The Collegium Russicum ( la, Pontificium Collegium Russicum Sanctae Theresiae A Iesu Infante; russian: Папская коллегия Ру́ссикум; '' en, Pontifical Russian College of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus'') 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 ...

college in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

dedicated to studies of the culture and spirituality of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

. It is located near the

Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore The Basilica of Saint Mary Major ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, ; la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris), or church of Santa Maria Maggiore, is a Major papal basilica as well as one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and the large ...

, separated from the

Pontifical Oriental Institute The Pontifical Oriental Institute, also known as the Orientale, is a Catholic institution of higher education located in Rome and focusing on Eastern Christianity. The plan of creating a school of higher learning for Eastern Christianity had been ...

by the Church of Saint Anthony, and is known informally as the Russicum.

History

The college is built on the site of what was once a hospital, created by bequest in 1529, by Cardinal

Pietro Capocci Pietro Capocci (c.1200, in Rome – 19/21 May 1259, in Rome) was a Roman Catholic cardinal, nominated by Pope Innocent IV in the consistory of 28 May 1244, with the cardinal-diaconate of San Giorgio in Velabro. Life Pietro Capocci was born abou ...

. From the middle of the 18th century the hospital was assigned to Camaldolese nuns, who kept it until it was confiscated by the government in 1871. In 1928 the church of

Sant'Antonio Abate all'Esquilino Sant'Antonio abate all’Esquilino (''Saint Anthony Abbot on the Esquiline'') is a church in Rome, located near the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore on via Carlo Alberto in the Esquilino district. History It was built in 1308 to serve an existin ...

and its surroundings were acquired by the Holy See, which assigned the church to Russian Catholics of the

Byzantine Rite The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, identifies the wide range of cultural, liturgical, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christian Church of Constantinople. The canonical hours a ...

and the surrounding buildings to the Collegium Russicum. The Russicum, which was founded on August 15, 1929 by

Pope 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 ...

, was intended to train Russian Greek Catholic priests to serve as missionaries in the growing

Russian diaspora The Russian diaspora is the global community of ethnic Russians. The Russian-speaking ('' Russophone'') diaspora are the people for whom Russian language is the native language, regardless of whether they are ethnic Russians or not. History ...

anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and the ...

political refugees, and despite the anti-religious persecution taking place in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

, in that very country. The money for both the college building and its reconstruction were taken from an aggregate of charity donations from faithful all over the world on the occasion of the

canonization Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...

of St.

Thérèse de Lisieux Therese or Thérèse is a variant of the feminine given name Teresa. It may refer to: Persons Therese * Duchess Therese of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1773–1839), member of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and a Duchess of Mecklenburg * Therese of ...

, placing the Russicum under her patronage. The Collegium Russicum is run by the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

and provides education and accommodation for

and Orthodox students.

Rectors

1. Vendelín Javorka, S.J. (1929-1936), Slovak
2. Philippe de Régis, S.J. (1936-1942), French
3. Francisco Echarri, S.J. (1942-1946), Spanish-Basque, Vice-Rector
4. Philippe de Régis, S.J. (1946-1948), French
5. Gustav Andrej Wetter, S.J. (1948-1955), Austrian
Dahm, Helmut, and E. M. Swiderski. "From the Profession: Gustav A. Wetter: In Pacis et Lucis Regione Constitutus", ''Studies in Soviet Thought'', vol. 44, no. 2, 1992, pp. 131–35. JSTOR
/ref> 6. Bohumíl-Feofil Horáček, S.J. (1955-1962), Czech
7. Josef Olšar, S.J. (1962-1967), Czech
8. Paul Mailleux, S.J. (1967-1978), Belgian
9. Gino-Kirill Piovesan, S.J. (1978-1985), Italian
10. Josef Macha, S.J. (1985-1991), German
11. John Long, S.J. (1991-1996), American
12. Richard Čemus, S.J. (1996-2001), Czech
13.

Alojzij Cvikl Archbishop Alojzij Cvikl, Society of Jesus, S.J. (born 19 June 1955) is a Slovenian Roman Catholic prelate who serves as an Archbishop of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Maribor, Archdiocese of Maribor since 14 March 2015. Education Archbishop Cvik ...

