Kenrick-Glennon Seminary
Encyclopedia
Kenrick–Glennon Seminary (Saint Louis Roman Catholic Theological Seminary) is a private not-for-profit Roman Catholic Seminary
located in Shrewsbury, Missouri
in St. Louis County
. The Seminary is named after Archbishop Peter Richard Kenrick
and Cardinal John J. Glennon
, former Archbishops of Saint Louis. The Seminary traces its origins to the early nineteenth century. Since that time the locally well-known institution has provided education and formation to seminarians for ordination to the sacred priesthood for many Catholic archdioceses and dioceses.
The Seminary maintains a graduate and undergraduate division, namely, Kenrick School of Theology and Cardinal Glennon College, respectively. Kenrick School of Theology also operates a Pre-Theology program for men who already have an undergraduate degree but need the required thirty undergraduate hours of philosophy prior to entry into the graduate division of the Seminary. Kenrick School of Theology grants the Master of Divinity
Degree (M.Div.) and the Master of Arts
Degree in Theology
(M.A.
), and Cardinal Glennon College grants the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Philosophy
(B.A.
).
On Wednesday, February 9, 2011, Joseph Kenny, a reporter with the St. Louis Review, the archdiocesan newspaper, reported that Archbishop Robert James Carlson
had appointed the Reverend Father John Horn, S.J.
, a native of Columbia, Pennsylvania
, as the new Rector at Kenrick-Glennon, effective July 1, 2011. He succeeds interim Rector Father Michael J. Witt, professor of church history, who took over when the previous Rector, Monsignor Ted Wojcicki, who returned to parish ministry in Dardenne Prairie, Missouri
(a St. Louis suburb), after serving as rector for eight years. Father Horn, who has over 30 years of experience in Catholic education, is a founder of the Institute for Priestly Formation located on the campus of Creighton University
in Omaha, Nebraska
. Father Horn completed his philosophy studies for Jesuit formation at St. Louis University. He has a doctorate in ministry from Emory University
in Atlanta, Georgia
, and other degrees from the Weston Jesuit School of Theology
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
, Creighton, Georgetown University
in Washington, D.C.
, and Loyola College in Baltimore, Maryland. He has worked with the Jesuit Refugee Service
in the Philippines
, in nursing home ministry, in parish ministry, as a high school teacher, and in field education for a suicide hotline.
established Saint Mary’s of the Barrens Seminary in Perryville, Missouri, and thus became the first seminary established west of the Mississippi River. In 1842, Bishop Peter Richard Kenrick
transferred his students to a Vincentian house, opened for this purpose in a group of temporary buildings later called Bishop’s Row on Carroll Street in the Soulard area of south Saint Louis. In 1844, the Seminary was relocated a block away in the Vincentian-owned Soulard Mansion on Decatur Street. This building, which stood next to the new Saint Vincent
Church, served as the home of the Diocesan Seminary until 1848. In that year Archbishop Kenrick opened a seminary in Carondelet, a village south of Saint Louis, later annexed to the city. The Carondelet Seminary, located approximately two blocks northwest of the Motherhouse of the Sisters of St. Joseph
, was administered by four rectors of the Archdiocesan clergy until 1857. At that time, the Vincentian Community resumed their previous role of direction, now at the new site. In the fall of 1858, the Second Provincial Council of Saint Louis made a new determination for the Seminary and by way of experiment, another Vincentian institute, Saint Vincent College
, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri
, served as a regional seminary with the entire Archdiocesan Seminary thus transferred there, the Major Seminary moving from Carondelet, the Minor Seminary
from Perryville
. The regional seminary did not prosper, however, as a result of the American Civil War
.
