The archiepiscopal seminary of Milan is the

Catholic seminary This is a list of Catholic seminaries in the world, including those that have been closed. According to the 2012 Annuario Pontificio, Pontifical Yearbook, the total number of candidates for the Priesthood (Catholic Church), priesthood in the wor ...

of the

Archdiocese of Milan The Archdiocese of Milan ( it, Arcidiocesi di Milano; la, Archidioecesis Mediolanensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Italy which covers the areas of Milan, Monza, Lecco and Varese. It has lon ...

. It has three seats: in

Venegono Inferiore Venegono Inferiore is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Varese in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northwest of Milan and about southeast of Varese. As of 31 December 2018, it had a population of 6,097 and an area of .A ...

(Varese province),

Seveso Seveso (; lmo, label= Lombard, Séves ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Monza and Brianza, in the Region of Lombardy. The economy of the town has traditionally been based on the furniture industry. Its name comes from the river o ...

( Monza e Brianza Province) and in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

. The latter also hosts the Istituto sacerdotale Maria Immacolata, that trains priests during the first five years following ordination, and the Istituto Superiore di Scienze Religiose; other diocesan activities have taken place there. In the other two sites seminarist theology training is conducted: in Seveso I and II theology with the corso propedeutico, in Venegono from III to VI theology.

History

The first

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

dates to the times of

Charles Borromeo Charles Borromeo ( it, Carlo Borromeo; la, Carolus Borromeus; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was the Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584 and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation combat ...

, opening in 1564. Under the bishopric of

Federico Borromeo Federico Borromeo (18 August 1564 – 21 September 1631) was an Italian cardinal and Archbishop of Milan, a prominent figure of Counter-Reformation Italy. Early life Federico Borromeo was born in Milan as the second son of Giulio Cesare Borrom ...

the Seminary of Porta Orientale took final form. St. Charles built several locations in the diocese. From 1638 to 1784 three operated in Milan (the Seminary of Porta Orientale, the Seminary of Canonica, the

Collegio Elvetico The Palazzo del Senato is a Baroque palace in central Milan. It now serves as the Archive of the State (Archivio di Stato), and is located at 10 Via Senato. Construction of the palace was begun in 1608 by cardinal Federico Borromeo, who wished t ...

), along with four minor seminaries in

Monza Monza (, ; lmo, label=Lombard language, Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po River, Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capit ...

, Arona, Celana and

Pollegio Pollegio is a municipality in the district of Leventina in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland, located in the lower Leventina (valley crossed by the river Ticino). History Pollegio is first mentioned around 1237 as ''Poleccio/Puletio'' thou ...

. First reform school and then the presence of Napoleon's troops radically transformed the seminary: the diocesan seminaries Celana,

, Seminary of Canonica and later Arona closed; a structure in Castello above Lecco opened instead. In 1839 that seat transferred to the Dominican convent of St. Peter Martyr in Seveso. With this step the configuration seminary route became simplified: ''ginnasio'' in Seveso, ''liceo'' in Monza and theology in Milan. In the second part of the nineteenth century a seminary for poor students opened in Monza, entrusted to

Barnabite , image = Barnabites.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = One version of the Barnabite logo. "P.A." refers to Paul the Apostle and the three hills symbolize the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. , a ...

Luigi Villoresi: training became more flexible and open according to inspiration from

Antonio Rosmini Blessed Antonio Francesco Davide Ambrogio Rosmini-Serbati (; Rovereto, 25 March 1797 Stresa, 1 July 1855) was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and philosopher. He founded the Rosminians, officially the Institute of Charity or , pioneered th ...

. The resulting clergy were visibly different from the traditional way: this led to tensions. In 1900 a seminary opened near the Duomo that took the name Seminarietto, aimed at training those who were intended for liturgical service in the cathedral. Following the apostolic visitation of abbot

Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster OSB (, ; 18 January 1880 – 30 August 1954), born Alfredo Ludovico Schuster, was an Italian Roman Catholic prelate and professed member from the Benedictines who served as the Archbishop of Milan from 1929 until his ...

, then Archbishop of Milan, the site of Venegono Inferiore was built with the intention to move the center of the seminary there. Construction began in 1928 and the facility was solemnly inaugurated in 1935. In the following decades, when the ''liceo classico'' and the last three years of theology were placed in Venegono, several locations were used: Seveso (''medie-ginnasio''), Masnago (''elementari-medie''), Arcore (''medie''),

Merate Merate ( Brianzöö: ) is a municipality of 14,872 inhabitants in the province of Lecco, in the northern Italian region of Lombardy. It is served by Cernusco-Merate railway station. History The name ''Melatum'' appeared for the first time in ...

(''medie''), Seminarietto del Duomo (''ginnasio-liceo''),

Saronno Saronno (; lmo, Saronn ) is a ''comune'' of Lombardy, Italy, in the province of Varese. It received the honorary title of city with a presidential decree in 1960. With an estimated population of 39,351 inhabitants, it is the most densely populated ...

