St. Charles Borromeo Seminary

Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary is a Roman Catholic seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, that is under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The oldest Catholic institution of higher learning in the Philadelphia region, the school is named after Charles Borromeo, an Italian saint from the Counter-Reformation.

The campus is in the municipality of Lower Merion Township.

History


St. Charles was founded in June 1832 by Bishop Francis Kenrick in his home on Fifth Street in Philadelphia. On April 13, 1838, it was chartered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to grant academic degrees. Saint Charles later moved to a building on the corner of Fifth and Prune Streets, then to the rectory of Saint Mary's Parish on Fourth Street. It then moved to a facility on the corner of Eighteenth and Race Streets in Philadelphia.

In 1863, then Bishop James F. Wood made the first of three property purchases to create a new Saint Charles campus in the Overbrook section of Philadelphia. In September, 1871, the preparatory college and theology divisions were reunited in Overbrook. In December, 1875, Archbishop Wood dedicated the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception on the campus. Later archbishops of Philadelphia have initiated improvements on the Saint Charles campus.


 * Archbishop Patrick J. Ryan began the construction of the Memorial Library Building
 * Archbishop Edmond Prendergast oversaw the building of a student residence hall.
 * Cardinal Dennis Dougherty sponsored the construction of the college building.
 * Cardinal John O'Hara added an indoor swimming pool.
 * Cardinal John Krol in 1971 build a residence hall and multi-purpose building dedicated to John Vianney, a 19th century French saint.

In 2005, the Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua Research Center was established at the Ryan Memorial Library. The building was completely renovated in the process. The buildings that make up the current Theology Division. along with the Ryan Memorial Library. stand at the western end of campus. The College Seminary is located at the eastern end.

For an eleven-year period, the preparatory division of the seminary was located at Glen Riddle, Pennsylvania. The preparatory program was equivalent to the junior and senior years of and four years of college. The high school program was discontinued in 1968. In 1999, an alumnus praised Saint Charles for its liturgical reverence compared to some other US seminaries. Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, a former archbishop of Philadelphia, lived at Saint Charles in his retirement. Both Pope John Paul II and Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger visited Saint Charles, and Pope Francis stayed there during his 2015 visit to Philadelphia.

In 2019, Saint Charles sold its Wynnewood property to Main Line Health. Saint Charles is planning to move in August of 2024 to a new campus at Gwynedd Mercy University in Lower Gwynedd, Pennsylvania.

On May 23, 2024, workers moved the historic white cross overlooking the Ben Franklin Parkway at Logan Square, initially erected in honor of Pope John Paul II's 1979 visit to Philadelphia, to the Malvern Retreat House.

Academics
St. Charles is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada. It consists of four divisions:


 * College Seminary
 * Theological Seminary
 * School of Theological Studies
 * School of Diaconal Formation

In accordance with the Program for Priestly Formation (PPF), the formation program for candidates for the Catholic priesthood complete four stages throughout their time in seminary:
 * Propaedeutic
 * Discipleship
 * Configuration
 * Vocational Synthesis

Following the propaedeutic stage, a four-year liberal arts curriculum is offered in the college seminary, or a two-year program for those seminarians who have previously earned a bachelor's degree. Both programs are focused in philosophy. This is followed by a four-year curriculum within the Theological Seminary. St. Charles offers the following degrees:


 * Bachelor of Arts
 * Master of Arts
 * Master of Divinity

Enrollment
At the start of the 2023-2024 academic year, Saint Charles added 36 new seminarians. The total enrollment of 147 seminarians was studying for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, 12 partner dioceses, and three religious orders. Saint Charles's partner dioceses include:


 * Diocese of Allentown
 * Diocese of Arlington
 * Diocese of Bridgeport
 * Archdiocese of Colombo
 * Diocese of Đà Lạt
 * Diocese of Grand Island
 * Diocese of Greensburg
 * Diocese of Harrisburg
 * Diocese of Lincoln
 * Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA
 * Diocese of Mymensingh
 * Diocese of Trenton
 * Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia

The partner religious congregations and orders include:


 * Vincentians
 * Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré, Norbertines of Daylesford Abbey
 * Oratory of Saint Philip Neri

Bishops

 * Edward Joseph Adams
 * Thaddeus Amat y Brusi
 * Edward Barron
 * Eusebius J. Beltran
 * Herbert Bevard
 * Caspar Henry Borgess
 * Michael Joseph Bransfield
 * Francis Brennan
 * Michael Francis Burbidge
 * Keith J. Chylinski
 * Joseph R. Cistone
 * Christopher R. Cooke
 * Edward Peter Cullen
 * Louis A. DeSimone
 * Francis X. DiLorenzo
 * Michael Domenec
 * Dennis Joseph Dougherty
 * Michael J. Fitzgerald
 * Edmond Fitzmaurice
 * John T. Folda
 * John Patrick Foley
 * Ronald William Gainer
 * Joseph Anthony Galante
 * Daniel J. Gercke
 * Gregory W. Gordon
 * James Green
 * Edward Hughes
 * Francis Edward Hyland
 * William Henry Keeler
 * Peter Richard Kenrick
 * Joseph Edward Kurtz
 * Hugh L. Lamb
 * George L. Leech
 * Martin Nicholas Lohmuller
 * Stephen Lowe
 * Robert P. Maginnis
 * Joseph Francis Martino
 * Joseph P. McFadden
 * Eugene J. McGuinness
 * John J. McIntyre
 * Joseph Mark McShea
 * James O'Connor
 * John Joseph O'Connor
 * Michael O'Connor
 * Joseph A. Pepe
 * Nelson J. Perez
 * Edmond Francis Prendergast
 * Kevin C. Rhoades
 * Stephen V. Ryan
 * Francis B. Schulte
 * Timothy C. Senior
 * Daniel E. Thomas
 * David B. Thompson
 * Thomas Jerome Welsh