The Royal English College of Valladolid is a residence and training centre located in

Valladolid Valladolid () is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province o ...

, Spain, for the training of

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

s for the English and Welsh Mission. It is under the patronage of St Alban. It was founded with the permission of

King Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, K ...

by the English priest

Robert Persons Robert Persons (24 June 1546 – 15 April 1610), later known as Robert Parsons, was an English Jesuit priest. He was a major figure in establishing the 16th-century "English Mission" of the Society of Jesus. Early life Robert Person ...

in 1589, during the

English Reformation The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Protestant Reformation, a religious and poli ...

. The College was run by the Jesuits until their expulsion from Spain in 1767. This created a crisis for the College, which was bereft of faculty and students in one blow. Bishop Richard Challoner, Vicar Apostolic in London, was instrumental in securing the future of the College by amalgamating the three existing English Colleges in Madrid,

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

, and Valladolid, and securing staff from the English Mission and students from the English College at Douay. Today, men of varying ages and backgrounds spend an introductory year in Valladolid, to discern their vocation and begin formation for

Catholic priesthood The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned (" ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers onl ...

. They are exposed to spiritual and human formation, which roots their faith in

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

, and prepares them to go on to seminaries in the United Kingdom or Ireland, or to Rome or elsewhere.

Our Lady Vulnerata

The image of Our Lady venerated in the College Chapel is that of ''La Vulnerata'', or ''The Wounded One''. The story of the Vulnerata goes back centuries; but in 1596, as

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

was gathering a fleet in the city of Cadiz, the

Earl of Essex Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new cre ...

together with

Sir Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebellion ...

led an English fleet into the harbour, defeated the Spanish fleet and sacked the city. Some of the English troops started a riot and dragged a statue of the Virgin Mother and Child from a church to the market square where they desecrated it. They cut off both arms, and all that remained of the child were parts of his tiny feet on his mother’s knee. The mutilated statue was taken to

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, and given a place of honour in a private chapel of a Countess. The priests and seminarians of the English College in Valladolid asked the Countess if they might make reparation for the behaviour of their fellow countrymen who had desecrated the statue. She agreed and the statue was brought to

and installed with great solemnity in the College Chapel in 1600. Every year during

Holy Week Holy Week ( la, Hebdomada Sancta or , ; grc, Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, translit=Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit=Holy and Great Week) is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. In Eastern Churches, w ...

the statue is processed along the street, where it is met by a huge paso or float, which has a large depiction of the Crucified

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

resting on top of it. The two images meet, and dance to each other for a brief period—then the Vulnerata comes back to the College.

College Martyrs

The following alumni of the College gave their lives as

martyrs A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...

for the

Catholic Faith The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a p ...

during the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

in England and Wales:

English College, Seville

The College inherited the assets of the English College of St Gregory,

upon the closure of the latter: the Seville College had been founded by

in 1592, was bankrupt by 1645, and was closed on the expulsion of the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

from Spain in 1767.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Universities and colleges in Valladolid Seminaries and theological colleges in Spain 1589 establishments in Spain Catholic Church in England and Wales Catholic seminaries Spain–United Kingdom relations Valladolid

Our Lady Vulnerata

College Martyrs

English College, Seville

See also

References

External links