Chai Brady
The Irish College in Rome
The Irish College in Rome will not be receiving any new Irish seminarians for the academic year 2020-2021.
The trustees of the college reported this to the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference after discussions about the future of seminary provision for the Church in Ireland. The decision will be kept under review.
This was revealed in a statement released after the summer meeting of the bishops’ conference this week.
“Bishops recognised that the college continues to provide an important service to the Church in Ireland and confirmed that they are open to the possibility of sending seminarians to the College in the future,” they said.
“Bishops noted the report of the acting rector, Fr Paul Finnerty, that the college will continue to be a place of ongoing formation for priests.
“This includes facilitating those pursuing postgraduate studies and those wishing to undertake a longer or shorter period of sabbatical renewal in Rome. The college will also continue to host the semester abroad programme for seminarians from the USA.”
Future
The bishops are continuing to consider, in line with the new Ratio for Seminary Formation, “future ways to prepare priests with the human, spiritual, theological and pastoral aptitudes needed to address the challenges of contemporary Ireland”.
The bishops acknowledged the college’s trustees’ commitment to “explore new ways” it can be of service to the Church in Ireland.
They said: “This will include both its historical ministry of priestly formation – initial and ongoing. Other consideration given to contributing to formation for new forms of ministry in Ireland included the permanent diaconate, parish catechists, and parish pastoral workers.”
“Bishops agreed that the broad, global, and universal viewpoint offered by a Roman experience has been enriching for many down through the centuries. This remains true today, and into the future.”
Founded in 1628, the Irish College in Rome became an institution managed by Irish dioceses and was awarded pontifical status in 1948. It is the last remaining Irish seminary and training college in continental Europe.