The Seminary of Quebec (French: Séminaire de Québec) is a

Catholic 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 ...

community of

diocesan priests In Christianity, the term secular clergy refers to deacons and priests who are not monastics or otherwise members of religious life. A secular priest (sometimes known as a diocesan priest) is a priest who commits themselves to a certain geogra ...

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

founded by

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

François de Laval Francis-Xavier de Montmorency-Laval, commonly referred to as François de Laval (30 April 1623 – 6 May 1708), was a French prelate of the Catholic Church. Consecrated a bishop in 1658, he led the Apostolic Vicariate of New France from 1658 to ...

, the first bishop of

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spai ...

in 1663.

History

The Séminaire de Québec is a Society of diocesan priests founded on March 26, 1663 by Bishop François de Laval, first bishop of New France, in order to sustain the mission of the Church in North America. In 1665, he joined this community to that of the Seminary of Foreign Missions of Paris under the name of the Seminary of Foreign Missions of Quebec, from which is derived the acronym SME, still in use today. The first role of the Séminaire de Québec was to prepare young men for ordination and ministry in parishes and missions as far away as Louisiana. The Seminary was thus founded together with the Major Seminary, where future priests received their training. In 1668,

Jean-Baptiste Colbert Jean-Baptiste Colbert (; 29 August 1619 – 6 September 1683) was a French statesman who served as First Minister of State from 1661 until his death in 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His lasting impact on the organization of the countr ...

, Louis XIV's top minister, initiated an attempt to impose French language and culture on local aboriginal people. Bishop de Laval therefore opened the Seminary to local aboriginal people as well as children of settlers with studious dispositions and a desire to enter the priesthood. This was the beginning of the

Petit Séminaire de Québec Petite or petite may refer to: *Petit (crater), a small, bowl-shaped lunar crater on Mare Spumans * ''Petit'' (EP), a 1995 EP by Japanese singer-songwriter Ua * Petit (typography), another name for brevier-size type *Petit four * Petit Gâteau *P ...

(the Minor Seminary). Grand-Séminaire-Québec

Until the English conquest in 1760, the Minor Seminary was a boarding school for students. Classes were held at the Jesuit College on the site of the present City Hall. When the Jesuits were suppressed after the conquest, the directors of the Seminary took over. The Minor Seminary became a full-fledged teaching institution, a college, open to all boys interested in studying. In 1852, the high quality of teaching was recognized in a

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...

from

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

, leading to the founding of

Université Laval Université Laval is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university was founded by royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1852, with roots in the founding of the Séminaire de Québec in 1663 by François de Montmo ...

, the first Catholic French-language university in North America. Université Laval and the Minor Seminary no longer have any legal ties with the Quebec Seminary. The Seminary spun off Université Laval into its own corporation in 1970 and the same was done with the Minor Seminary in 1987. The services of the Séminaire de Québec currently include the Major Seminary, a vocations centre, a new diocesan Minor Seminary, the Catholic centre at Université Laval, the training of priests and other pastoral leaders, parish service, and theology studies. François de Laval's vision is at the root of the Séminaire de Québec's influence and success in education. His bequest of a large tract of lakes and forests northeast of the city known today as the Beaupré Seigneury, purchased from the Compagnie des 100 Associés (Compagnie de la Nouvelle-France), has funded the work of the institution ever since.

The Petit Séminaire

Since 1987, the Petit Séminaire de Québec has been a private

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

separated from the Séminaire de Québec. Many

French-Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fr ...

clergy of the 18th and 19th century, as well as innumerable academics, went through the Petit Séminaire before higher education became widely accessible. Until 1970, the Superior of the Seminary was also the

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

, which was originally an offshoot of it.

Buildings

The historical site of the Séminaire de Québec in Old Quebec includes a vast number of buildings, some of which date back to the 17th century and are witnesses of the French occupation, while the others were constructed anywhere from the 18th to the 20th century. The ensemble is made up of two groups of buildings: the Vieux-Séminaire constructed under the model of 17th century French colleges, and the second group of buildings that have been added over the years to meet the needs of Laval University, the Grand Séminaire and the Petit Séminaire, whose most important buildings are the Camille-Roy Building and the Jean-Olivier-Briand Building. The Camille-Roy Building has several pinnacles on which continuously fly the flag of the coat of arms of founder of the Séminaire de Québec, Bishop François de Laval, and the Jean-Olivier-Briand Building houses the priests’ residence and the Grand Séminaire. The Seminary at 1 Rempart Street, Québec, was designated a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of t ...

in 1929. This location continues to operate as a centre for educating Roman Catholic priests A section of the Vieux Séminaire has been the location for the Université's school of architecture since 1987. The Camille-Roy pavilion houses the restored Promotions Room which can be rented as a venue for various types of events.https://www.quebec-cite.com/en/businesses/attractions/heritage-sites/religious-sites/seminaire-de-quebec/, Séminaire de Québec, Ville de Québec

References

Bibliography

*PROVOST, Honorius, ''Le Séminaire de Québec : documents et biographies'', Québec, Séminaire de Québec, 1964. 542 p. (Publications des archives du Séminaire de Québec; 2) *''Cap-aux-Diamants'', N° hors série (oct. 1993), Québec, Société historique de Québec, 1993. 70 p.

External links