Pontifical North American College
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| Pontifical North American College | |
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| Pontificio Collegio Americano del Nord | |
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| Latin: Pontificium Collegium Civitatum Foederatarum Americae Septemtrionalis | |
| Motto | Firmum Est Cor Meum My Heart Is Steadfast (Pss. 57:8; 108:2) |
| Established | 8 December 1859 |
| Type | Roman Catholic Seminary; Residence for Priests in post-graduate studies; Sabbatical Institute; Assistance to Pilgrims |
| Rector | Rev. Msgr. James F. Checchio, M.B.A., J.C.D. |
| Location | Rome, Italy |
| Affiliations | United States Conference of Catholic Bishops |
| Website | www.pnac.org |
The Pontifical North American College [1] is a Roman Catholic educational institution in Rome, Italy. It was founded in 1859 by Blessed Pope Pius IX in a former Dominican and Visitation Convent, the Casa Santa Maria, located in the historic center of Rome near the Trevi Fountain. It was granted pontifical status by the Holy See in 1884 and was incorporated in the United States by a Special Act of the Maryland Legislature in 1886 under the name The American College of the Roman Catholic Church of the United States. This is its official name for United States Federal and state law purposes and for such things as contributions and bequests. The College enjoys not-for-profit status under Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code.
Administration of the College has been delegated by the Holy See to the Roman Catholic Bishops of the United States, subject to the oversight of the Holy See's Congregation for Catholic Education.
Enrollment in the College is available to properly qualified Roman Catholic seminarians and priests who are United States citizens, although citizens of other countries can be admitted with the permission of the College's Board of Governors. All students are nominated for enrollment by their own diocesan bishop, subject to approval by the Rector of the College. Students in degree programs take their academic courses at institutions of higher learning in Rome approved by the Holy See. Human, pastoral and spiritual formation is provided by the faculty of the College.
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[edit] History
When the Second World War broke out, the various national seminaries in Rome were temporarily closed by Pope Pius XII and non-Italian students returned to their home countries. When the war ended and the seminaries re-opened, the Roman Catholic Church in America had experienced such an increase in vocations to the priesthood that the Casa Santa Maria could no longer accommodate the many seminarians whom United States bishops wanted to send to Rome for their priestly formation and university studies. To respond to that situation, the Roman Catholic bishops of the United States authorized construction of a new Seminary complex on the Janiculum Hill overlooking the Vatican on land they had purchased in 1926. Pope Pius XII dedicated the newly-built Seminary on December 8, 1952, the annual Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. The Casa Santa Maria was re-opened as a residence for ordained United States Catholic priests pursuing advanced studies in Rome.
The College now consists of a Seminary, which prepares candidates for the Catholic priesthood; the Casa Santa Maria [2], for priests in post-graduate studies, the Institute for Continuing Theological Education ("ICTE"), for the continuing priestly formation of priests ordained ten years or more, [3] and the Bishops' Office for U.S. Visitors to the Vatican serving pilgrims who come to Rome from the United States [4]. The College also serves persons who travel to Rome from the United States on College or Holy See matters, particularly members of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The Board of Governors of the College consists of one diocesan or auxiliary bishop from each of the fifteen regions into which the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is divided. The current Chairman of the Board of Governors is the Most Reverend John J. Myers, Archbishop of Newark, NJ; and the current Rector of the College is the Reverend Monsignor James F. Checchio, a priest of the Diocese of Camden, NJ.
For the 2008-2009 academic year, enrollment in the Seminary is 207, at the Casa Santa Maria approximately 75, and at each of two continuing formation sessions, approximately 30.
[edit] Rectors
- Bernard Smith (1859 - 1860) Pro-rector
- William G. McCloskey (1860 - 1868)
- Francis Silas Chatard (1868 - 1878)
- Louis Hostelot (1878 - 1884)
- Augustin J. Schulte (1884 - 1885) Pro-rector
- Denis J. O'Connell (1885 - 1895)
- William H. O'Connell (1895 - 1901)
- Thomas F. Kennedy (1901 - 1917)
- Charles O'Hern (1917 - 1925)
- Eugene S. Burke (1925 - 1935)
- Ralph Leo Hayes (1935 - 1944)
- J. Gerald Kealy (1945 - 1946) Pro-rector
- Martin John O'Connor (1946 - 1964)
- Francis Frederick Reh (1964 - 1968)
- James Aloysius Hickey (1969 - 1974)
- Harold P. Darcy (1974 - 1979)
- Charles M. Murphy (1979 - 1984)
- Lawrence M. Purcell (1984 - 1990)
- Edwin Frederick O'Brien (1990 - 1994)
- Timothy Dolan (1994 - 2001)
- Kevin P. McCoy (2001-2005)
- James F. Checchio (2005 to date)
[edit] Sources
- Constituent Documents, Pontifical North American College, 2000
- Murphy, Brian; The New Men:Inside the Vatican's Elite School For American Priests; 1997.
[edit] References
- ^ www.pnac.org
- ^ The Casa Santa Maria
- ^ www.pnac.org/general/icte.htm
- ^ www.pnac.org/general/visiting_vatican.htm