On September 21, 1893, Archbishop John Joseph Kain
presided at the re-opening of the philosophy and theology departments of the Archdiocesan Seminary. The new Seminary, located in a former convent of the Visitation Sisters, at 19th Street and Cass Avenue in Saint Louis, was the first site to bear the name Kenrick Seminary. Once again, the Seminary was entrusted to the direction of the Vincentian Community. In September 1900, Archbishop Kain also re-established the Minor Seminary, later called Kenrick Preparatory Seminary, and located it at the Cass Avenue building. In 1915, as the Cass Avenue facilities proved inadequate, Archbishop John J. Glennon
opened the second Kenrick Seminary. This Seminary was located on Kenrick Road, in an unincorporated area of Saint Louis County known at the time as Glennon Park. Today it is in the City of Shrewsbury, adjacent to the southwest city limits of Saint Louis. Since 1987, this second Kenrick Seminary become known as the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center (now Cardinal Rigali Center), an office facility. Archbishop Glennon formally dedicated the new Kenrick on April 27, 1916. The building housed both the philosophy and theology departments. As the second Kenrick opened, the Minor Seminary moved to a new location at 4244 Washington Avenue. In 1927, a tornado did extensive damage at this location. While plans were made for a new structure at a new site, the Minor Seminary found temporary housing at Saint Bridget Parish, on Jefferson Avenue and Stoddard Street.
In 1931, the first Saint Louis Preparatory Seminary, the present Kenrick–Glennon Seminary building, opened on the same grounds as the second Kenrick. This facility housed the last two years of high school and four full years of college. The first two years of high school were reinstated at the refurbished Washington Avenue location, now known as the Cathedral Latin School. It was conducted by members of the Archdiocesan clergy. In 1947, Archbishop Joseph E. Ritter, closed the Latin School, and established six-year programs in the two Archdiocesan seminaries. The Preparatory Seminary thus comprised four years of high school and two years of college, while Kenrick Seminary comprised two years of college and four years of theology. In 1957, Archbishop Ritter opened a new facility for the high school, at 5200 Shrewsbury Avenue, on the same spacious grounds as Kenrick Seminary and the old Preparatory Seminary. Simultaneously, he effected a division of the Archdiocesan seminary system into three separate institutions. The new Preparatory Seminary was a four-year high school. The old Preparatory Seminary became a four-year college, within two years to be known as Cardinal Glennon College. Kenrick Seminary continued as a four-year theologate. Cardinal Glennon College received full accreditation from the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools in 1961. In 1965, due to a boom in enrollment Cardinal Ritter created yet another Archdiocesan high school seminary, in north Saint Louis County.
Saint Louis Preparatory Seminary North (its counterpart in Shrewsbury was subsequently called Saint Louis Preparatory Seminary South) was administered by members of the Archdiocesan clergy. It held its first classes in the basement of the old Sacred Heart School building, on North Jefferson Street in Florissant. A year later, it moved to its new facility on 3500 Saint Catherine Street, also in Florissant. Today this facility houses Saint Thomas the Apostle Church and School. Notably, Saint Louis Preparatory Seminary North, unlike its counterpart, Saint Louis Preparatory South, accepted non-clerical students, who formed a major part of its student body.
In 1966, as part of the reform of seminaries mandated by the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Cardinal Ritter authorized Kenrick Seminary to enter an experimental arrangement with the Saint Louis University Divinity School. Kenrick students, having first finished two years of study at the seminary, and still retaining residence there, were to take classes and earn degrees at the Divinity School. The arrangement, however, for a variety of reasons, proved unsatisfactory and Cardinal John Carberry discontinued it in 1970. In 1973, a reconstituted, free-standing Kenrick Seminary received full accreditation, both from the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada
, and from the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.
In September 1986, Archbishop John L. May
made the determination to consolidate the seminary system of the Archdiocese. In the spring of 1987, Kenrick Seminary moved from its location on Kenrick Road to the Cardinal Glennon College building on Glennon Drive, the present Kenrick–Glennon Seminary. In the process, Kenrick retained its status as a free-standing school of theology. The College, however, closed its free-standing undergraduate program, and established a collaborative-model program, in conjunction with the Saint Louis University
College of Philosophy and Letters. College seminary students in their first two years attend Saint Louis University
for classes but reside at the Kenrick–Glennon Seminary complex, where they receive their human and spiritual formation. Third and fourth year college seminarians complete their philosophy studies at Cardinal Glennon College.
