Contextual Background

In March of 2013, Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary announced a plan focused on continued sustainability and future viability.

Part of that plan called for the Seminary to consolidate existing facilities, seek to lease or sell underutilized buildings and property, and implement new spiritual and academic programming for seminarians and lay students. One component of that plan called for the Seminary to move the College Division program from the lower portion of the campus into vacant space within the Theology Division buildings on the upper side of the campus after a period of study and renovation over a number of years.

Today’s Announcement

Recently, an independent feasibility study was conducted, which evaluated several potential alternate operating models. The results of that study were shared with the Seminary’s Board of Trustees in May. After much careful discussion and deliberation, they recommended a modified path as the best one moving forward to allow for the Seminary’s continued growth and transformation.

Specifically, the Board recommended the seminary cease actions aimed at consolidation on the upper campus. Additionally, the Board recommended that the Seminary begin to explore and develop a feasible plan to affiliate with a local Catholic college or university and relocate the entire Seminary operation in newly constructed buildings on or near the campus of the partner higher education institution.  The exact timing for any specific decisions regarding this new direction is still to be determined. Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. has accepted these recommendations and authorized the Seminary’s Rector, Bishop Timothy C. Senior, to begin the process.

Bishop Senior said, “It is my strong belief that this new direction will allow us to build on the already solid foundation of our present program by significantly strengthening and enhancing our seminary.  This new path forward allows us to pursue new facilities that will further enrich and better serve the contemporary academic, spiritual, and human needs of our seminarians and lay students.  We embark on this new journey at a time of particular strength and grace, emanating from the recent visit of our Holy Father, and testified to by another year of projected enrollment increases, a record increase in the 2016 Seminary Appeal and the addition of several new, well-credentialed faculty members.”

With today’s announcement, Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary affirms its commitment to support seminarians discerning a vocation to the Priesthood for service in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and in dioceses throughout the country as well as all candidates discerning vocations to the permanent diaconate and the hundreds of full and part-time students enrolled in the Graduate School of Theology, which offers graduate degrees and catechetical certificate programs for clergy and the laity.

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Editor’s Note: For more information on Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary please visit www.scs.edu.