Saint Paul Seminary is the diocesan minor seminary for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh. It is located in East Carnegie, a neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The seminary is not a degree-granting institution; seminarians in their collegiate or pre-theological studies attend classes at Franciscan University of Steubenville.

History

Previous diocesan seminaries

Bishop Michael O'Connor founded Pittsburgh's first diocesan seminary in 1844, the first year of his episcopate. St. Michael Seminary was located in Pittsburgh's Birmingham neighborhood. It was briefly discontinued for four years (1851–1856), operated for a year in Cambria County, and was finally reestablished in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Glenwood. The seminary definitively closed in 1876 with the tumultuous creation of the Diocese of Allegheny out of the Diocese of Pittsburgh. After 1876, Pittsburgh's diocesan seminarians received instruction at Saint Vincent Seminary in Latrobe.''Catholic Pittsburgh's One Hundred Years'', p. 147 Seminarians during the episcopacy of Hugh C. Boyle, from 1926 to 1945, were allowed to commute to Duquesne University from home. Bishop John F. Dearden, however, ended that practice. Until the creation of Saint Paul's, Pittsburgh seminarians would attend classes at other minor seminaries in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky.

Establishment of Saint Paul's

Saint Paul Seminary occupies the grounds and buildings of the former Saint Paul Orphanage. The campus began its connection with the Pittsburgh diocese with the establishment of the orphanage there on May 27, 1900, on "a plateau at Idlewood between Crafton and Carnegie." The orphanage operated until August 1965, when its operations were combined with those of Holy Family Institute in Emsworth. In September 1965, Bishop John Wright founded St. Paul Seminary as a

minor Minor may refer to: * Minor (law), a person under the age of certain legal activities. ** A person who has not reached the age of majority * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Music theory *Minor chord ** Barb ...

, or "transitional," seminary on the same site. Pittsburgh bishop David Zubik sold the diocesan bishop's mansion in

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

in favor of a simpler apartment on the seminary's campus in 2007. Auxiliary bishop emeritus William J. Winter is also in residence.

Leadership

The following priests have served as rectors of Saint Paul's Seminary since its founding in 1965: Three former rectors, Edward Burns,

David Bonnar David Joseph Bonnar (born February 5, 1962) is an American bishop of the Catholic Church. He is the Bishop of Youngstown, having been appointed to the position in 2020. Before becoming a bishop, he was the editor of a magazine called ''The P ...

, and Donald Wuerl have been raised to the order of bishop, and Donald Wuerl was raised to

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

of the

Archdiocese of Washington The Archdiocese of Washington is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. Its territorial remit encompasses the District of Columbia and the counties of Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, P ...

by Pope Benedict XVI. # Rev. Msgr. Donald W. Kraus (1965–1981) # Rev. Donald W. Wuerl (1981–1985) # Rev. Theodore A. Rutkowski (1985–1986) # Rev. Msgr. William M. Ogrodowski (1986–1990) # Rev. Charles S. Bober (1990–1993) # Rev. Joseph J. Kleppner (1993–1996) # Rev.

Edward J. Burns Edward James Burns (born October 7, 1957) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has served as bishop of the Diocese of Dallas in Texas since 2017. He previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Juneau in Alaska from 2009 ...

(1996–1997) ''(first term)'' # Rev. David J. Bonnar (1997–2002) # Rev. James A. Wehner (2002–2008) # Rev. Msgr.

(2008–2009) ''(second term)'' # Rev. Dennis P. Yurochko (2009–2011) # Rev. Joseph M. Mele (2011–2014) # Rev. Brian J. Welding (2014–2017) # Rev. Thomas A. Sparacino (2017–present) The current rector is the Very Rev. Thomas A Sparacino.

References

External links