St. Mary's Seminary and University

St. Mary's Seminary and University
Motto Latin: Apostolica civilisque
(Apostolic and public)
Established 1791 (221 years ago)
Type Roman Catholic seminary
Religious affiliation Roman Catholic Church
(Sulpician Fathers)
President Rector Rev. Thomas R. Hurst, S.S., S.T.L., Ph.D.
Students 294
Location Baltimore, Maryland,
 United States
Campus 40 acres (16 ha)
Website www.stmarys.edu

St. Mary's Seminary and University is a Roman Catholic seminary in Baltimore, Maryland; it was the first seminary founded in the United States of America.

Contents

History

Founded in 1791 as a Catholic seminary, and chartered as a civil college by the state of Maryland in 1805, St. Mary's became the first ecclesiastical faculty in the United States with the right to grant degrees in the name of the Holy See when Pope Pius VII established it as a seminary in 1822.[1] The seminary was founded by the Sulpician Fathers, and continues to be operated by that community. The seminary's original chapel was designed by Maximilian Godefroy and is still standing, adjacent to the Mother Seton House where St. Elizabeth Ann Seton lived while in Baltimore.[1] Its influence grew in the late 19th century thanks to the influential educator Alphonse Magnien, who served as superior from 1878 to 1902.

St. Mary's moved to the Roland Park section of Baltimore in 1929.[1] In 1974, the seminary's name was changed to St. Mary's Seminary and University.[2] Fr. Robert F. Leavitt retired as president rector in spring 2007, having served at that position for 27 years—the longest tenure of any president rector in the school's history.

Institutes and facilities

The Knott Library at St. Mary's Seminary and University houses the collected papers of the eminent Johannine scholar and St. Mary's graduate, Fr. Raymond E. Brown S.S. (S.T.B., 1951).[3]

The Ecumenical Institute of Theology at St. Mary's, founded in 1968, offers graduate degrees and certificates in a denominationally and ethnically diverse adult learning environment. Dr. Michael Gorman, a United Methodist and noted Pauline scholar, is the EI's dean as well as a Professor of Sacred Scripture at the seminary.[4]

The seminary sits on a 40-acre (16 ha) campus.[2]

Notable alumni

References

  1. ^ a b c "America's First Seminary". St. Mary's Seminary and University. http://www.stmarys.edu/sot/sot_first_seminary.htm. Retrieved 6 July 2010. 
  2. ^ a b "St. Mary's Seminary & University". BrainTrack. http://www.braintrack.com/college/u/st-marys-seminary-and-university. Retrieved 6 July 2010. 
  3. ^ "Welcome to the Knott Library". St. Mary's Seminary and University. http://www.stmarys.edu/knott/lib_index.htm. Retrieved 6 July 2010. 
  4. ^ "The Ecumenical Institute of Theology: An Invitation". St. Mary's University and Seminary. http://www.stmarys.edu/ei/ei_invitation.htm. Retrieved 6 July 2010. 
  5. ^ "John Payne Todd". Find A Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=1562. Retrieved 5 July 2010. 

External links

Public Institutions
Private Institutions
Community Colleges
Defunct Institutions