(biennium theological and ''comunità propedeutica''), Milano (adult vocations). In 1966 Cardinal

Giovanni Colombo Giovanni Colombo (6 December 1902 – 20 May 1992) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Milan from 1963 to 1979 and was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 1965. Biography Early life and priesthood Gi ...

decided to transfer the theological faculty (built by

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

in 1892) from Venegono Inferiore to Milan, thus forming the Facoltà Teologica dell'Italia Settentrionale. The vocational crisis in subsequent years forced a reorganization of the community and led to the closure of many facilities. In 1985 the site was closed in Seveso: the ''ginnasio'' was transferred to Venegono and after a few years began restructuring. When construction ended in 1998 the community since then living in Saronno was transferred in Seveso. With the gradual extinction of the minor Seminary (closed in 2002 after several attempts for renewal and revitalization), the ''comunità propedeutica'' was added to the biennium seminary in Seveso. The restoration of the permanent ''diaconate'' wanted by Cardinal

Carlo Maria Martini Carlo Maria Martini (15 February 1927 – 31 August 2012) was an Italian Jesuit, cardinal of the Catholic Church and a Biblical scholar. He was Archbishop of Milan from 1980 to 2004 and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1983. A towering ...

in 1986 found a place in the headquarters of the Seminary.

Seminarists, professors and educators

Popes: *

Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City f ...

Bishops and cardinals *

Giacomo Biffi Giacomo Biffi (13 June 1928 – 11 July 2015) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was Archbishop Emeritus of Bologna, having served as archbishop there from 1984 to 2003. he was elevated to the cardinalate in 1985. Biograp ...

* Franco Giulio Brambilla *

Gabriele Giordano Caccia Gabriele Giordano Caccia (born 24 February 1958) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who works in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He has worked in the offices of the Secretariat of State and served as Apostolic Nuncio in Lebano ...

* Adriano Caprioli * Bernardo Citterio * Francesco Coccopalmerio * Diego Coletti * Carlo Colombo *

Renato Corti Renato Corti (1 March 1936 – 12 May 2020) was an Italian cardinal and prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was Bishop of Novara from 1990 to 2011. Pope Francis raised Corti to the rank of cardinal on 19 November 2016. Early years R ...

Mario Delpini Mario Enrico Delpini (born 29 July 1951) is an Italian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He has been serving as the Archbishop of Milan since his installation on 9 September 2017. He previously served as auxiliary bishop and vicar general of ...

* Erminio De Scalzi *

Marco Ferrari Marco Ferrari (born 21 August 1966 in Rimini) is a retired Italian professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Honours ;Parma * UEFA Cup Winners' Cup winner: 1992–93. * UEFA Super Cup winner: 1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From l ...

* Gervasio Gestori * Giovanni Giudici * Alessandro Maggiolini * Angelo Mascheroni *

Attilio Nicora Attilio Nicora (16 March 1937 – 22 April 2017) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who held senior positions in the administration of the Roman Curia as president of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See from 2002 ...

* Giulio Oggioni *

Gianfranco Ravasi Gianfranco Ravasi (born 18 October 1942) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church and a biblical scholar. A cardinal since 2010, he was President of the Pontifical Council for Culture from 2007 to 2022. He headed Milan's Ambrosian Library ...

Carlo Roberto Maria Redaelli Carlo is a given name. It is an Italian form of Charles. It can refer to: *Carlo (name) *Monte Carlo *Carlingford, New South Wales, a suburb in north-west Sydney, New South Wales, Australia *A satirical song written by Dafydd Iwan about Prince Char ...

Giovanni Saldarini Giovanni Saldarini (11 December 1924 – 18 April 2011) was an Italian Cardinal and Archbishop of Turin. Early life Saldarini was born in Cantù in the Italian province of Como, in Lombardy. He was educated at St Peter Martyr Seminary in ...

* Luigi Stucchi *

Dionigi Tettamanzi Dionigi Tettamanzi (14 March 1934 – 5 August 2017) was an Italian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, who was named a cardinal in 1998. He was Archbishop of Genoa from 1995 to 2004 and Archbishop of Milan from 2004 to 2011. Early years Tet ...

Theologians *

Giuseppe Colombo Giuseppe "Bepi" Colombo (October 2, 1920 in Padua – February 20, 1984 in Padua) was an Italian scientist, mathematician and engineer at the University of Padua, Italy. Mercury Colombo studied the planet Mercury, and it was his calculations wh ...

* Franco Manzi * Giovanni Moioli * Pierangelo Sequeri * Luigi Serenthà * Sergio Ubbiali

Sources

* ''Il Seminario di Venegono 1935-1985. Pagine d'un cammino'', a cura di Cesare Pasini - Mario Spezzibottiani, NED, Milano 1985. * Mario Panizza, «Seminario Maggiore», in ''Dizionario della Chiesa ambrosiana'', NED, Milano 1992, vol. V, 3310-3323. * ''La formazione del presbitero diocesano. Linee educative del Seminario di Milano'', Centro Ambrosiano, Milano 1995. *

, ''San Carlo e il seminario. La formazione dei futuri presbiteri in un mondo che cambia'', Centro Ambrosiano, Milano 2006.

External links

Seminario Arcivescovile di Milano website

Permanent diaconate of Diocese of Milan

Istituto Superiore di Scienze Religiose of Milan
{{authority control Seminaries and theological colleges in Italy