seminary's rector.
The Croatian College in Rome (Pontificio Collegio Di san Giralmo) was established in 1863 by Pope Pius IX to prepare priests for Dalmatia, Croatia, Bosnia, and Slavonia, and was located in the Illyrian hospice near the Church of S. Girolamo degli Schiavoni; but after a few years no more students were received. In 1900, Leo XIII reorganized the Illyrian hospice and decided to form a college of priests of the above-mentioned provinces, who would attend to the services in the church and at the same time pursue ecclesiastical studies.
The Pontifical Ethiopian College dates to the arrival in Rome of Ethiopian pilgrims in the 15th century. In 1481, Pope Sixtus IV granted those pilgrims, most of whom were monks, Santo Stefano degli Abissini with the outlying building just behind the apse of St. Peter's Basilica. Under Pope Leo X both the Church and the house were turned to a monastery for Ethiopian monks. The monastery of St. Stephen became an important center of Ethiopian studies and culture. For the first time printing in Ge’ez (Ethiopic) characters took place there with the publication of the Psalms in 1513 and later the New Testament in 1548–9. Many Ethio-Eritrean scholars attained their knowledge and necessary information from the members of that community; some of them were very learned men. They owned several pergameneous Codices, which are now in the Vatican Library. Pope Benedict XV, having instituted the Congregation for the Eastern Churches in 1917, decided to found also Oriental Colleges in Rome.
Other colleges
The Nobile Collegio Cerasoli first began in Rome in 1640, with a bequest of Don Flaminio Cerasoli to the Archconfraternity of Bergamo in Rome to open a college for the training of young clerics from Bergamo. His heirs contested, and the matter was tied up in litigation for a long time. The college was designed by architect Gabriele Valvassori, and opened in 1834. The property was seized by Napoleon, and in 1834 annexed to the "Roman College". The revenues of the legacy continued to support as many students as possible from Bergamo at the college. In 1901 Angelo Roncalli was awarded one of four seats reserved for the Collegio Cerasoli at the "Roman Seminary".
The College of Sant'Anselmo was founded in 1887 by Pope Leo XIII to serve the needs of Benedictines from around the world. Situated on the Aventine Hill, it is one of four Benedictine institutions that occupy the complex known as "Sant'Anselmo all'Aventino" which serves as the Primatial Abbey (Italian: Badia Sant'Anselmo) of the Benedictine Confederation. It serves as both a house of formation for Benedictines, but also as a residence for over one hundred monks from around forty countries, religious, diocesan priests, and lay people. A separate pontifical university is also operated by the Benedictines at the same location, known as the Pontifical Athenaeum of Saint Anselm (Italian: Pontificio Ateneo Sant'Anselmo; Latin: Pontificium Athenaeum Anselmianum).
The Lay Centre at Foyer Unitas is a college and house of formation for the lay vocation and laity pursuing an ecclesial vocation through study and research at the Pontifical Universities in Rome. The centre is dedicated to ecumenical and interreligious hospitality as part of its mission in forming Catholic laity and lay ecclesial ministers.
The Collegio Apostolico Leoniano owes its origin to P. Valentini, a Lazarist, who, aided by a pious lady, received in a private house the students who could not otherwise gain admittance to the other colleges. The college opened in 1901,
and was taken over later by the Holy See and a large building was erected in the Prati di Castello. The college houses the Rome Provincial Office of the Congregation of the Mission and is now located on the Via Pompeo Magno.
Former colleges
The Vatican Seminary was founded in 1636 by Urban VIII. Its pupils had the task of assisting at the liturgical services at the Basilica of St. Peter. The administration was entrusted to the Vatican Chapter which appointed the rector. In 1730 the seminary was transferred from the Piazza Rusticucci to a building behind the apse of St. Peter's. In 1913 it was merged with the minor division of the "Roman Seminary" to form the Pontificio Seminario Romano Minore.
The Pontificio Seminario Pio or Pius Seminary, was situated in the Palazzo di S. Apollinare, and was intended for seminarians from all regions of Italy. It was founded in 1853 by Pius IX for the dioceses of the Pontifical States. In 1913, it was merged with the major division of the "Roman Seminary" to form the Pontificio Seminario Romano Maggior, located at the Lateran.
The Seminario dei SS. Pietro e Paolo was established in 1867 by Pietro Avanzani, a secular priest, to prepare young secular priests for the foreign missions. Pius IX approved it in 1874 and had a college erected, but this was later pulled down and since then the seminary changed its location several times until being housed at the Armenian College. The students have lectures on foreign languages, including Chinese. The college has a country residence at Montopoli in the Sabine hills. On finishing their studies the students go to the Vicariate Apostolic of Southern Shen-si or to Lower California. It existed until 1926 at which date it merged with the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions