St. Mary's Seminary and University - History

History

Founded in 1791 as a Catholic seminary, St. Mary's was chartered as a civil college by the state of Maryland in 1805 (1806?). It was established as a seminary in 1822 by Pope Pius VII, when it was authorized as the first ecclesiastical faculty in the United States with the right to grant degrees in the name of the Holy See. The seminary was founded by the French Sulpician Fathers, and continues to be operated by that community.

Designed in 1806 by Maximilian Godefroy, a renowned French architect, (who also designed the Battle Monument and the First Unitarian Church. The original chapel stands adjacent to the Mother Seton House. It is the only part of the original seminary buildings remaining on North Paca Street, and is now used as part of the seminary's Spiritual Center. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton lived at the house while she was in Baltimore; it was later named for her. The seminary's influence increased in the late 19th century under the leadership of Alphonse Magnien, who served as superior from 1878 to 1902.

St. Mary's moved to a large 40-acre park-like campus at the southwest intersection of Roland and Belvedere (later Northern Parkway) Avenues in the Roland Park section of North Baltimore in 1929,

In 1968, reflecting a more ecumenical spirit from the Second Vatican Council and partnerships with neighboring Christian (Protestant and Eastern Orthodox) and having additional space and resources due to a decline in the number of priests in formation by the late 1960s, an "Ecumenical Institute of Theology" was established with a separate board and began offering courses, programs, events with library resources and religious training on a graduate-level to the laity and clergy of the central Maryland area.

In 1974, the seminary's name was changed to "St. Mary's Seminary and University" to reflect its expanded departments and graduate degree programs.

During his famous visit to the "Premier See" of Baltimore in 20XX, the first by any "Bishop of Rome", Pope John Paul II, visited briefly at the Seminary Chapel and used the spacious front lawn to lift off in his papal helicopter ending his tour of the Arcdiocese and City.

Fr. Robert F. Leavitt retired as president/rector in spring 2007, having served at that position for 27 years—the longest tenure of any president/rector in the school's history. The seminary's alumni have gone on to reach bishop's positions in many cities of the United States.