In the summer of 1987, extensive renovation of the Kenrick-Glennon building was done and on October 11, 1988, a Board of Trustees for Kenrick–Glennon Seminary began formal operation. In the spring of 1995, Archbishop Justin Rigali announced that after 177 years of collaboration between the Vincentian Community and the Archdiocese in the running of the Seminary, the Archdiocese would henceforth assume full responsibility. The Vincentian Community for its part indicated that it would continue to make personnel available for certain positions in the Seminary faculty.
Today the Seminary faculty is composed of both diocesan and religious order priests as well as religious sisters and members of the lay faithful.
In 2007 the determination was made that the students in the undergraduate division would return to receiving their philosophical and some theological formation directly from the Seminary and be granted the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Philosophy
(B.A.
) from the Seminary itself while they would continue to receive their other education at Saint Louis University
.
During his tenure, then-Archbishop Raymond Leo Burke
stressed on many occasions the importance of the Seminary in the life of the local Church, including http://www.stlouisreview.com/abpcolumn.php?abpid=7601 his Christmas reflection in December 2004 http://stlouisreview.com/article/2008-01-04/vocations-0 and January 2008.
Because of the gradually increasing number of seminarians, and the age of the current building, a planned expansion of the seminary was initiated by Cardinal Burke while he was still in St. Louis.
Category
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
located in Shrewsbury, Missouri
Shrewsbury, Missouri
Shrewsbury is an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis, located in St. Louis County, Missouri. The population was 6,254 at the 2010 census.The city is home to the broadcast towers of KSDK- and KDNL-TV.-Geography:Shrewsbury is located at ....
in St. Louis County
St. Louis County, Missouri
St. Louis County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. Its county seat is Clayton. St. Louis County is part of the St. Louis Metro Area wherein the independent City of St. Louis and its suburbs in St. Louis County, as well as the surrounding counties in both Missouri and Illinois all...
. The Seminary is named after Archbishop Peter Richard Kenrick
Peter Richard Kenrick
Peter Richard Kenrick was the first Catholic archbishop west of the Mississippi River.-Early life and ordination:He was born and educated in Dublin, Ireland and ordained to the priesthood in 1832...
and Cardinal John J. Glennon
John J. Glennon
John Joseph Glennon was an Irish American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of St. Louis from 1903 until his death in 1946, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1946.-Early life and ministry:...
, former Archbishops of Saint Louis. The Seminary traces its origins to the early nineteenth century. Since that time the locally well-known institution has provided education and formation to seminarians for ordination to the sacred priesthood for many Catholic archdioceses and dioceses.
The Seminary maintains a graduate and undergraduate division, namely, Kenrick School of Theology and Cardinal Glennon College, respectively. Kenrick School of Theology also operates a Pre-Theology program for men who already have an undergraduate degree but need the required thirty undergraduate hours of philosophy prior to entry into the graduate division of the Seminary. Kenrick School of Theology grants the Master of Divinity
Master of Divinity
In the academic study of theology, the Master of Divinity is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America...
Degree (M.Div.) and the Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
Degree in Theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
(M.A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
), and Cardinal Glennon College grants the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
(B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
).
On Wednesday, February 9, 2011, Joseph Kenny, a reporter with the St. Louis Review, the archdiocesan newspaper, reported that Archbishop Robert James Carlson
Robert James Carlson
Robert James Carlson is an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the ninth and current Archbishop of St. Louis. He previously served as Auxiliary Bishop of St...
had appointed the Reverend Father John Horn, S.J.
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...
, a native of Columbia, Pennsylvania
Columbia, Pennsylvania
Columbia, once colonial Wright's Ferry, is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 28 miles southeast of Harrisburg on the left bank Susquehanna River across from Wrightsville and York County. Originally, the area may have been called Conejohela Flats, for the many islands and islets in the...
, as the new Rector at Kenrick-Glennon, effective July 1, 2011. He succeeds interim Rector Father Michael J. Witt, professor of church history, who took over when the previous Rector, Monsignor Ted Wojcicki, who returned to parish ministry in Dardenne Prairie, Missouri
Dardenne Prairie, Missouri
Dardenne Prairie is a city in St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,384 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Dardenne Prairie is located at...
