Cathedral College of the Immaculate Conception

Cathedral Seminary House of Formation is a Roman Catholic seminary college in the Douglaston, Queens section of New York City. It was founded in 1914 as a minor seminary for the

Diocese of Brooklyn The Diocese of Brooklyn is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the U.S. state of New York. It is headquartered in Brooklyn and its territory encompasses the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. T ...

, eventually growing to two New York City campuses in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

and

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

. In 1967, the college programs were detached from the high school program and relocated to Douglaston as a four-year college. Cathedral College closed in 1987. Today the Cathedral Seminary House of Formation operates on part of the original college campus. The house of formation will shut down its seminary program in 2023, but will continue to host graduate level programs for diaconate formation and lay faithful.

History

Cathedral College of the Immaculate Conception was established in 1914 in

as a six-year minor seminary. Like other minor seminaries of that time, students would attend a four-year high school track, receiving a high diploma and then complete a two-year college program. Upon completion of the six-year program, students who wanted to continue to the priesthood would enter a

major 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, ...

. Other students would continue their last two years of college at another university. In 1967, Archbishop Bryan J. McEntegart restructured Cathedral College due to shrinking enrollment and fewer students becoming priests. The Brooklyn and Queens campuses became four-year seminary high schools. The college programs were transferred into an independent four-year college seminary in Douglaston, New York. The college was established to serve seminarians from the Diocese of Brooklyn, the

Diocese of Rockville Centre The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre ( la, Dioecesis Petropolitana in Insula Longa) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church that comprises the territory of Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island ...

on Long Island, and the

Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York ( la, Archidiœcesis Neo-Eboracensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in the State of New York. It encompasses the boroug ...

. The college's inaugural class had 38 students, 22 of whom eventually became priests. By the early 1970s, the college had over 370 students and offered over a dozen college majors. In October 2022, it was announced that the Dioceses of Brooklyn, Rockville Centre and The Archdiocese of New York would move the majority of its seminary operations to St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, NY and will shut down the minor seminary at Cathedral House of Formation in 2023. Pre-Theology seminarians will move to Yonkers and college seminarians will study out of state. The House of Formation will continue to host graduate level theology programs.

House of Formation

The Cathedral Seminary House of Formation, as it is known today, serves as the minor seminary for the

and the Dioceses of

and

Rockville Centre Rockville Centre, commonly abbreviated as RVC, is an incorporated village located in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 24,023 at the 2010 census. Histor ...

. Seminarians who are completing their undergraduate degrees in philosophy, study at either

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

or at St. John's University in nearby

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. After completing an undergraduate degree, seminarians will move on to

. Seminarians who enter after already having completed an undergraduate college degree, enroll in a two year pre-theology program at the seminary, before moving on to major seminary. In October 2022, it was announced that the Dioceses of Brooklyn, Rockville Centre and The Archdiocese of New York would move the majority of its seminary operations to St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, NY and will shut down the minor seminary at Cathedral House of Formation in 2023. Pre-Theology seminarians will move to Yonkers and college seminarians will study out of state. The House of Formation will continue to host graduate level theology programs.

Sources

*Walsh, Kevin (2006). Forgotten New York: views of a lost metropolis. HarperCollins. p. 67. .

References

{{Authority control Roman Catholic high schools in Queens, New York Educational institutions established in 1914 1914 establishments in New York City Former theological colleges Catholic minor seminaries in the United States Douglaston–Little Neck, Queens