Collegium Russicum
Encyclopedia
The Collegium Russicum is a Catholic
college in Rome
dedicated to studies of the culture and spirituality of Russia
.
It is located near the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
, separated from the Pontifical Oriental Institute
by the Church of Saint Antony, and is known informally as the Russicum.
It was founded on August 15, 1929 by Pope Pius XI
, who was touched by the large flow of immigrants from Bolshevik
Russia and the persecution of Christianity in that country. The money for the college building and its reconstruction was taken from an aggregate of charity donations from faithful all over the world on the occasion of the canonization of St. Thérèse de Lisieux
.
The Collegium Russicum is run by the Society of Jesus
and provides education and accommodation for Catholic
and Orthodox
students.
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
college in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
dedicated to studies of the culture and spirituality of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
It is located near the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
The Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major , known also by other names, is the largest Roman Catholic Marian church in Rome, Italy.There are other churches in Rome dedicated to Mary, such as Santa Maria in Trastevere, Santa Maria in Aracoeli, Santa Maria sopra Minerva, but the greater size of the...
, separated from the Pontifical Oriental Institute
Pontifical Oriental Institute
The Pontifical Oriental Institute is the premier center for the study of Eastern Christianity in Rome, Italy....
by the Church of Saint Antony, and is known informally as the Russicum.
It was founded on August 15, 1929 by Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI , born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, was Pope from 6 February 1922, and sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929 until his death on 10 February 1939...
, who was touched by the large flow of immigrants from Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
Russia and the persecution of Christianity in that country. The money for the college building and its reconstruction was taken from an aggregate of charity donations from faithful all over the world on the occasion of the canonization of St. Thérèse de Lisieux
Thérèse de Lisieux
Saint Thérèse of Lisieux , or Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, born Marie-Françoise-Thérèse Martin, was a French Carmelite nun...
.
The Collegium Russicum is run by the Society of Jesus
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
and provides education and accommodation for Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
and Orthodox
Orthodox Christianity
The term Orthodox Christianity may refer to:* the Eastern Orthodox Church and its various geographical subdivisions...
students.
Former Students
- Walter CiszekWalter CiszekRev. Walter Ciszek, S.J. was a Polish-American Jesuit priest known for his clandestine missionary work in the Soviet Union between 1939 and 1963....
, S.J.Society of JesusThe Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
(1904-1984) -- American priest of the Russian Catholic ChurchRussian Catholic ChurchThe Russian Catholic Church is a Byzantine Rite church sui juris in full union with the Catholic Church. Historically it represents a schism from the Russian Orthodox Church. It is now in full communion with and subject to the authority of the Pope as defined by Eastern canon law...
, GULAGGulagThe Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
survivor, author of, With God in RussiaWith God in RussiaWith God in Russia is a memoir by Walter Ciszek , a Polish-American Jesuit priest known for his clandestine missionary work in the Soviet Union between 1941 and 1963. It was originally published in 1964 by McGraw-Hill....
. - Pietro LeoniPietro LeoniPietro Leoni was a Jesuit priest from Italy who later worked in the Soviet Union. He was born in Italy and educated at the Russicum, a Jesuit seminary established to prepare Catholic priests for missionary work in Russia. In 1941 Leoni went along with an Italian regiment aiding the German invasion...
(1909-1995) -- Italian priest of the Russian Catholic ChurchRussian Catholic ChurchThe Russian Catholic Church is a Byzantine Rite church sui juris in full union with the Catholic Church. Historically it represents a schism from the Russian Orthodox Church. It is now in full communion with and subject to the authority of the Pope as defined by Eastern canon law...
, survivor of the GULAGGulagThe Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
, author of Spio dei Vaticano. - Blessed Theodore RomzhaTheodore RomzhaBlessed Theodore Romzha was bishop of the Ruthenian Catholic Eparchy of Mukacheve from 1944 to 1947. Assassinated by Stalin's NKVD, he was beatified as a martyr by Pope John Paul II on June 27, 2001.-Early life:...
(1911-1947) -- Ruthenian Catholic ChurchRuthenian Catholic ChurchThe Ruthenian Catholic Church is a sui iuris Eastern Catholic Church , which uses the Divine Liturgy of the Constantinopolitan Byzantine Eastern Rite. Its roots are among the Rusyns who lived in the region called Carpathian Ruthenia, in and around the Carpathian Mountains...
's BishopBishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of Mukachevo, martyr under Joseph StalinJoseph StalinJoseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
. - Egon SendlerEgon SendlerFather Egon Sendler is a Roman Catholic priest of the Jesuit order and one of the world's foremost experts on the painting of Eastern Orthodox icons. He is also an author, teacher, theologian, and artist. Father Sendler is unusual in that he has achieved considerable respect from many Orthodox...
, S.J.Society of JesusThe Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
(born 1923) -- French priest.
Written references
- Russicum: Pioneers and Witnesses of the Struggle for Christian Unity in Eastern Europe (review) The Catholic Historical Review - Volume 93, Number 3, July 2007, pp. 694–696
External links
- The Russian College in Rome
- Russicum College Seen as Missionary Center
- Saint Thérèse and the Russian College in Rome
- Greetings of Card. Tarcisio Bertone on the occasion of the Feast of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus at the Russicum Pontifical College (May 15, 2008) in Italian
- La Storia siamo noi video program on the Russicum