(a St. Louis suburb), after serving as rector for eight years. Father Horn, who has over 30 years of experience in Catholic education, is a founder of the Institute for Priestly Formation located on the campus of Creighton University
Creighton University
Creighton University is a private, coeducational, Jesuit, Roman Catholic university located in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the school is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. The university is accredited by...
in Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
. Father Horn completed his philosophy studies for Jesuit formation at St. Louis University. He has a doctorate in ministry from Emory University
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, and other degrees from the Weston Jesuit School of Theology
Weston Jesuit School of Theology
The Boston College School of Theology and Ministry in Brighton, Massachusetts, United States is the graduate divinity school of Boston College and an ecclesiastical faculty of theology that trains men and women, both lay and religious, for service, especially within the Roman Catholic Church...
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, Creighton, Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, and Loyola College in Baltimore, Maryland. He has worked with the Jesuit Refugee Service
Jesuit Refugee Service
The Jesuit Refugee Service is an international Catholic organization that aids refugees, forcibly displaced peoples, and asylum seekers. JRS operates at national and regional levels. Founded in November, 1980 as a work of the Society of Jesus, JRS was officially registered on March 19, 2000 in...
in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, in nursing home ministry, in parish ministry, as a high school teacher, and in field education for a suicide hotline.
History of the Seminary
The Seminary traces its remote beginnings to 1818 when the Congregation of the Mission which had come at the request of the Bishop Louis William Valentine DubourgLouis William Valentine Dubourg
Louis William Valentine Dubourg was a Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church who played an active role in the growth of the church in the early years of the United States. He was born in Cap Français, St...
established Saint Mary’s of the Barrens Seminary in Perryville, Missouri, and thus became the first seminary established west of the Mississippi River. In 1842, Bishop Peter Richard Kenrick
Peter Richard Kenrick
Peter Richard Kenrick was the first Catholic archbishop west of the Mississippi River.-Early life and ordination:He was born and educated in Dublin, Ireland and ordained to the priesthood in 1832...
transferred his students to a Vincentian house, opened for this purpose in a group of temporary buildings later called Bishop’s Row on Carroll Street in the Soulard area of south Saint Louis. In 1844, the Seminary was relocated a block away in the Vincentian-owned Soulard Mansion on Decatur Street. This building, which stood next to the new Saint Vincent
Vincent de Paul
Vincent de Paul was a priest of the Catholic Church who became dedicated to serving the poor. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. He was canonized in 1737....
Church, served as the home of the Diocesan Seminary until 1848. In that year Archbishop Kenrick opened a seminary in Carondelet, a village south of Saint Louis, later annexed to the city. The Carondelet Seminary, located approximately two blocks northwest of the Motherhouse of the Sisters of St. Joseph
Sisters of St. Joseph
The title Sisters of St. Joseph applies to several Roman Catholic religious congregations of women. The largest and oldest of these was founded in Le Puy-en-Velay, France...
, was administered by four rectors of the Archdiocesan clergy until 1857. At that time, the Vincentian Community resumed their previous role of direction, now at the new site. In the fall of 1858, the Second Provincial Council of Saint Louis made a new determination for the Seminary and by way of experiment, another Vincentian institute, Saint Vincent College
Saint Vincent College
Saint Vincent College is a four-year, coeducational, Roman Catholic, Benedictine, liberal arts college in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, located about 40 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. It was founded in 1846 by Boniface Wimmer, a monk from Bavaria, Germany. It was the first Benedictine monastery in the...
, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, served as a regional seminary with the entire Archdiocesan Seminary thus transferred there, the Major Seminary moving from Carondelet, the Minor Seminary
Minor seminary
A minor seminary is a secondary boarding school created for the specific purpose of enrolling teenage boys who have expressed interest in becoming priests. They are generally Roman Catholic institutions, and designed to prepare boys both academically and spiritually for vocations to the priesthood...
from Perryville
Perryville, Missouri
Perryville is a city in Perry County, Missouri, United States. The population was 7,667 at the 2000 census. The 2008 estimated population is 8,172. It is the county seat of Perry County.-Governance:...