, S.J. (2001-2010), Slovene
14. Lionginas Virbalas, S.J. (2010-2013), Lithuanian
15. Anto Lozuk, S.J. (2013-2017), Croat
16. Peter Dufka, S.J. (2017-2019), Slovak, Vice-Rector
17. Tomás García-Huidobro Rivas, S.J. (2019-), Chilean

Notable alumni

Walter Ciszek Walter Joseph Ciszek, S.J. (November 4, 1904 – December 8, 1984) was a Polish-American Jesuit priest of the Russian Greek Catholic Church who conducted clandestine missionary work in the Soviet Union between 1939 and 1963. Fifteen of ...

, S.J. (1904-1984) — American priest of the

Russian Greek Catholic Church The Russian Greek Catholic Church (russian: Российская греко-католическая церковь, ''Rossiyskaya greko-katolicheskaya tserkov; la, Ecclesia Graeca Catholica Russica''), Russian Byzantine Catholic Church or simply ...

GULAG The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the State Political Directorate, GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= ...

survivor, author of '' With God in Russia''. * Ján Kellner (1912-1941) — Slovak priest, missionary to

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nati ...

, executed in

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Ky ...

in 1941. *

Pietro Leoni Pietro Leoni (1 January 1909 – 26 July 1995) was an Italian priest of the Society of Jesus and the Russian Greek Catholic Church. His memoir of surviving the Gulag, ''Spio dei Vaticano'', was published after his return to the West. Early life ...

(1909-1995) — Italian priest of the

, survivor of the

, author of ''Spio dei Vaticano''. *

Blessed Blessed may refer to: * The state of having received a blessing * Blessed, a title assigned by the Roman Catholic Church to someone who has been beatified Film and television * ''Blessed'' (2004 film), a 2004 motion picture about a supernatural ...

Theodore Romzha (1911-1947) —

Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church The Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church ( rue, Русиньска ґрекокатолицька церьков; la, Ecclesia Graeco-Catholica Ruthenica), also known in the United States simply as the Byzantine Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catho ...

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 ...

of the

Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Mukacheve The Greek Catholic Eparchy of Mukachevo is an eparchy (diocese) associated with the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church under an unidentified status and territory located in the west of Ukraine, roughly equivalent with Zakarpatska Oblast. The epar ...

, martyr under

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet Union, Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as Ge ...

. *

Egon Sendler Egon Sendler (1 August 1923 – 17 March 2014) was a Catholic priest of the Jesuit order and one of the world's foremost experts on the painting of Eastern Orthodox icons. He was also an author, teacher, theologian, and artist. He earned consider ...

, S.J. (1923-2014) — French priest.

Notable faculty

* Vyacheslav Ivanov (1866-1949),

Russian Symbolist Russian symbolism was an intellectual and artistic movement predominant at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. It arose separately from European symbolism, emphasizing mysticism and ostranenie. Literature Influences Primary ...

poet, convert to the

, and Russicum professor of

Old Church Slavonic Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic () was the first Slavic literary language. Historians credit the 9th-century Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius with standardizing the language and using it in translating the Bible and othe ...

, the traditional

liturgical language A sacred language, holy language or liturgical language is any language that is cultivated and used primarily in church service or for other religious reasons by people who speak another, primary language in their daily lives. Concept A sacr ...

used by all Byzantine Rite Churches in Eastern Europe.

References

Sources

* ''Russicum: Pioneers and Witnesses of the Struggle for Christian Unity in Eastern Europe (review) The Catholic Historical Review - Volume 93, Number 3, July 2007, pp. 694–696''

External links

The Russian College in Rome
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20180131023145/http://www.lastoriasiamonoi.rai.it/puntate/russicum/721/default.aspx Document about missionaries to USSR during WWII educated in Collegium Russicumbr>Momenti del rituale greco-bizantino al Pontificio Collegio Russicum
{{Authority control 1929 establishments in Italy Educational institutions established in 1929 Catholic universities and colleges in Italy Properties of the Holy See