. The regional seminary did not prosper, however, as a result of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
On September 21, 1893, Archbishop John Joseph Kain
John Joseph Kain
John Joseph Kain was a Roman Catholic priest who would eventually become Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Louis, and the first native-born American to hold that office.-Biography:...
presided at the re-opening of the philosophy and theology departments of the Archdiocesan Seminary. The new Seminary, located in a former convent of the Visitation Sisters, at 19th Street and Cass Avenue in Saint Louis, was the first site to bear the name Kenrick Seminary. Once again, the Seminary was entrusted to the direction of the Vincentian Community. In September 1900, Archbishop Kain also re-established the Minor Seminary, later called Kenrick Preparatory Seminary, and located it at the Cass Avenue building. In 1915, as the Cass Avenue facilities proved inadequate, Archbishop John J. Glennon
John J. Glennon
John Joseph Glennon was an Irish American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of St. Louis from 1903 until his death in 1946, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1946.-Early life and ministry:...
opened the second Kenrick Seminary. This Seminary was located on Kenrick Road, in an unincorporated area of Saint Louis County known at the time as Glennon Park. Today it is in the City of Shrewsbury, adjacent to the southwest city limits of Saint Louis. Since 1987, this second Kenrick Seminary become known as the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center (now Cardinal Rigali Center), an office facility. Archbishop Glennon formally dedicated the new Kenrick on April 27, 1916. The building housed both the philosophy and theology departments. As the second Kenrick opened, the Minor Seminary moved to a new location at 4244 Washington Avenue. In 1927, a tornado did extensive damage at this location. While plans were made for a new structure at a new site, the Minor Seminary found temporary housing at Saint Bridget Parish, on Jefferson Avenue and Stoddard Street.
In 1931, the first Saint Louis Preparatory Seminary, the present Kenrick–Glennon Seminary building, opened on the same grounds as the second Kenrick. This facility housed the last two years of high school and four full years of college. The first two years of high school were reinstated at the refurbished Washington Avenue location, now known as the Cathedral Latin School. It was conducted by members of the Archdiocesan clergy. In 1947, Archbishop Joseph E. Ritter, closed the Latin School, and established six-year programs in the two Archdiocesan seminaries. The Preparatory Seminary thus comprised four years of high school and two years of college, while Kenrick Seminary comprised two years of college and four years of theology. In 1957, Archbishop Ritter opened a new facility for the high school, at 5200 Shrewsbury Avenue, on the same spacious grounds as Kenrick Seminary and the old Preparatory Seminary. Simultaneously, he effected a division of the Archdiocesan seminary system into three separate institutions. The new Preparatory Seminary was a four-year high school. The old Preparatory Seminary became a four-year college, within two years to be known as Cardinal Glennon College. Kenrick Seminary continued as a four-year theologate. Cardinal Glennon College received full accreditation from the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools in 1961. In 1965, due to a boom in enrollment Cardinal Ritter created yet another Archdiocesan high school seminary, in north Saint Louis County.
Saint Louis Preparatory Seminary North (its counterpart in Shrewsbury was subsequently called Saint Louis Preparatory Seminary South) was administered by members of the Archdiocesan clergy. It held its first classes in the basement of the old Sacred Heart School building, on North Jefferson Street in Florissant. A year later, it moved to its new facility on 3500 Saint Catherine Street, also in Florissant. Today this facility houses Saint Thomas the Apostle Church and School. Notably, Saint Louis Preparatory Seminary North, unlike its counterpart, Saint Louis Preparatory South, accepted non-clerical students, who formed a major part of its student body.
In 1966, as part of the reform of seminaries mandated by the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Cardinal Ritter authorized Kenrick Seminary to enter an experimental arrangement with the Saint Louis University Divinity School. Kenrick students, having first finished two years of study at the seminary, and still retaining residence there, were to take classes and earn degrees at the Divinity School. The arrangement, however, for a variety of reasons, proved unsatisfactory and Cardinal John Carberry discontinued it in 1970. In 1973, a reconstituted, free-standing Kenrick Seminary received full accreditation, both from the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada
Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada
The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada is an organization of seminaries and other graduate schools of theology. ATS has its headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and has more than 250 member institutions...
, and from the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.
In September 1986, Archbishop John L. May
John L. May
John Lawrence May was an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Mobile and Archbishop of St. Louis .-Early life and education:...
made the determination to consolidate the seminary system of the Archdiocese. In the spring of 1987, Kenrick Seminary moved from its location on Kenrick Road to the Cardinal Glennon College building on Glennon Drive, the present Kenrick–Glennon Seminary. In the process, Kenrick retained its status as a free-standing school of theology. The College, however, closed its free-standing undergraduate program, and established a collaborative-model program, in conjunction with the Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University is a private, co-educational Jesuit university located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by the Most Reverend Louis Guillaume Valentin Dubourg SLU is the oldest university west of the Mississippi River. It is one of 28 member institutions of the...
College of Philosophy and Letters. College seminary students in their first two years attend Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University is a private, co-educational Jesuit university located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by the Most Reverend Louis Guillaume Valentin Dubourg SLU is the oldest university west of the Mississippi River. It is one of 28 member institutions of the...
for classes but reside at the Kenrick–Glennon Seminary complex, where they receive their human and spiritual formation. Third and fourth year college seminarians complete their philosophy studies at Cardinal Glennon College.
In the summer of 1987, extensive renovation of the Kenrick-Glennon building was done and on October 11, 1988, a Board of Trustees for Kenrick–Glennon Seminary began formal operation. In the spring of 1995, Archbishop Justin Rigali announced that after 177 years of collaboration between the Vincentian Community and the Archdiocese in the running of the Seminary, the Archdiocese would henceforth assume full responsibility. The Vincentian Community for its part indicated that it would continue to make personnel available for certain positions in the Seminary faculty.
Today the Seminary faculty is composed of both diocesan and religious order priests as well as religious sisters and members of the lay faithful.
The Future of the Seminary
Kenrick-Glennon is the official Seminary of the Archdiocese of Saint Louis and comprises seminarians from the Archdiocese and other archdioceses and dioceses throughout the country.In 2007 the determination was made that the students in the undergraduate division would return to receiving their philosophical and some theological formation directly from the Seminary and be granted the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
(B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
) from the Seminary itself while they would continue to receive their other education at Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University is a private, co-educational Jesuit university located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by the Most Reverend Louis Guillaume Valentin Dubourg SLU is the oldest university west of the Mississippi River. It is one of 28 member institutions of the...
.
During his tenure, then-Archbishop Raymond Leo Burke
Raymond Leo Burke
Raymond Leo Burke is an American Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church. He is the current Cardinal Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, having previously served as Archbishop of St...
stressed on many occasions the importance of the Seminary in the life of the local Church, including http://www.stlouisreview.com/abpcolumn.php?abpid=7601 his Christmas reflection in December 2004 http://stlouisreview.com/article/2008-01-04/vocations-0 and January 2008.
Because of the gradually increasing number of seminarians, and the age of the current building, a planned expansion of the seminary was initiated by Cardinal Burke while he was still in St. Louis.
Charles L. Souvay Memorial Library
Kenrick–Glennon Seminary houses the Charles L. Souvay Memorial Library, which contains a large collection of theological reference books, periodicals, and journals, and is open not only to students of faculty of the seminary, but also to the public. The library is a member of the Bridges Library Catalog, which enables students to retrieve works from a number of other seminaries, colleges, and universities in the Saint Louis area. One of the library's distinctive qualities is a large collection of Akkadian and Sumerian cuneiform tablets of which a book has been written, namely, "The Cuneiform Tablets in St. Louis" by Robert David Freedman.Carnegie Classification
Category
- Undergraduate Instructional Program: (Special focus institution)
- Graduate Instructional Program: (Special focus institution)
- Enrollment Profile: Exclusively graduate/professional
- Undergraduate Profile: (Special focus institution)
- Size and Setting: (Special focus institution)
- Basic: Spec/Faith: Special Focus Institutions—Theological seminaries, Bible colleges, and other faith-related institutions